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I was recently reading an article about the possibility of Sandra Bullock being nominated for the Best Actress Oscar this year, and it suddenly occurred to me – if Sandra does get nominated (for her work in The Blind Side), she has a really good chance of winning because of the Julia Roberts factor. Meaning, the Academy waited until the perfect moment, the perfect role and the perfect box office success to reward Julia Roberts with her 2001 Oscar for Erin Brockovich. And the exact same thing might happen for Sandra – with The Blind Side being only the latest in a long line of hit films, America’s other sweetheart might take home a little gold man just because it’s her turn and because she’s a fan favorite. I’m sure her performance is good too – I’m not saying she’s hasn’t turned in an Oscar-worthy performance, I’m just saying that the politics and money part of the equation is lining up perfectly for Bullock to have a Julia Roberts-esque Oscar moment.
Anyway, it’s something to keep in mind. I think there’s a very good chance Bullock could walk away with an Oscar, and this story from Variety only reinforces that opinion. Apparently, Bullock has done something Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie and Reese Witherspoon failed to accomplish time and time again: earn $200 million in the domestic American box office! Hollywood loves rewarding actors who reward Hollywood:
Sandra Bullock rang in the new year making box office history. Some time over the weekend, Bullock starrer “The Blind Side” became the first pic in history driven solely by a top female star to jump the $200 million mark at the domestic B.O.
To be precise, the film finished the frame with a cume of $208.5 million in its seventh week in release. Over the weekend, it rose a remarkable 10% over the previous week, and it’s still got plenty of life left, according to Warner Bros. prexy of domestic distribution Dan Fellman.
“Blind Side” was fully financed and produced by Alcon Entertainment. The project was brought in by Molly Smith, daughter of Alcon backer Fred Smith, founder of FedEx.
It’s hard to believe, but none of the previous films in which Bullock had top solo billing had reached $200 million, nor have any of the solo starring efforts of the likes of Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie or Reese Witherspoon. But indeed, none had, according to Fellman and other box office observers.
Roberts’ “Erin Brockovich” — the film most often compared with “Blind Side” — grossed $125.6 million domestically. Streep’s “The Devil Wears Prada” fashioned $124.7 million at the domestic B.O.
The only femme-driven film that jumped $200 million domestically was romantic comedy “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” the 2002 indie hit starring then-unknown Nia Vardalos and “Northern Exposure” star John Corbett, which earned $241.1 million domestically.
Bullock’s accomplishment is part of a gender revolution at the domestic box office. Until recent hits like the “Twilight” pics and “Sex and the City,” Hollywood studios thought only fanboys could generate big grosses, not femmes. (At the same time, it’s not lost on distribs that the top-grossing film of all time, James Cameron’s “Titanic,” was probably fueled by women who saw the movie numerous times.)
Some femme-driven films have found more love overseas. Musical “Mamma Mia!,” with a cast led by Streep, grossed $144.1 million domestically and a massive $465.7 million overseas. (Pic is Streep’s top grosser at the domestic B.O.).
Romantic comedies have long been a studio staple domestically, but even the more successful ones usually generate grosses in the $100 million-$130 million range. Roberts’ “Pretty Woman” scored a bit higher, with an estimated $178.4 million domestically.
Bullock had an exceptionally successful year — except for the little-seen “All About Steve” — with another box office hit in “The Proposal.” Bullock starred opposite Ryan Reynolds in the romantic comedy, which grossed $164 million domestically.
“And we’re not even done. I think ‘Blind Side’ has another $30 million left,” Fellman said.
In all, Bullock’s films have grossed north of $1.72 billion domestically. That compares with $2.31 billion for Roberts, $1.54 billion for Streep and $1.44 billion for Jolie. Any way you look at it, it’s not bad company.
