There appears to be a growing disconnect between Hollywood and paying moviegoers.
It’s due partly to the Hollywood celebrities who insult half the nation with their aggressive political preaching — and to an elitism within the industry itself in terms of recognizing quality entertainment.
The Academy Awards, for instance, are supposed to celebrate the best products of the film industry each year. Yet more and more films seem to be nominated that few actual paying consumers have seen.
As with the recently announced nominations, the Academy Awards snubbed many popular films — yet deemed worthy films that few people have seen. Clint Eastwood’s big return to the cinematic screens in “The Mule,” for example, was snubbed with zero nominations — despite it’s continuing to be a major contender at the box office.
The much-celebrated and much- loved Mr. Rogers documentary from last summer was also snubbed.
Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo took to the streets of Washington, D.C., this week to talk to everyday folks about the recently nominated films in a segment for Wednesday night’s “The Ingraham Angle.”
His goal was to see how many people actually have seen the most recent Best Picture nominees.
The nominated films, by the way, are: “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “The Favourite,” “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “Green Book,” “Vice” (Christian Bale as Dick Cheney pictured above left), “A Star Is Born,” and “Roma” (star Yalitza Aparicio above right).
“These films used to bring people together,” Arroyo said Wednesday night about historic Best Picture nominees.
What he discovered about the latest crop of movies is that almost nobody has seen most of them.
He found one person who said she “might have” seen “Green Book.” She couldn’t really remember. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
The one film that people did seem excited about was Marvel’s “Black Panther.” Arroyo found four people who endorsed that movie for Best Picture.
“I love the way Africans were portrayed,” said one woman of the film. “Black Panther” takes place in Africa.
“Black Panther is clearly the one most people saw,” Arroyo said at the end of his segment.
Of the films nominated, only three can be counted as breakthrough hits. “Black Panther” earned over $700 million domestically; “A Star Is Born” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” each have earned over $200 million.
Among the rest of the movies, the highest earner is “BlacKkKlansman,” which earned more than $48 million over the summer.
“Vice” and “Green Book” each have earned around $40 million. “Roma,” for its part, was released through Netflix.
Check out the Best Picture segment from “The Ingraham Angle” below:
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