Oscars pit gravitas of 'Slave' against pull of 'Gravity'

A man dressed as the character Spiderman greets visitors taking pictures of the preparations for the 86th Academy Awards in front of the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California February 26, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

IT'S TIME?

"American Hustle" and "Gravity" lead nominations with 10 nods a piece, followed by "12 Years a Slave" with nine. But if the best picture award were decided at the box office, "Gravity" from Warner Bros. and Mexican director Alfonso Guaron would be the winner. 

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to present at the Oscars

Most Americans have yet to watch any best-picture Oscar nominee: poll

The outer-space thriller starring Sandra Bullock, for which Cuaron pushed the technical and visual effects boundaries, has brought in $270 million in North America and $703 million worldwide. That's nearly as much as the $780 million earned collectively by the nine best picture nominees in the US and Canada. For his feats, Cuaron is favored to win best director.

"12 Years a Slave," in comparison, has pulled in $49 million at the domestic box office, a respectable figure for a hard-to-watch picture that features bloody whippings, lynchings and evil slave masters.

Even the studio feared members of the Academy might skip it, compelling Fox Searchlight Pictures to goad them into seeing the film with ads during the Feb 12-25 voting period showing slaves embraced with the tagline "It's time." Some Oscar watchers said the ambiguous phrase could also be seen as shaming voters.

The voting system for best picture also complicates the fortunes of the slave drama. It is a so-called preferential ballot in which members rank their top films rather than vote for just one and the consensus can emerge from films that are many people's second or third choices.

But if history is a lesson, the Academy voters should go for the more serious subject matter.

"They generally are not looking to just reward the most fun movie, they are looking to reward the movie that has something meaningful to say," said Feinberg.

"And if that is the case this year, the winner would clearly be '12 Years a Slave.'"

The Academy would also make its own history with that choice: "12 Years a Slave" would be the first best picture from a black director in 86 years of awards.