News
Oscar BO lift is a blip
Feb. 6, 2009 – As Oscar voters increasingly gravitate to out-of-the-mainstream films, an Academy Award win for Best Picture does not provide a big lift in box office dollars, says an Advertising Age article. According to research from Media by Numbers analyzing box office since 1982-2006, an Oscar nod for Best Picture lifted domestic box office by just $13 million, which isn’t much in an era where roughly 30 films hit $100 million in a given year.
The article by Claude Brodesser-Akner notes that low grossing indie films in the Best Picture race may experience a high percentage gain in box office. But that’s only because they are low grosser in terms of dollars, for which the $13 million average lift is relatively large.
Explains the Ad Age article, “An Oscar nomination for best picture can’t save an unpopular film, and the cost of exploiting a nomination can even wind up hurting a film financially. Universal's drama Frost/Nixon, for example, grossed just $3 million at the box office in its post-nomination weekend. That was a leap of 351%, aided by adding nearly a thousand theaters to the film’s release pattern. But consider that Frost cost $25 million to make, and with a worldwide gross of just $14 million so far, any box-office bump from an Oscar nomination is likely to be more than eclipsed by the cost of the film’s Oscar marketing campaign, estimated to be near $8 million.”
Major studios shell out $15-20 million on Oscar campaigns, according to the Ad Age article.
Marketing to Moviegoers – which notes the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences discourages such campaigning – estimates that publicity consultants that handle awards marketing charge from hundreds of thousands to low single digit millions for each film. The campaigns target more than just the 5,800 Academy Awards voters because Golden Globe and other wins can influence Oscars, which are at the end of the awards line.
Another factor holding down box office dollar gains is that few mainstream major-studio films nominated that are already hits don’t have much upside. Best Picture nominee The Curious Case of Benjamin Button had grossed about $100 million for Paramount when nominated, so it’s already saturated the move-going markerplace. It’s the only true major studio release among this year’s five nominees.
The Oscar film with the biggest upside is Slumdog Millionaire, whose Indian roots needed an Oscar halo to get a buzz in the North American market. The $4 million UK-India production has grossed $70 million domestically to date via Fox Searchlight. Curiously, the best grossing upmarket film of the major Oscar contenders – Clint Eastwood’s Grand Torino – got shut out of top nominations. Yet it has grossed $113 million domestically.
For full text, click link below:
adage.com/article
www.marketingmovies.net/news/serious-fare-to-chill-oscar-telecast/