"Lust, Caution," "Into the Wild" and "Jesse James" did well among ticket-buyers over the past few days. That's the assessment of Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com, who gives Gold Derby readers his views of how major Oscar ponies performed this weekend. His comments are below, with one movie noticeably skipped. Gitesh can't comment on "Darjeeling Limited" because he's got a biz tie-in, but I can tell you it did socko in limited release: $140,000 from two theaters. Now here's what Gitesh thinks about how the others did:

"Lust, Caution" — Ang Lee's followup to "Brokeback Mountain" had a scorching debut this weekend from 3 screens at one theater in New York. The NC-17 rating plus the director’s name are making for a lethal combo that has generated lots of buzz. I think it's got a bright future in the weeks ahead as it expands.

"King of California" — This film has been struggling in limited release and averaged less than $2,000 over the weekend, which means it will have a tough time competing with the big boys in October.

"Into the Wild" — It's expanding very well and is getting rid of the bad taste that Sean Penn fans had after "All the King's Men" from last fall. Art-house films often lose a lot of steam when expanding beyond New York and Los Angeles, but "Wild" is holding its own and did very well in its second weekend.

"Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" — The Brad Pitt pic has displayed some nice firepower in limited release and enjoyed a decent second weekend hold, dropping 38 percent. It still will not be an easy sell in wide release, though.

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Uh-oh! Looks like the Film Snob Moonies have kidnapped Jeffrey Wells over at Hollywood-Elsewhere.com and put a hex on him. Normally, he's gung-ho to start dishing the Oscar derby early, but he just issued a scary pronunciamento: "October and November should be set aside as ignore-the-Academy months." (READ MORE)

Secret note to Jeff: Film Snob Moonies are just like those zombies in "Night of the Living Dead." Sure, they're terrifying and can infect you, but they're not invincible. Nail 'em between the eyes, kiddo, and make a run for it!

"Fi-lm," as we all know and the snobs stress, is a two-syllable word for a rarified religion only understood by an anointed few. Film Snobs are the faith's high priests and they have two reasons to live: 1.) to worship movies like Mithra and 2.) to take all of the fun out of movies.

No one -- and that includes you, me and Jeff -- is permitted to smile or enjoy himself in church, do you understand? While High Mass is going on, any boy caught secretly checking his Blackberry to find out which ponies are leading the pack out at Belmont must be flogged. In order to save his mortal soul.

The tyranny of Film Snobs is the scourge of the movie biz. Always has been, especially among academics and critics who want to turn all discussion into a collegiate Henry James seminar, just to prove how smart they are, or else into a holy creed that they can dole out from mountaintops.

Actually, there are two kinds of Film Snobs. One group considers the Oscar a golden chalice, which they valiantly struggle to protect from infidels. The other snobs pooh-pooh the Oscar as a fake god, a mere gold-plated statuette, which it is, and thus a perfect metaphor for Hollywood.

Both groups share the same view of what should be done about Oscar nominations: delay attention to them until the last possible moment because they're either too holy or too ridiculous. Take your pick. Just, please, look the other way!

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The Oscars only permit one nomination per person in the acting categories, which is a gyp considering that rule doesn't apply to the writing or directing races. But stars can be nommed for separate performances in lead and supporting and quite a few of them could pull that off this year, including Tommy Lee Jones ("In the Valley of Elah," "No Country for Old Men"), Javier Bardem ("Love in the Time of Cholera," "No Country for Old Men"), Cate Blanchett ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age," "I'm Not There") and Russell Crowe ("3:10 to Yuma," "American Gangster").

Many stars have scored that dual achievement in the past. Below are four who did, one who did not. Which one of these examples is false?

1.) Jessica Lange, "Frances" (lead), "Tootsie" (supporting) in 1982.

2.) Theresa Wright, "Pride of the Yankees" (lead), "Mrs. Miniver" (supporting) in 1942.

3.) Warren Beatty, "Heaven Can Wait" (lead), "The Fortune" (supporting) in 1978.

4.) Holly Hunter, "The Piano" (lead), "The Firm" (supporting) in 1993.

5.) Sigourney Weaver, "Gorillas in the Mist" (lead), "Working Girl" (supporting) in 1988.

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Given the enthusiastic response "Atonement" is receiving at early screenings, it's clear that it isn't one of those literary adaptations with high Oscar promise and low results like Reese Witherspoon's "Vanity Fair" three years ago. So the next question is: Will it turn out to be the next "English Patient," which scored 9 Oscars from its 12 noms, including best picture, director (Anthony Minghella) and supporting actress (Juliette Binoche)? Or will it be one of those near misses like "Wings of the Dove," which earned four noms and no wins? The highest nom "Wings" reaped was best actress for Helena Bonham Carter, who won that same prize from the L.A. Film Critics Association and National Board of Review. "Wings" wasn't nominated for best pic at the Oscars or Golden Globes, but was at the Critics Choice Awards.

