California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

Ever wondered what the economic value of an Oscar nomination means to a movie’s
performance?  Industry analysts estimate that an Academy Award for Best Picture
will boost a film's box office revenue by $20 to $40 million dollars. An award
for Best Actor or Actress is thought to bring in an additional $4 to $6 million.
An analysis was published in the January 2000 issue of the publication Economic
Inquiry to determine the “bounce” from an Oscar.

The analysis compared box office data for every film nominated for Best Picture,
Best Actor/Actress and Supporting Actor/Actress from 1978 to 1987 with data for
131 movies that were not nominated specifically during the same weeks that the
nominated films were released.  The analysis found that a nomination or an award
can affect a film’s domestic box office in three ways:

• Extending the number of weeks the film remains in theaters
• Increasing the number of screens on which the film appears
• Increasing the average revenue per screen

The impact of an Oscar nomination on a film's theatrical longevity increases its
life expectancy at the box office. On average, 76.1 percent of all nominated films
remain in theaters or are rereleased following the nominations, compared to only
22.3 percent of non-nominated films. The average nominated film remains among the
top 50 grossing films for 24 weeks, while all others stay in contention only 11.1
weeks. So an Oscar not only gives a movie prestige, but can add months to its
lifespan.

On average, a nomination for Best Picture increases the number of screens on which
a film appears by 41.16 percent. But a nomination for Best Actor/Actress increases
the venues by a whopping 84.95 percent, and should a movie only receive a nomination
for Supporting Actor/Actress, it will only increase by 4.76 percent in the number
of screens. However, should a movie actually win one of these awards, screen space
shoots up by a respectable 23.99 percent.

An Oscar win has an economic effect on a movie for an average of four weeks beyond
the ceremony yielding the numbers illustrated above.  Remember, what the hard
numbers reflect:  the Oscars are all about money!

It will all take place in California, the 83rd Annual Academy Awards can be seen
on Sunday February 27 on your local ABC affiliate.

2011 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

Best Picture:  Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King's
                     Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter's
                     Bone
Actor in a
Leading Role:  Javier Bardem, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Firth, James Franco

Actress in a
Leading Role:  Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman,
                      Michelle Williams

Directing:        Black Swan, The Fighter, The King's Speech, The Social Network,
                      True Grit

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.