'Crash' Wins Oscar Poll, But Many Say 'None of the Above'

ByABC News
February 28, 2006, 6:32 PM

Feb. 28, 2005 — -- "Crash" breaks through as the public's top Oscar choice this year, but the real winner in a list of box-office laggards is no choice at all.

Twenty-two percent in this ABC News poll pick "Crash" for the Best Picture statuette, with "Brokeback Mountain" in second place at 15 percent. But -- unusually -- the biggest group, 34 percent, has no opinion on which flick should win.

That's what happens when the nominees all rank 29th or lower on the year's list for gross box office receipts: A lot of people just haven't seen them. "No opinion" on the Oscar pick is 10 or more points higher this year than in recent years, when nominees included blockbusters such as "Lord of the Rings" and "Gladiator."

As things stand, "Brokeback" is closely pursued by "Munich" (11 percent) and "Good Night, and Good Luck" (11 percent) and "Capote" (8 percent).

Hollywood ticket sales were down for a third-straight year in 2005, and this year's nominees, in particular, seem to be more about art than money. The top grosser on the list, "Brokeback," ranks only 29th for domestic ticket sales; "Crash" ranks 49th; "Capote" is 104th. Indeed the box office gross for all five nominees combined would only rank fifth on the year's list of top-grossing films.

The disconnect between Academy members who selected the nominees and the movie-going public looks to do with the age-old conflict between reality and escapism. The Best Picture nominees all deal with "real life" situations, while the top movies at the domestic box office are sci-fi adventures, including "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" ($380 million), "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" ($289 million), "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" ($288 million), "War of the Worlds" ($234 million), and "King Kong" ($217 million).

In comparison, "Brokeback Mountain," the top earner among this year's nominees, has brought in $75 million, followed by "Crash" with $53 million.