We had one film release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.

The Nice Guys

Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling star in this stylish period thriller about a hit man who teams up with a bumbling PI to help locating a missing woman. It’s also a comedy, giving both actors a rare vehicle to showcase their talents.

Critics have been universally positive about director Shane Black’s 1970s-set crime caper, though audiences gave it a very weak “B-” at Cinemascore. When audiences and critics diverge, it’s up to Oscar voters to decide if the box office is sufficient for a film to be considered.

For a movie like The Nice Guys, opening in May isn’t productive. There are too many more prominent films to be released afterwards to give it much of an edge with Oscar voters. It’s primary hopes lie in Original Screenplay, acting, Production Design and Costume Design, all of which will be very competitive come the end of the year.

Here’s where the box office would have helped. With a strong performance with audiences, the film had a stronger likelihood of staying power. At this point, that does not seem likely, which means we won’t have to keep track of this film when our nomination selections are later made. However, surprises do happen and no one thought Inherent Vice would do as well as it did, but that film had more going for it and a later release to help. This one does not.