Feb 21, 2008, 18:05 GMT
Los Angeles - They might be critically acclaimed. But one quick glance at the box office figures will tell you that the top movies at the Oscars are far from being the year's biggest blockbusters.
02/15/2008 - Oscar Statues - 2008 "Meet the Oscars: The 50 Golden Statuettes" New York Press Preview - Times Square Studios - New York City, NY, USA © Janet Mayer / PR Photos
The most successful of this year's top contenders is Juno which had taken in some 120 million dollars at the domestic box office and a further 18 million dollars internationally. That's not bad for an indie move made with a reported budget of 2.5 million dollars.
But Juno's total take pales in comparison to the year's box office champs like Spider-Man 3, Shrek The Third and Transformers which all earned more than 300 million dollars in the US alone.
But that hardly matters to Oscar voters, or to the producers of the highbrow films that usually dominate the nominations.
'Oscars are about much more than money and there's not a lot of things you can say that about in this town,' said one publicist. She asked to speak off the record since she's involved in a publicity campaign for one of the major contenders for Oscar glory.
For the actors, producers and all the others involved in making movies, earning the accolades of their peers in the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is the ultimate tribute of their career. Movie financiers, who are increasingly making their money in areas like real estate and banking before succumbing to the glamour of the movie industry, are also keen on grabbing some Oscar glory.
'There's a lot of fresh money coming into our business,' David T Friendly, a producer of Little Miss Sunshine, told the New York Times recently. 'Most of these investors have already made their fortunes. So what are they really after? A lot of them are trying to make films that make a difference and movies that might land them that ultimate prize.'
But it's not just art that motivates participants in the Oscar race. Like Juno, many of the Oscar contenders are made for modest budgets and even a modest pop of a million or two can made a dramatic difference to the bottom line.
They are released late in the year for two reasons: to keep them fresh in the minds of Oscar voters, and also to ensure they are higher in cinemas or close to DVD release when the nominations and awards are announced.
A 2001 study by economics professor Randy Nelson found that a best picture nomination was worth an estimated 11 million dollars in added ticket sales, and the same amount in home video sales.
'Even if you get a nomination for best picture but have no chance in hell of winning, you can reap incredible profits at the box office,' says Gitesh Pandya, an analyst with BoxOfficeGuru.com.
Nominations can also mean bigger paychecks for best actor and actress nominees. But unfortunately for nominees in categories below the top three, the promise of a golden Oscar statuette is likely to be just a source of pride, not one of cash.
'For a best supporting actor or actress, a nomination is virtually worthless,' said Nelson. 'It doesn't even mean a boost for the salaries that the nominated actors command.'
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