OSCAR NODS PROVIDE BOX-OFFICE LIFT.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

With or without its 11 Academy Award nominations, New Line Cinema's ``The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' would be on its way to box office immortality with a domestic gross to date of $338.3 million. But a host of other less-popular movies will have a second shot with audiences after receiving key Oscar nominations Tuesday.

Twentieth Century Fox will expand Best Picture nominee ``Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' on Friday from a mere 235 screens to more than 1,100. The film had stalled at $85.2 million but has 10 Oscar nominations to propel it back to life.

``I think there is a lot of audience still to go,'' said Bruce Snyder, Fox's president of distribution. ``(The nominations) validate the epic quality of the movie.''

Box office analyst Robert Bucksbaum, president of ReelSource.com, said a Best Picture nominee can enjoy an additional 15 percent to 20 percent bump in grosses after nominations are announced.

Best Picture nominee ``Mystic River,'' also nominated in five other categories, had peaked at just under $60 million in grosses. But Warner Bros. widened the film's release Friday from 133 locations to 1,327 theaters and it returned to the top 10.

In contrast, Miramax Films' ``Cold Mountain'' is no longer a shoo-in to cross the $100 million mark after missing out on a Best Picture nod. The film has earned $72.5 million to date and scored nominations for Jude Law (Best Actor) and Renee Zellweger (Best Supporting Actress) but acting nods don't typically give as much bounce to a film as a Best Picture nomination.

Still, acting nominations can provide much-needed exposure for lower profile films that have yet to find a wide audience. The best example this year is Charlize Theron's Best Actress nomination for ``Monster,'' a film that has taken in just $6 million so far in limited release.

``No one had ever heard of this movie until they saw her getting the Golden Globe award (Sunday),'' Bucksbaum said. ``After that, I saw a substantial increase in revenue in all the theaters across the country. It stands to gain the most.''

Similarly, twin acting nominations for Fox Searchlight's ``In America,'' DreamWorks' ``House of Sand and Fog'' and Focus' ``21 Grams'' shines new attention upon this trio of critically-acclaimed movies.

``House'' earned a Best Actor nomination for Ben Kingsley and a Best Supporting Actress nod for Shohreh Aghdashloo and has made just $10.2 million so far. ``America'' has a bit less ($9 million) in the till but should be boosted by Best Actress nominee Samantha Morton and Best Supporting Actor contender Djimon Hounsou. ``Grams'' can now claim Best Actress hopeful Naomi Watts and Best Supporting Actor contender Benicio Del Toro to add to that film's $12.1 million gross. Other performances recognized in smaller moneymakers include Alec Baldwin's Best Supporting Actor nod for his performance in Lions Gate's ``The Cooler.'' That could help add to the film's $5 million total while Patricia Clarkson's Best Supporting Actress nomination heightens the awareness for the low-profile ``Pieces of April'' ($2.4 million).

Another little-seen film that can expect a boost is ``City of God,'' which earned a surprising four Oscar nods including one for director Fernando Meirelles. The Miramax release has grossed just $4.8 million to date and was down to a mere four theaters last weekend. Miramax spokesman Paul Pflug said ``City'' will expand into 100 additional theaters nationwide Friday followed by 150 more locations the week after.

``This is a film that (Miramax Chairman) Harvey Weinstein has really been passionate about since he released it 54 weeks ago,'' Pflug said. ``With the Academy (of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences) giving it deserved attention, we hope consumers will be inspired to take a look at the film.''

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com