For the studios, the Oscars are about halo effect, bragging rights and talent retention — but they’re mainly about money.
A nomination, or a win, can have a huge effect on consumer’s interest in seeing a much talked about movie.
Last year’s Best Picture winner, Warner Brothers, “Argo,” added $1 million to its weekend gross just in the weekend following its win.
“Argo,” about hostages in Iran who escape by pretending they are filmmakers, reported a weekend gross of $2.1 million, a 15 percent increase from the weekend ahead of the Oscars, according to Rentrak.
“Part of the business of showbusiness is creating dollars out of accolades,” Rentrak’s Paul Dergarabedian told The Post. “An Oscar nomination is a validation of something, it puts a seal of approval on something and it holds value with the audience.”
A nomination is sometimes just as valuable as a win, he said.
That could explain the ugly battle now being waged in Hollywood.
There are also added DVD and VOD sales for Oscar winners.
The Weinstein Co. movie “The Artist, won best picture in 2012 and saw its post-Oscar win weekend gross more than double to $2.3 million, according to Rentrak.
After its Oscar win, “The Artist,” a black-and-white silent movie starring unknown actors, took in $3.6 million. On its debut weekend on Nov. 25, it took in just $204,878.