Each year, YouTube offers a ranking of the annual Best Picture nominees based on the views their respective trailers have received. This year’s Oscar hopefuls all reeled in millions of hits on the world’s top video site, but it was Dunkirk that topped the bunch. The trailer for Christopher Nolan‘s war flick has received close to 44 million YouTube views to date, nearly 50% more than any other Best Picture contender:
- Dunkirk 43.9M
- Get Out 29.9M
- The Shape of Water 18.2M
- The Post 17.3M
- Lady Bird 11.5M
- Phantom Thread 9.7M
- Call Me By Your Name 7.9M
- Darkest Hour 6.0M
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 5.2M
As it shared its data related to Best Picture nominee trailer views, YouTube made a point to link those views to box office performance. Dunkirk, which topped the list, also grossed more money at the box office than any of the other nominees, earning a whopping $525 million. Get Out, second in the trailer rankings, was also a box office smash, taking in $255 million on top of a budget of just $4.5 million.
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YouTube, in a blog post, was quick to point out that the link between YouTube viewership and movie ticket sales is no coincidence. Citing an Ipsos study, it noted that 78% of surveyed YouTube users said watching movie and TV trailers helps inform their viewing decision.
One thing trailer views don’t necessarily predict is the actual Best Picture. Last year’s Oscar winner, Moonlight, had the second-fewest trailer views among nominees. The year before that, Spotlight was last in trailer views but first in Best Picture trophies. This year, a similar phenomenon is possible: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, at the bottom of YouTube’s list, is considered one of the Best Picture frontrunners.
