The Oscars is a pretty expensive show to put on. We all know that celebs get expensive champagne during the event, but the actual cost is phenomenally high. Overall, it costs around $56.9 million from start to finish, according to WalletHub. The live show that we see only costs around $21 million (via The Guardian), so where does all the rest come from?
The Oscars is a whole day event – not just a one-night thing. The Guardian reported that the Academy puts on a luncheon that runs about $260,000. There’s also the Governors Award, an honorary Oscars for lifetime achievement, that costs $865,000, and a Governors Ball (the Oscars after-party), which is usually around $2 million. The cost to attend the party is around $80K per couple. There’s also all the campaigning, statues, and little things that add up.
Yes, the Oscars are expensive, but it creates a huge economic boost in Los Angeles, where the event is hosted. WalletHub found that the Academy Awards provides a $130 million boost to the city. If you think about it, it really makes sense.
All those A-Listers and top-notch producers need a place to stay, food to eat, and they’ll probably do plenty of shopping while they’re there. It may cost an arm and leg to put the event on, but businesses around Los Angeles are surely thankful.
This one’s actually a toss-up between three different (very good) films. The first is Ben-Hur (1959). At the time, there were 15 categories, of which it was nominated for 12. Then, there’s Titanic (1997). This time, there were 17 categories, and it was nominated for 14.
Lastly, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) was nominated for 11 out of 17. Considering all these films won 11 awards, we’re impressed by Lord of the Rings because it won every category for which it was nominated.
Winning a Best Actor or Actress Award is also immensely helpful. An actor or actress who earns this award will likely get a 20% boost in asking price. Then again, that’s simply asking price. It goes on a case-by-case basis. For example, MarketWatch found that Adrien Brody won Best Actor and pocketed $10 million for his next film.
While we don’t know how much he made for The Pianist, he earned $2.4 million two years prior. Then, there’s Leonardo DiCaprio, who earned $25 million before he received an Oscar and $10 million afterward.
You read that right. Despite being the biggest award in movies, the official Oscars statuettes are only worth $1, according to CNBC. There’s a reason for that, however. Official regulations state that winners aren’t allowed to sell the statuettes without offering it back to the Academy Awards for $1.
If a winner passes on, the heir of the Oscar winner also has to offer the Academy the statuette back before trying to sell it. Surprise, surprise – they usually want it back. Then again, considering these little statuettes cost $400 to make, we can see why they’d snatch them right back up.
The whole “Oscars for $1” thing wasn’t always around, and that means not every Oscar is worth the same! LA Mag found that Oscars made before 1951 are fair game. So far, the most expensive Oscar ever sold was the 1940 Best Picture award for Gone with the Wind, which Michael Jackson purchased for a jaw-dropping $1.5 million.
Another famous Oscars statuette was Orson Welles’ 1942 Citizen Kane Oscar for Citizen Kane. Welles’ daughter tried to auction off the statuette, and the Academy sued her. However, it was created and awarded before 1951, so she was able to sell it for $861,542 to an undisclosed bidder, according to Dateline.
The Oscars has gotten notoriously long. In fact, it’s one of the biggest complaints by viewers, so what can the Academy do? They tried cutting some stuff, but the biggest time-suck are the speeches. Some people are famous for coming on stage and nodding or saying, “thank you.” Then, there are those that go on and on and on.
The longest speech so far was given by Greer Garson in 1943 during the 15th Academy Awards. She won Best Actress for Mrs. Miniver (1942), and her speech ran for six minutes. After this, the Academy put a rule in that speeches could last 45 seconds maximum. After that, the winner is cut off.
Some have said that there’s a correlation between movies that win Golden Globes and the ones that win Oscars. They’re two different award shows with two different voting groups, but we can’t say there isn’t something there.
Out of the 30 films that have been nominated for Best Picture at the Golden Globes, 17 won – that’s 57%. Plus, in the last 10 years, the actress that won Best Actress Golden Globe also won an Oscar during the next award ceremony.
Winning a ton of awards isn’t commonplace. In fact, it’s difficult for many actors and actresses to get one – something Leonardo DiCaprio knows personally. The actor or actress with the most awards is Kathrine Hepburn.
She’s won a total of four awards with 12 total nominations. Her awards were for Best Actress in Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in the Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981).
You know that red carpet that celebs walk on before they sit down for the big show? Yeah, that thing is 500 feet long and totals over 50,000 square feet, according to Curbed Los Angeles. It’s delivered in multiple pieces, mostly because the thing weighs as much as 630 pounds. Oh, and it costs $24.7K!
Of course, something that big takes a lot of work to set up. It takes 18 workers, and even then, it still takes around 900 working hours to get it down from start to finish! One more fun fact: the carpet is more burgundy than actual red.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is comprised of over 9,000 people, who are actors, actresses, directors, producers, and big wigs involved with films. With that many people voting, you wouldn’t expect many ties, but it has happened. Most of them happened prior to 2000, with only two being from the Best Actor and Best Actress category.
