The Oscars: A win doesn't guarantee a financial windfall these days
Oscar night is still the biggest night of the year for Hollywood, but from a financial standpoint, winning the handsome trophy doesn't provide the monetary bump it used to.
The best picture Oscar used to mean everything to studios. A big win could significantly boost the box office for a film and create years of steady revenue from video sales and replays on TV.
But the famed, gold-plated statuette appears to have lost some of its luster, according to the Los Angeles Times.
It has become more costly to conduct an Oscar campaign.
It is not usual for a studio to budget as much as $15 million for a true contender.
That money goes to full-page spreads in trade magazines, billboard ads, Q&A screenings, private jet flights for filmmakers and actors, and elaborate coffee table books mailed out to voters and new competition for journalists, according to the LA Times
Studios are still spending big bucks as they try to fend off new competition from the likes of Netflix.
Netflix is putting its push behind Alfonso Cuaron’s lyrical black-and-white movie “Roma,”
One thing not helping the industry is the shrinking audience for the Oscar telecast. The show drew a record low of 26.5 million viewers last year, down nearly 20 percent from 2017, according to Nielsen. Ratings were 40 percent lower than in 2014.
The economic benefits of winning an Oscar have also been on the decline. Movies such as “Million Dollar Baby” and “Slumdog Millionaire” earned more than 30 percent of their domestic box office after winning best picture, according to data from Comscore.
In 2012, “The Artist” scored $13 million in ticket sales, 29 percent of its theatrical business, after prevailing at the Academy Awards.
Since then, no winner has received a bump of more than $7 million.
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Part of that decline is blamed on long-term declines in theater attendance, also DVD sales aren't what they used to be.
According to The Times, the Oscars’ value comes in less measurable forms, such as maintaining relationships with producers, directors and actors, which is increasingly important at a time when newer players like Netflix and Amazon are aggressively courting talent.