By The Entertainment Strategy Guy
Here’s a (nearly final) question to ask about the Academy Awards:
Is making Oscar films a good strategy? (As in business strategy…)
I usually say awards don’t matter. Especially with television awards. Frankly, a Golden Globes or Emmy win can provide a momentary boost to a TV show’s viewership, which can help, but usually most TV shows have built in popularity.
The Oscars are slightly different, as entire boutique studios survive mostly making these type of films. Formerly we called these films “independent”, but now I call them “prestige”. Indeed, a few of the biggest prestige producers, like Sony Pictures Classics, (formerly Fox) Searchlight and Focus Features live inside major studios.
So is it a good strategy to make these type of films? I’ve said before that Oscar films aren’t very popular. While this year’s slate is much better than last year’s, the films still aren’t very popular. From that perspective, in straight dollars and cents, Oscar films don’t provide that much value.
So let’s assume that Oscar films add to a studio or streamer’s soft value, whether as a signal to talent that you can make great films or to customers that you have prestigious fare. The strategic question becomes, “Okay, so who is winning the battle for Oscar prestige?” The follow on question is, then, can a studio corner the market on streaming? To gain a competitive advantage? Or do the top technocrats love red carpets and old-fashioned glamour like Hollywood has for years? (So far the answer seems to be yes.)
Who Has Made the Most Oscar Films Recently?
First up, who makes the most Best Picture films? And relatedly, who has purchased the most companies that made/make most of the Best Picture films? Which “corporate overlord” could pound its chest and claim ownership of the most films? Here are films nominated for Best Picture and who owns them over time:
This is a sneak peek of today’s edition of The Ankler, the industry’s secret newsletter. To read the rest, we invite you to join our community of the most influential and powerful people in entertainment.
New on The Ankler:
The Oscars “Minefield” About to Happen: A Conversation with Bruce Vilanch. The legendary, long-time Oscar head writer of the stops by our podcast to talk about what Oscar gets wrong — and right!
The Decline and Fall of Oscar: A timeline of mishaps, mishegas and the bad choices that have become an annual Academy ritual.
In this week’s Transom: Avatar 2 gets a date with Marvel; COVID stalks the awards circuit.
Executives on the red carpet! 15 photos of Hollywood on the town.
What will be the new accessory on the Oscars red carpet? Supporting Ukraine.
The story that’s got the whole town talking! Read our exclusive scoop on Elisabeth Finch,the Grey’s Anatomy writers’ room and an investigation. Then listen to the new Hot Seat podcast as writer Peter Keifer reveals the details on how he broke the story shaking Shondaland and what happens next.
ESG on Netflix’s Drip Drip Decline.
On The Optionist:
It’s March Madness in the IP world! This week: hot properties about basketball.
The new recommendations are up! What just fell out of option and is ready again? Who doesn’t love an Ivy League scandal?
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