The others were things like documentary, documentary short, and short film – things that are likely easier to get a tie on. The most recent was in 2012 when Best Sound Editing was a tie between Paul N. J. Ottosson (Zero Dark Thirty) and Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers (Skyfall). In the event of a tie they all get an award.
There’s obviously more than one after-party, but the Vanity Fair after-party is one of the most sought-after parties to attend. That being said, it isn’t cheap (but what is cheap during Oscars night?). The cost for a couple to attend the after-party costs around $105,000.
This makes it one of the most expensive after-parties to go to, as well. The party has been going on for more than two decades, so it must be a huge bash with tons of fun. So far, it’s ruled the roost, but what can you expect from a party in Beverly Hills?
This one depends on who you are. WalletHub found that the average outfit cost for attendees can be anywhere from $266,000 to $10 million, so let’s break that down. The average first-timer will wear an outfit that’s the lowest cost – $266,000. Those who attend regularly spend, on average, $1.5 million. Now that’s a pretty penny!
Then there’s the most expensive amount, which goes to A-Listers. They have to look their best for all those photographs, so they’ll spend upwards of $10 million for their entire attire (from head to toe). The most expensive attire ever worn in Oscar history was Cate Blanchett’s 2014 look, which cost $18.1 million.
Meryl Streep has her fair share of Oscars. Many consider her to be the greatest living actress. She’s won three for her roles in Sophie’s Choice (1982), The Iron Lady (2011), and Kramer vs. Kramer (1979). This puts her in a five-way tie for actor or actress with the second most Oscars.
However, Meryl Streep has every other actor and actress beat in terms of nominations. She’s been nominated a surprising 21 times! The next highest number is 12, which is Katherine Hepburn. Meryl Streep is amazingly talented, and her nominations prove it. At this rate, she may beat Hepburn for most wins!
Do people actually watch the Oscar Nominees before they vote? Well, in theory, yes. Streaming one film costs $12,500. That can really add up considering the number of films that are on the board. Streaming replaced the costlier option of physical copies, which cost a whopping $1 million per film.
Now, do they watch them? Again, in theory. Some celebs have stated voters should prove they watched the films before they make their choice. Considering they’re sent 100 screeners, we’re not sure where we sit. Sure, they should watch them all, but 100? Seems like a bit much.
We all know about Disney and its creator, Walt Disney. It may have been difficult starting up his empire, but he quickly swept the Oscars floor with wins. Starting in 1931, Walt Disney had won 10 consecutive awards over the course of eight years. The Academy had no trouble recognizing his artistic genius.,
Eight of his awards were for Short Subject, aka cartoons, and the other two were special awards. The first special award was for the creation of Micky Mouse, and the second was recognizing the innovation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Other awards he won were for Three Little Pigs, The Tortoise and the Hare and Three Orphan Kittens.
Whenever a movie wins in the Best Picture category, it’s become customary for theaters to reopen the film so people can see it. Turns out, winning can help out a ton. Earning a Best Picture Oscar boosts box office earnings by $15 million. For some movies, that’s a drop in the bucket, but for a smaller film?
That could mean the difference between the director getting financing for another movie or not. For example, this year, Parasite is nominated for Best Picture, which grossed $33.4 million in the United States. However, Joker, which is also nominated, earned over $316 million. Obviously, $15 million would be a big boost for Parasite.
We want to start off by saying that lots of people watch the Oscars all across the globe. The ceremony is shown in 225 countries! So, showing a commercial during breaks will cost a pretty penny. Advertisers should expect to pay around $1.85 million for a 30-second commercial.
Still, it’s a pretty big bargain considering the cost is 73% less than Super Bowl commercials. Considering the two events have different demographics, some advertisers purchase spots for both!
Some people say that no one watches award shows anymore (like Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes). That just isn’t true for the Oscars. The show comes on in 225 countries and in 2021 pulled in an audience of 9.85 million, which has been lower than in recent years where the highways around 30 million viewers.
Unfortunately, viewership is decreasing. From 2018 to 2019, the Oscars gained 12% more viewers year-over-year. But following 2019, the 2020 Oscars had seen a 20% decrease in viewership. For 2021, there was a 58% decrease in viewership compared to the previous year. The Los Angeles Times discovered that the audience is mostly women. Pop culture enthusiasts and influencers also flock to watch the show.
You know when they start to wrap up actors, actresses, and directors during their speech? It seems kinda rude, but there’s a reason for that. The show lasts over three hours. Sometimes, it can last even longer. Between the long speeches, and category announcements nobody really cares about, it can be a lot for audiences to take in.
The longest on record was in 2002 when the show lasted for four hours and 23 minutes. The Academy has attempted to cut it a little shorter by cutting some of the awards in the live broadcast, but it’s still often over three hours long. Ain't nobody got time for that!