[From Variety]
It’s kind of startling to hear that neither Angelina nor Julia have gotten to the $200 million domestic mark in their own star-driven films, but that just goes to show you what huge international stars Julia and Angelina are – most of the money their films make comes from overseas box offices. I think producers of The Blind Side are so happy with the domestic haul for the film because a film driven by an American football story line won’t really resonate overseas, considering American football is mostly popular in America, not other countries. Which might be another factor in Bullock’s probably Oscar nomination and win – she’s America’s sweetheart, she’s starring in a movie about America’s favorite sport, and the majority of Academy voters are American. In any case, well done Sandra!
Sandra Bullock in promotional images from ‘The Blind Side’ courtesy of WENN.
Written by Kaiser
Posted in Awards, Money, Oscars, Sandra Bullock
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38 Responses to “Sandra Bullock is better than Julia Roberts & Angelina Jolie”
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I totally agree! Sandra is better than Angelina and Julia (and I really like Julia!), and she deserves it, IMO. Definitely her year.
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While I liked the movie, Erin Brockovitch, & Roberts was good in it. I have never thought it was an Oscar worth performance.
I like Bullock, better than Roberts, as she seems like a geniunely nice person. If she is nominated then good for her and I hope she wins. There hasn’t really been that many excellent female roles from last year.
I don’t understand how the acacdemy decides. Renee Zellweger was amazing, as was Russell Crowe, in Cinderella Man & neither were even nominated. Some awards are a given.
An example would be Tom Hanks in Philadelphia, or most Meryl Streep roles. Then you have situations when excellent movies like 25th hour and Gran Torino walk away without mention.
The awards are an anthema but the fashion is worth the watch!
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I just can’t watch the oscars anymore, since they no longer actually reflect excellence in movies. It’s become too much of a pulpit for political garbage and stopped being about movies a long time ago.
All that being said, I love Bullock. I think she does deserve an oscar, although I have not seen The Blind Side yet. However, her body of work certainly warrants one.
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All I can say is good for her. I like her. She’s come a long way and paid her dues. It’s great to see someone like her having so much success.
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Just wish she wouldn´t become a botoxed version of her youngself…
too late tho!
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I doubt she cares much. she seems like a genuine person with a realistic perspective on life and Hollywood. I’m sure she knows the Oscars are a pathetic joke by now.
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The Blind Side was a fantastic book and I can’t wait to get back to the city so I can see it in the theatres. Who doesn’t love Sandy?
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snappyfish, I TOTALLY agree about Gran Torino.
I only just saw it and cannot believe that Clint was not nominated for actor or director.
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yes, Sandra kicks ass!! LOVE HER!!
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Ain’t that the truth – no contest, acting-wise! Julia and Angelina are themselves perpetually – and they’re boring. If you can’t believe the character then the movie sucks. With Bullock you can get lost in a movie – can’t say the same about the other two.
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lets see Jolie and Roberts are Oscar winner, something Sandy will never be, suck on that
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@Snappyfish and Praise St Angie – Gran Torino was one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. Really surprised Clint wasn’t given some love for that, he was amazing in it. So was the entire cast. Really great movie that stuck in my head for weeks after seeing it.
I saw the Blind Side and absolutely loved it. Sandra Bullock was really good in it, she inhabited the role and when you’re playing a real person who is still living it must be tricky to hit the right note. You know who stole the show though? Tim McGraw. Barely physically recognizable and did a great job.
@SammyHamm – totally agree about it not being about excellence in movies. I still love to see the red carpet attire though.
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I might actually watch some of the Oscars if Sandra is nominated. I think she would be a very gracious winner as compared to the annoying Julia Roberts. Julia’s acceptance speech was totally cringeworthy, imo.
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If she doesn’t get an award, she can console herself with being proud of her hugely successful movies and money in the bank. The awards are nice, yet many winners disappear afterward. She won’t disappear with or without an award.
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Right on Kaye! I could at least stand Angelina over Julia any day, however. But Sandra Bullock is a case of nice girls win in the end!
Loved The Proposal and The Blind Side last year, but pretend you didn’t see All About Steve (except for the fabulous Thomas Haden Church, total hunka-munka!)!
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@Snappyfish- Gran Torino is one of my favorite movies. Such a shame it was all but forgotten. Loved everyone in the film. I have watched it again and again.
