By Phil Contrino

There's a reason that distributors campaign so ruthlessly for Oscar nominations. The prestige is nice, but it really comes down to the fact that Oscar attention = money. Just look at what The King's Speech did last year: $59 million before nominations were announced and another $80 million after.

Here's our look at the films that stand to benefit the most from the attention.

The Artist

How do you get casual moviegoers to show up for a 101-minute long love letter to the silent era that's full of references only film obsessives pick up on? That's easy: become the frontrunner for Best Picture and Best Director. Harvey Weinstein's team is bolstering The Artist's potential in every way possible by running a well-oiled awards campaign. Will The Artist come anywhere near the $139 million domestic haul of 2010's The King Speech? Of course not, but anything over $35 million domestically—an entirely realistic goal at this point—should be seen as a massive victory for The Weinstein Company.

Domestic gross before nominations: $12,119,718* (*As of 1/22. Monday, 1/23's gross will be factored in when it's available later today)

The Descendants

Fox Searchlight expertly guided this moving drama past the $50 million domestic plateau without rolling it out to more than 1,000 locations. That's a triumph made possible by great word-of-mouth and glowing reviews. With more locations on the way, a Best Pic nod and George Clooney's status as the Best Actor frontrunner could help add at least another $20 million to the theatrical haul.

Domestic gross before nominations: $51,453,007

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

We understand that a lot of moviegoers like to bury their heads in the sand when it comes to 9/11—just look at the grosses for United 93 and Reign Over Me—but that will be harder to do now that this touching, inspirational look at the aftermath of that tragedy has snagged a Best Picture nomination. Expect this Warner Bros. release to rebound after last weekend's underwhelming $10 million wide debut.

Domestic gross before nominations: $11,431,452

The Iron Lady

The Best Actress race is a close one between The Iron Lady's Meryl Streep and The Help's Viola Davis. If enough moviegoers latch on to the notion that Streep is going to win her second Best Actress trophy—the first came in 1980 for Kramer vs. Kramer—then this otherwise maligned film could experience a nice surge at the box office.

Domestic gross before nominations: $12,585,958*

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Remember all those great Gary Oldman performances? Well, none of them were viewed as strong enough to snag an Oscar nod. Mainstream audiences have tons of respect for Oldman, and they'll be happy to finally hear that he's being recognized by the Academy. By extension, TTSS becomes more of a must-see.

Domestic gross before nominations: $18,483,575

A Separation

The critical community has been raving about this perfectly-executed Iranian drama for so long that it's easy to forget that most of North America hasn't even had a chance to see it yet—the Sony Pictures Classics release is currently playing at only 13 locations. A surprise nomination for Best Original Screenplay adds a great deal of momentum to a film that is already a lock for the Best Foreign Film trophy. Expect this one to do quite well on the arthouse circuit.

Domestic gross before nominations: $541,041*

Best Picture:

War Horse
The Artist
Moneyball
The Descendants
Tree of Life
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Hugo
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Best Actress
Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
Viola Davis (The Help)
Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)

Best Actor
Demian Bichir (A Better Life)
George Clooney (The Descendants)
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)
Brad Pitt (Moneyball)

Best Director
Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
Terence Malick (Tree of Life)
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo (The Artist)
Jessica Chastain (The Help)
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn)
Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
Nick Nolte (Warrior)
Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants
Hugo
The Ides of March
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Original Screenplay
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
Midnight In Paris
A Seperation

Best Animated Film
A Cat In Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss In Boots
Rango

Best Foreign Feature
Bullhead
Footnote
In Darkness
Monsier Lazhar
In Separation

Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Sound Mixing
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Original Score
The Adventures of Tintin (John Williams)
The Artist (Ludovic Bource)
Hugo (Howard Shore)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Alberto Iglesias)
War Horse (John Williams)

Original Song
"Man or Muppet'' from The Muppets (Bret McKenzie)
"Real in Rio'' from Rio (Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett)

Costume
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

Documentary (short subject)
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Film Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball

Makeup
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The Iron Lady

Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Live Action Short Film
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon