Checking in with the Critics as we Head into Critics Week

There have been a couple of surprising turns so far, namely that The Imitation Game hasn’t landed as expected with critics. There are just a few films, in fact, that the critics have loved. This is sometimes the danger of writing the ending of the Oscar race a few months back. Critics still DO MATTER in some respects, even though they don’t really drive the target demographic for box office. They do drive perception in the awards race. Great reviews much of the time mean voters might be more inclined to see the film. This isn’t going to be a problem for the Imitation Game, as it’s being handled by the Weinstein Co so you can bet voters will be seeing it. But, as was pointed out by Greg Ellwood on Twitter, the film isn’t on the same level as the King’s Speech where critics are concerned.

Generally speaking, a Best Picture winner will be very well reviewed, loved by all, not hated in the slightest. It will be made for a small amount of money, generally speaking, and earn a goodly amount. Most Best Picture winners are made for roughly $20 million and then make more than $50. They don’t care about box office but they do care about very costly movies that don’t make money. These days, box office doesn’t matter that much and I’m going to guess we’re headed into a phase where critics don’t matter much either. But we’re not there yet.

So how is it shaping out with the shrinking pile of Oscar movies this year?

Boyhood
Metacritic: 100%, 49 reviews counted, zero negative
Rotten Tomatoes: 99% 209 reviews counted/2 negative
Critics Choice (BFCA.org) 96/100

Birdman
Metacritic: 89%, 45 reviews counted, two negative, 3 mixed
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% 163 reviews counted, 10 negative
Critics Choice (BFCA.org) 91/100

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Metacritic: 88%, 48 reviews counted, 4 mixed, zero negative
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%, 227 reviews counted, 19 negative
BFCA: 87%

Whiplash
Metacritic: 87%, 43 reviews counted, 1 mixed, zero negative
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%, 175 reviews counted, 7 negative
BFCA: 93/100

Foxcatcher
Metacritic: 82%, 38 reviews counted, 4 mixed, zero negative
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%, 139 reviews counted, 20 negative
BFCA: 90/100

Gone Girl
Metacritic: 79%, 49 reviews counted, 10 mixed, zero negative
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%, 248 reviews counted, 30 negative
BFCA: 90/100

Interstellar
Metacritic: 74%, 46 reviews counted, 10 mixed, 1 negative
Rotten Tomatoes: 73%, 253 reviews counted, 69 negative
BFCA: 80/100

The Theory of Everything
Metacritic: 72%, 45 reviews counted, 11 mixed
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%, 140 reviews counted, 24 negative
BFCA: 88/100

The Imitation Game
Metacritic: 71%, 31 reviews counted, 9 mixed
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%, 91 reviews counted, 14 negative
BFCA: 91/100

It’s way too soon to measure box office but we already know that Gone Girl is the champ now but will likely be overtaken by Interstellar. The others are still in limited release so it’s not applicable to compare them with mainstream films except to say that it’s always a good thing when “Oscar movies” are crossover movies for all to enjoy. After all, movies aren’t made for a small handful of people or even for Oscar voters. They’re made for people.

That also makes me wonder about the Oscar race itself, and why some movies get into the box and others don’t. Some films have better reviews than the favorites – like Obvious Child, for instance, or Love is Strange, but neither is being talked about for Best Picture. We’re trying to be “right” but in so doing we’re trusting how films played festivals, not how they’re playing with critics.

Many pundits rely on what Academy voters are talking about but no one knows if that will pay off or not. Basically we’re looking at an extremely wide open race where almost anything can happen.

Meanwhile, the movies that are also in the race but haven’t been widely reviews yet are looking good:

Selma – 98 on Metactic with only 5 reviews
Top Five – 93 with only 5 reviews
A Most Violent Year – 86 with 9 reviews
Inherent Vice – 84 with 12 reviews