In 1944, the year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences settled on five best picture nominees (replacing 10, which replaced 12, which replaced seven, which replaced five), the year's biggest box office hit, Going My Way, starring Bing Crosby, won the Oscar for best picture. The Academy's picture was also the people's picture.
That perfect storm has happened roughly 14 times since -- most recently in 2003 with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King...
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