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(Universal Pictures)

Some Oscar smackdowns will never end! Example: Did "Shakespeare in Love" or "Saving Private Ryan" deserve to win best pic of 1998? Go 'head and pitch your tomatoes at me — I say Oscar voters got it right with "Shakespeare"! Take that! Ha!

I don't feel so strongly about voters picking Marisa Tomei ("My Counsin Vinny") as best supporting actress of 1992, old news that's triggering another fight in our forums today.

Tomei's victory was a surprise for two reasons: it honored an outrageously comedic role and an outrageously crass and foul-mouthed role.

Some Oscarologists credit her win to outrageous patriotism. Tomei was the only Yankee in the category that also included Miranda Richardson ("Damage"), Joan Plowright ("Enchanted April"), Vanessa Redgrave ("Howards End") and Judy Davis ("Husbands and Wives").

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OK, so what's the truth? "Lust, Caution" — masterpiece or misfire?

Two years after winning the Oscar as best director for "Brokeback Mountain," Ang Lee is back with another sexually charged drama that repeated "Mountain's" early kudos success: both pix took the top prize, the Golden Lion, at the Venice Film Festival. "Lust" excited some media like Rolling Stone, which said it "casts a spell you won't want to break," but Variety pooh-poohed it for "too much caution and too little lust." When more film critics voiced cautionary comments about it, conspiracy theories popped up in cyberspace claiming that "Lust" really won the Golden Lion because Lee's ole pal Zhang Yimou (who won the Golden Lion for "The Story of Qiu Ju" and "Not One Less") headed the seven-person jury.

Enough! Now that it's opening this weekend in limited release, moviegoers will soon be able to weigh in on the controversial pic with a long running time (2 hours, 37 minutes) and restrictive adult rating (NC-17). Meantime, enough critics have piped in for consensus views to take shape.

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After kicking off the New York filmfest on Wednesday, "The Darjeeling Limited" rolled out in limited release this weekend. While the prestige of opening night has sent other entries feststarters like "The Queen," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Mystic River," and "Secrets & Lies" on the road to Oscar, the fate of this film about yet another dysfunctional family is less certain.

Critical opinion was mixed about this fifth film from Wes Anderson. The comedy drama came in at 62 on Meta Critic, as did Anderson's last film – 2004's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou." By comparison, his 1999 breakthrough "Rushmore" scored an eye popping 86 while "The Royal Tenenbaums" registered a solid 75 back in 2001. That look at an offbeat family headed up by Gene Hackman earned Anderson and Owen Wilson an Oscar screenwriting nod. This time around, the family in question is fatherless. Three brothers (Oscar winner Adrien Brody, Wilson, and co-writer Jason Schwartzman) search for enlightenment in India after their dad's death.

Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood" received rapturous response when it was unveiled at a surprise screening held last night at Fantastic Fest in Texas. Looks like serious Oscars fare, considering it's already being compared to — can you believe it? — "Citizen Kane"!

Variety: "Certain to be rewarded with year-end accolades, Anderson's film is a true American saga — one that rivals 'Giant' and 'Citizen Kane' in our popular lore as origin stories about how we came to be the people we are. In 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,' it's not the gold that destroys men's souls but greed; in 'There Will Be Blood,' the commodity that drives the greed is oil." READ MORE

Cinematical: "This is a dark, compelling and effortlessly engrossing film, one bolstered by a lead performance that ranks among the very best of Lewis' impressive career. The film will most often be compared to Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, so I guess I can get the ball rolling on that particular crutch -- but it's also an apt comparison. Which is not to say that 'There Will Be Blood' will necessarily be dissected and revered 75 years from now, but the stories are certainly similar enough." REAM MORE

OK, OK, we get it — this movie's great. But how will it fare at the quirky Oscars, eh? "Citizen Kane" reaped many top bids in 1941, including shots at best pic, director and actor, but only won the screenplay prize. "Giant" lost 9 of its 10 nominations in 1956, but snagged best director for George Stevens. "Around the World in 80 Days" claimed best pic. Those comparisons bode well for "Blood" seeping into this year's race, but those notoriously squeamish academy members may have difficulty swallowing that title. Remember all of their fussing and squirming over another pic starring Daniel Day-Lewis: "Gangs of New York." It entered the 2002 derby as the best-pic frontrunner, nabbed 10 nominations, but got skunked on Oscar night.

(Paramount Vantage)