There were 496 US movie releases, grossing $7.4 billion last year. "Maverick" accounted for nearly 10% of that, but it stands no chance to win best picture. In contrast, the frontrunner, "Everything Everywhere All at Once" grossed about 1% of the year's total. All alone, these statistics have no significance. But as an exemplar of a trend they do. The red line of the associated chart shows follows the critical acclaim over time afforded the Best Picture Winner at the Academy