If there are people who haven’t seen it- SEE IT!
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The only way an article like this is useful, is if dollar amounts are adjusted for inflation. Weren’t ticket prices half of what they are now when Pretty Woman was made?
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She really deserves a juicy part to show her acting skills. I love Sandra and feel she’s been really underrated for a long time. Her time has come. Good luck Sandra! You are awesome!
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actually, no it more expensive to go to the movies now
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I’ve always like Sandra, but with the exception of Crash, never saw her as an award type actress. It’s great that she is moving into that circle, and I’m very happy to see her have so much success. I think she’s a solid actress, and I very much like how despite her high profile career, she’s kept her private life her own, and has never really played the whole celebrity game. She’s seems down to earth and quietly very generous. She’s someone I could see sitting down to lunch with and having fun. Can’t say I feel the same about either Julia or Angelina. Angelina’s a decent actress, and Julia’s OK at times, but with both of them, it seems like their celebrity has greatly overshadowed their work. Both of them also strike me as a bit pretentious, something Sandra never has.
For some reason, I couldn’t get into Gran Torino, and I usually love Clint as a director. I’ll have to try it again someday.
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For some reason Juila Roberts bugs the heck out of me. She seems WAAYY to impressed with herself, and her behavior at times has been terrible.
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Sandra seems to have one of those faces that stay the same and thereby makes her look younger as she gets older. I’ve never seen her as the Oscar type of actress but she is just so likable. Maybe it’s because she stays so private and comes across as down-to-earth when she does give an interview to promote her movie. She’s a true movie star.
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I like Sandra, but I’d vote for Meryl Streep! She is long overdue for another Oscar.
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Loved Sandy in Blind Side and Gran Torino rocked also, both good movies about crossing the racial divide and getting along. Wish that was happening more in the world..sigh
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@Lucy2- You must give it another try (Gran Torino).
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I’d really like to see what Sandra Bullock would say in an acceptance speech at this point in her career. She can be pretty charming and funny on talk shows…
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Glad to see her do so well and I think she does have a good chance to get the Oscar. I know everyone has been fawning over Carey Mulligan and ‘An Education’ but I really did not see how great she was in that, it was a boring story told british style. And I think that may well hamper her chances. Your right, the Blind Side is so American, with it’s story and all. I think she may be the underdog winner in the end.
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Yea, she is!
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Oyez! Oyez!
Love her, and I’m happy that women are taking over a little bit.
American movie culture is too focused on male-dominated scenarios… those fuckers.
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I love Sandra Bullock. She reminds me of my mom.
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well of course Sandy is better than Julia and Angelina, like duh, totaly no a no brainer, Sandy is an actual actress not a celebrity.
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well of course Sandy is better than Angelina and Julia, duh, Sandy is an actual actress, not a celebrity.
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The Blind Side was an AWESOME movie. Sandy fully embodied the powerhouse woman role like Julia Roberts did in Erin Brockovich. It was an in-your-face performance and I hope she wins the Oscar. She is up against Precious though so it’s going to be a tough race. Keeping my fingers crossed though. Adoption is getting spotlighted. Finally!
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Well, as ‘bite me’ pointed out Sandy doesn’t have an Oscar like the other two but his claim she never will is about as ignorant as it get’s. Being that she just won the Golden Globe for Blindside I would say her Oscar is not far behind.
And while Mo’nique is killin it with her performance in Precious, the movie itself hasn’t really been taking any awards and Mo’nique and Sandy are nominated in different categories so I don’t think Precious will keep Sandy from anything this year.
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Julia who?????? YOU GO SANDY!!!!!!
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While if you ask me I will say they both are amazing so people shouldn’t judge anyone.
GOODLUCK!
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I WILL LIKE TO SAY GOODLUKE TO ALL THE ARTRESS IN HOLYWOOD.
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SALT WAS A THE MOST AMAZING MOVIE I’VE WATCHED SO KEEP IT UP ANGELINA JOLIE.
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