The 15 current Oscar-nominated films that have been seen the least

Some film had to be the most seen of the least seen, and that “honor” goes to “Isle of Dogs.” Wes Anderson is a well-known and beloved director, and a decent amount of people saw his stop-motion animation tale of dogs living on a trash island. However, it made just over $32 million in box office, which is less than the Jennifer Garner “Peppermint” movie you forgot existed until this moment.

For a Yorgos Lathimos film, “The Favourite” is pretty well-viewed. It’s slightly more palatable to a wide audience than “Dogtooth” or “The Lobster.” That being said, relative to the litany of nominations it has received, including Best Picture and Best Director, the fact it’s barely in the top 100 films of the year is notable.

“Mary, Queen of Scots” didn’t get as much award love as its fellow costume drama “The Favourite,” but it still has a couple of nominations, including Best Makeup and Hairstyling. That’s the exact kind of award a film like this can win, even if couldn’t crack the top 100 films in terms of box office.

Barry Jenkins isn’t going to win Best Picture for his follow up to “Moonlight,” but people who have seen the film are still singing its praises. “Moonlight” was also extremely lightly seen for a Best Picture winner, and “If Beale Street Could Talk” hasn’t been racking up the cash either. It got dwarfed by “Mortal Engines,” that weird movie about the moving cities, for example.

If you’ve been hearing talk about seldom-seen movies up for an Oscar, you’ve probably heard about “The Wife.” After Glenn Close, who doesn’t have an Oscar yet, won a Golden Globe for this film, it spawned a series of jokes about how nobody has seen “The Wife.” It’s box office, a little over $8.5 million, speaks to that, and it feels like this is a movie maybe nobody under the age of 50 has seen.

Melissa McCarthy got the rare Oscar nomination for a comedy role in “Bridesmaids,” and this year she has gotten another nod thanks to this dramatic role. Her co-star Richard E. Grant also got nominated. And yet this movie with two acting nominees has made less money than even “The Wife.”

Ethan Hawke didn’t get a nomination like some hoped, but Paul Schrader got a nod for his script for “First Reformed.” However, this movie made less than “Gotti,” although a lot of those “Gotti” viewings may have been ironic. “First Reformed” finished 175th in domestic box office. Interestingly, the 176th-ranked movie? That would be “Juliet, Naked,” which also starred Ethan Hawke.

Ethan Hawke’s spot may have gone to Willem Dafoe for “At Eternity’s Gate.” The iconic actor’s portrayal of Vincent Van Gogh didn’t rake in the dough, though. It barely cracked the top 200, even losing out to a re-release of “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

This is one you can be forgiven for not having even heard of. “Border” got its nomination for makeup, and most of us will have to take the Academy’s word on it. We’re now talking movies that have made less than a million bucks in domestic box office.

It’s not unusual for a Beat Foreign Film nominee to not be seen all that much. “Cold War” is a special case, though. Pawel Pawlikowski is also up for Best Director, and for a film up for that category this is a rarely-seen one. “Cold War” is right behind “Border” in the box office rankings.

This is a great year for the Best Animated Feature. We’ve got two superhero films, “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” and even Wes Anderson’s “Isle of Dogs.” Then there’s “Mirai,” an anime film that barely made over $700,000 despite being shown in 780 theaters. That’s not to say it isn’t good. It’s just that you probably didn’t even know it existed, and it pales in comparison to its fellow nominees.

We’re putting an asterisk on this one because “Never Look Away” has only just gotten an American release. However, we still wanted to include it because in addition to its Foreign Film nomination, it’s up for Best Cinematography. That cinematographer, by the way? Caleb Deschanel, father of Zooey and Emily.

We don’t want to pick on the foreign films, and plenty of people have seen “Roma” thanks to Netflix, but we had to include Lebanon’s “Capernaum.” It’s made just over $300,000, which isn’t even in the top 350 of the year. Maybe you should seek it out, though. Support Lebanese film.

Documentaries have had a good year, and plenty of people have seen the likes of “RBG” and “Free Solo,” plus the unnominated Mr. Rogers documentary. Then there’s “Minding the Gap,” which has barely been seen. It made only $12,000 in the box office but also only appeared on five screens across the country.

Lastly, there’s “Of Fathers and Sons.” We are pretty sure this is the least-seen film of the bunch. We’re talking about a movie that made less than eight grand on six screens. If you saw “Of Fathers and Sons” in theaters, you are in rare company. However, always remember that money does not equal quality. People may have loved “Black Panther,” but remember that the mediocre “Jurassic World” sequel made over $400 million.