Peter and I are grateful to the emailer who pointed out that Brokeback Mountain was, in fact, the highest grossing of last year’s Oscar nominees, with around $83 million in box office takings. Peter, who is under the weather, had confused BM with the Oscar winner, Crash (which earned about $54 million).

Peter adds:

Glad to own up and correct the figure, but it’s still a similar strategy. Brokeback supporters constantly pointed to its highish profit margin, its high per theater grosses, and its high gross in comparison to other 2005 Oscar contenders, while detractors pointed to the fact that its overall grosses are far from stunning, especially in an era where films can be considered a dissapointment for making $110 or $120m.

Brokeback Mountain, by the way, earned about $110,000 per screen in its opening.