2020 Oscars Facts: 92nd Academy Awards By The Numbers

The 92nd Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

With the 92nd Academy Awards just 6 days away, WalletHub today released its 2020 Oscars Facts report, which includes an infographic filled with fun facts about the event as well as a Q&A with a panel of entertainment experts.

Here are some highlights from the report:

• $44M: Total cost of Oscars ceremony
• $10M: Cost of the look for an A-list actress attending the Oscars
• $2.6M+: Cost of a 30-second commercial during the Oscars telecast (54% less than the Super Bowl)
• $24.7K: Cost of the 16,500-square-foot Oscars red carpet
• $400: Current value of the 24-karat gold-plated Oscar statuette
• 3rd time: The Oscar telecast will not have a host

Expert Commentary

What would the lack of diversity on the main categories have on the awards? Will they be considered less relevant for the general public as time goes by?

“Everyone who loves film knows that Boong Joon-ho's Parasite is the best film of the year, but everyone also knows that it would never win that award,” said Amy Abugo Ongirl, Lawrence University. “The lack of diversity in awards and in Hollywood, in general, has contributed to the continuing decline of interest in Hollywood films contributing to declining industry revenues. The demographics of the US are changing and quickly. If Hollywood doesn't hurry up and get on board no one will be watching their films in fifty years. Hollywood is already beginning to be eclipsed by media in other forms that have far better representational practices.”

“I would say as a society, we are at a crucial moment in our demands for diversity in Hollywood,” said Julia Himberg, PhD, Arizona State University. “The Academy Awards are a symbol of the very best in filmmaking. They are the ultimate sign of critical acclaim and legitimacy for a film. Being an Academy Award nominee and winner can transform an actor or filmmaker’s career, catapulting them to fame, power, and a new level of visibility. Their historical prestige means the Oscars matter and they offer a barometer for how much (or little) progress we have made as a society. This year, the Oscars barely have avoided the “Oscars so white” moniker that plagued the 2015 and 2016 awards, when no performers of color were nominated. Yet, considering how much more Hollywood and the public are talking about the need for diversity since then, and that there has been an increase in films made by and starring people of color, many are critical of the 2020 nominees. This year’s awards seem out of sync with the value Hollywood as an industry claims to place on diverse stories, storytellers, and performers. This issue is so meaningful because what we see in media matters. More to the point, who we see matters. In U.S. society, media representation is a form of cultural currency, providing validation to racial and ethnic minorities that they are seen as part of the country. Being left out of the culture of representation is equated with an exclusion, or what has been called “symbolic annihilation.” Simply put, there is a great deal of evidence that suggests seeing ourselves represented in media is empowering and meaningful. I would add that who makes movies and who evaluates films also matters. The Oscar’s Board of Governor’s is predominately white. While the “Oscars so white” criticisms forced some structural changes in the Academy, this year’s nominees suggest those changes were either superficial or ineffective. This is not to say Hollywood is actively racist. Rather, this means, despite goodwill and often the best of intentions, members of the Academy are (likely unconsciously) reinforcing racial biases that benefit white filmmakers, actors, writers, editors, etc. As much as Hollywood tells us it embraces “diversity,” differences can scare and intimidate people, threatening social norms and challenging those with power. If this pattern continues, the Academy Awards may lose relevance and prestige. That is not likely to happen soon, but the Academy is facing a reckoning of sorts if it doesn’t start better reflecting the films being made and the films that resonate with the diverse audiences of the U.S.”

Who is going to win the award for Best Actor? Actress? Director? Motion Picture?

“I think Joaquin Phoenix is a lock for Best Actor,” said Robert C. Sickels, PhD, Whitman College. “I sincerely hope Adam Driver wins instead, but I don’t see it happening. I’d be happy with Leonardo DiCaprio as well. To me, their characters were way more intriguingly written than the Joker and their performances were more nuanced and complex, even if they didn’t have to undergo obvious the physical transformation. But it’s going to be Phoenix.”

“For Actress, conventional wisdom points to Renee Zellweger for Judy, which is a narrative I haven’t understood since it started. No one saw the movie and the movie itself is middling! With that in mind, I think there’s some chance of an upset here, with any of Scarlett Johansson, Saoirse Ronan, and Charlize Theron having a legitimate chance to pull it off. Interestingly, I don’t think Cynthia Erivo has a chance at all because no one saw Harriet which was, like Judy, just okay. So why would Zellweger be considered a lock and Erivo have no shot when their respective movies are similar in genre (historical biopics) and performed similarly at the box office? Lots of obvious reasons, but the one that holds the most water for me in the context of Hollywood history is that it’s Zellweger’s “turn.” She was in a kind of movie jail for years and Hollywood loves it when one of their own makes a comeback, whereas basic wisdom with younger “new” nominees is that their turn will come eventually (See DiCaprio’s win for The Revenant). But last year it seemed like it was Glen Close’s turn. Like Zellweger, she was the frontrunner who was the lead in a movie no one saw, and she won a ton of hardware leading up to the Academy Awards. And so, she was a lock right up until the second she lost to Olivia Coleman. I think there’s a real chance of an “upset” happening in the Actress category once again. And I’m all for it. “

“I think Sam Mendes and 1917 will win Best Director and Best Motion Picture. If it were me, I’d go with Greta Gerwig or Taika Waititi for director, but seeing as neither was nominated (which fits into the lack of diversity narrative, even as Bong Jooh-ho’s nomination upends it) I’d go with Tarantino. For Picture, I’d go with Little Women or Jo Rabbit.”

“This may shock you since I am a Film and Media Studies professor, but I haven't watched them since the #oscarssowhite campaign gave me official permission not to care,” said Ongirl, Lawrence University. “The truth is that I stopped caring years before that, but I felt like I had to watch. Now I just don't. I'm sure "The Joker" will do well but that's the only insight that I have into that question.”

For the full report including infographic visit 2020 Oscars Facts Report

Courtesy: WalletHub