LOS ANGELES (AP):

Slumdog Millionaire hauled in the most Oscars on Sunday night but it also received the biggest bounce at the box office of the best-picture nominees.

The rags-to-riches tale brought in an extra US$54 million domestically since its nomination January 22, more than doubling its gross since its November premiere, to US$98 million to date.

The lift for the winner of eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Director, was more than all of the four other Best-Picture nominees combined, according to tracking firm Media By Numbers LLC.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the next biggest beneficiary from the post-nomination period and the winner of three Oscars, added just US$20.6 million to its US$124.2 million total.

Humorous nod

The sometime disconnect between critical acclaim and box-office success was given a humorous nod by host Hugh Jackman in his opening number.

"The Reader, I haven't seen The Reader. I know I need to see The Reader," Jackman sang, referring the Holocaust-themed drama, for which Kate Winslet won the Best Actress award. "I ran out of time."

The worsening economy almost sank Slumdog as Time Warner Inc announced it would shut down Warner Independent, which had bought its North American distribution rights. The movie was headed for a direct-to-DVD release when News Corp's Fox Searchlight stepped in to distribute it, eventually showing it in 1,600 theatres nationwide.

Flush with success, director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson said they hoped the big win would convince studios to continue to take chances on smaller films.

"Even the studios will note that we made this for seven million pounds (US$10 million), and it's going to cross US$100 million in the US Tuesday or Wednesday. That's good business for them," Colson said, clutching his statuette backstage.

Encourage fund

He hoped the success would convince studios to fund independent-style films that "don't tick all the boxes" of criteria for marketing success.

"If the best of those can get made and our film helps that to happen, well I'm even prouder of these," he said.

Boyle cited Heath Ledger's posthumous Best Supporting Actor win as evidence of how small films give fledgling actors and directors their start.

"Heath started small as well. He started in small films. Everybody does," Boyle said. "You've got to protect them. It's difficult because the studios are under pressure, but the studios have to protect them as well."

Despite its troubled start, the uplifting story about a downtrodden boy and girl falling in love through tough times turned out to be exactly what audiences wanted to see.

More than money

"Actually it's a film that says there are more important things than money," said Simon Beaufoy, who took home an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, to reporters backstage. "That struck a chord."

Still, the win comes at a troubling time for major studios, which have announced restructuring plans as well as smaller film slates going forward to mitigate risk in a tough economy.

Several niche labels have recently shut down or been folded into their parents, including Warner Bros' Warner Independent, Picturehouse and New Line Cinema brands, Paramount's Paramount Vantage, and Capitol Films' THINKFilm.

Among the other Best-Picture nominees, Universal Pictures' Frost/Nixon nearly doubled its post-nomination gross by US$8.6 million to US$17.4 million; The Weinstein Co's The Reader, gained US$15.3 million to US$23.2 million; and Milk, by Universal's Focus Features added US$7.6 million to US$28.2 million.

List of Academy Awards winners

Best Motion Picture:

Slumdog Millionaire

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

Sean Penn in Milk

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

Kate Winslet in The Reader

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:

Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Achievement in Directing:

Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire

Adapted Screenplay:

Slumdog Millionaire by Simon Beaufoy

Original Screenplay:

Milk by Dustin Lance Black

Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Song):

Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire Music by A. R. Rahman, Lyrics by Gulzar

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score):

Slumdog Millionaire A. R. Rahman

Achievement in Cinematography:

Slumdog Millionaire

Achievement in Film Editing:

Slumdog Millionaire, Chris Dickens

Achievement in Costume Design:

The Duchess

Achievement in Art Direction:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Animated Feature Film:

WALL-E

Best Animated Short Film:

La Maison en Petits Cubes

Best Live Action Short Film:

Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Best Documentary Feature:

Man on Wire

Best Documentary Short Subject:

Smile Pinki

Best Foreign Language Film:

Departures - Japan

Achievement in Visual Effects:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Achievement in Make-up:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Greg Cannom

Achievement -in Sound Editing:

The Dark Knight

Achievement in Sound Mixing:

Slumdog Millionaire