Conventional industry wisdom now holds that Waltz with Bashir is going to walk away with Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

That's great news for Sony Pictures Classics considering that the film has yet to cross even $500,000 domestically during its three weeks of release.

Nothing serves as a stronger selling point for foreign flicks than Oscar validation. Bashir is still a tough sell because of its experimental nature. Realistically it could hit as much as $3 million before the end of its theatrical run. It will find a better home on DVD and HBO, and that's not meant as insult in this instance.

One of this year's foreign flicks that could have posted the strongest box office return in America would have been Gomorrah. Unfortunately, the Italian mob flick is not included among the nine films still in contention for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Another way that a foreign film can find an American audience is through the endorsement of a famous American director, and Gomorrah landed a big one: Martin Scorsese. When it hits America on February 13, the film will boast a the words "Martin Scorsese Presents" in front of its title.