How much does it cost to host the Oscars, the biggest night in Hollywood?

Lights, camera, action. It’s Oscars day and that means it’s time to celebrate and honour the talented individuals in the film industry. In fact, at the 96th Academy Awards, or Oscars, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer won seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Cillian Murphy, while Emma Stone bagged the Best Actress trophy for Poor Things.

But, the Oscars aren’t just about cinematic excellence though. The night is also known for being one of the most glamourous nights in Hollywood, and comes with a pretty hefty price tag. But for all the money that the Academy Awards spend on creating this night, it makes even more from event.

We breakdown the cost of the biggest night in film — from the pricey goody bags that all nominees take home to the payday for host Jimmy Kimmel.

A million-dollar event

The Oscars held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles comes with a price tag of $56.9 million (Rs 470 crore), according to WalletHub’s 2024 report. As years go by, the cost of organising the Oscars has kept on increasing. For instance, the Oscars in 2017 cost $44 million (Rs 364 crore). Then in 2022, it cost $56.8 (Rs 450 crore) million.

And now in 2024, it costs $56.9 million. This includes related activities such as the nominees’ luncheon, the Governors awards, and the Governors Ball, the Oscars’ official after party. However, the biggest chunk is spent on the live show that is telecast across the world.

It is not known how much it costs to hire the Dolby Theatre. However, it is believed that it is part of a complex deal linked to Dolby’s naming rights to the theatre, but the Academy has a 20-year agreement.

Interestingly, a huge amount of money is spent on the red carpet. And no, we aren’t talking about the glamourous outfits worn by the celebrities but the installation of the carpet itself. According to WalletHub, it takes 30 rolls of carpet and an 18-person crew to install it over a span of 600 hours. WalletHub further reports that the price tag for this alone is $24,700 (Rs 20.43 lakh).

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the people behind the Oscars, also have to shell out huge bucks for the production of the event as well as security. In 2017, these costs were pegged at $100,000 (Rs 82.7 lakh) and $250,000 (Rs 2.06 crore) respectively.

Host Jimmy Kimmel — this is his fourth time at the event — is also expected to be paid anything over $150,000 (Rs 1.24 crore). In fact, that’s how much he was paid in 2017 and 2018. And while this may sound like a good package for a one-night affair, hosting duties at the Oscars requires months of work and planning.

There are other expenses too such as the nominee cards, which in 2017, cost the Academy a total of $10,000 (Rs 8.2 lakh) for 48 cards. The golden statuette, itself, is only worth about $400 (Rs 33,000), according to WalletHub, and is 24-karat gold.

Celebrities and members of the film fraternity who attend the Oscars are also treated to a sumptuous feast put together by celebrity chef-duo Wolfgang Puck and Elliot Grover. The menu includes dishes such as crab soup, four different types of salads, a variety of pastas including fettuccine alfredo, chicken parmesan and entrees such as salmon, jumbo shrimp, pork chop, vegetable risotto, petite filets, butchers cut, steak frites, and crab cakes. All this comes with a pretty price tag but it is not exactly known how much.

The Academy Awards also ensure that nominees, whether they win or lose, don’t go home empty-handed. The 25 nominees in the acting and directing categories, plus host Jimmy Kimmel, also take home an “Everybody Wins” gift bag worth over $180,000 (Rs 1.5 crore), which includes some extravagant gifts such as trips to Switzerland and St. Barts, the full line of Miage skincare products, and luxury kitchen appliances from THOR Kitchen.

The A-list fashion

While the Academy spends exorbitant amounts to make the Oscars an unforgettable night, celebrities and attendees also spend lavishly for the event.

Interestingly, if one isn’t nominated for an Oscar, one has to purchase a seat at the Dolby Theatre for the night. And these tickets aren’t cheap. Last year, SS Rajamouli, the creator of the magnum opus RRR, spent $25,000 (Rs 20.68 lakh) for passes for him and members of his team.

But besides the tickets, the major expense for celebrities on the night of the event is the glamourous gowns and jewels they wear on the red carpet. According to a New York Post report, an A-list actor could drop about $10 million (Rs 83 crore) on a show-stopping look for the red carpet.

For instance, Cate Blanchett set the record for the most expensive look ever at the Oscars in 2014 — where her ensemble cost a whopping $18.1 million (Rs 150 crore). And Lady Gaga’s Tiffany pendant that she rocked at the 2019 ceremony was valued at $30 million (Rs 250 crore).

Even first-time attendees have to open their wallets wide, with an outfit potentially ringing up $266,000 (Rs 2.2 crore.

Oscars cost millions, but make even more

The Oscars cost a fortune to host — but they bring in even more. Advertisers have to shell out a whopping $1.85 million for a 30-second ad during the award show. That’s much less than the $7 million CBS charged for the Super Bowl this year, but the Oscars bring in a respectable $120 million in ad revenue for ABC on Oscar Sunday.

According to WalletHub, the annual ceremony also boosts Los Angeles’ economy by an estimated $170 million.

And the event isn’t just beneficial to Los Angeles or to the Academy alone. Winners of an Oscar can also see a bump in their future earnings. According to a Fortune report, the Best Picture award get a $7.8 million average increase in domestic sales.

Meanwhile, according to WalletHub, a win in the Best Actor or Actress category can mean a 20 per cent boost in pay for the victor’s next film. This means that Cillian Murphy and Emma Stone can expect larger pay cheques next movie.

With numbers like these, it’s no wonder that the Oscars are the biggest awards in the world.

With inputs from agencies