According to the Academy's rulebook, if a winner wants to sell his or her Oscar, he or she must offer it to the Academy, which may pay one dollar for the statuette.
Since 1951, all Academy Award winners must sign an agreement that they “shall not sell or otherwise dispose of the Oscar statuette, nor permit it to be sold or disposed of by operation of law, without first offering to sell it to the Academy for the sum of $1”.
Through a study carried out by IBISworld some time ago, it was estimated that the average salary of an Oscar winner rises by up to 20% after receiving the award, so although they don't receive anything directly, it does increase their income.
It is composed of 24-karat gold-plated bronze. The sleek award stands 13.5 inches tall and weighs a hefty 8.5 pounds. If cast in 24-karat gold, the award would weigh 22.7 pounds, a mass equivalent to a large watermelon or two-year-old child.
Jordan Peterson Reveals How To Master The Art of Selling
Why is the Oscar only worth $1?
That's because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the Oscars, has strict rules in place to prevent winners from profiting off of the sale of their trophies.
No surprise here - 'Avatar' holds the crown for most expensive movie ever to win an Oscar with a production budget estimated to be around $280 million. While it failed to win Best Picture or Best Director, it did pick up Academy Awards for Art Direction, Cinematography and Visual Effects.
The actual scrap value of an Oscar, meanwhile, is estimated to be between around $400 to $650 based on calculations from WalletHub and Money.com, but that figure doesn't take into account the years of work, dedication, or sentimental value attached to each statuette.
Herman Mankiewicz's statuette for Best Screenplay for 'Citizen Kane' was sold for $588,455. In 1999, Michael Jackson spent an exorbitant 1.5 million dollars to buy the statuette for 'Gone with the Wind', which won the Oscar for Best Film in 1939.
The statuettes are solid bronze and plated in 24-karat gold. Due to a metal shortage during World War II, Oscars were made of painted plaster for three years. Following the war, the Academy invited recipients to redeem the plaster figures for gold-plated metal ones.
Award winners must comply with these rules and regulations. Award winners shall not sell or otherwise dispose of the Oscar statuette, nor permit it to be sold or disposed of by operation of law, without first offering to sell it to the Academy for the sum of $1.00.
The modern Oscar stands 13.5 inches tall with a weight of 8.5 lbs, and it is made of solid bronze with a electroplated coating of 24-karat gold. However, the world's most beloved trophy wasn't always made this way.
As for the coveted golden Oscars statuette, one may think that it has a hefty price tag. However, the gold-plated trophy is only worth about $400, according to WalletHub, and is 24-karat gold.
However, the title for the cheapest movie to win the award goes to Barry Jenkins' 2016 coming-of-age Moonlight. A24 decided to finance Moonlight in 2013, and the film began the company's foray into production, immediately winning them a 'Best Picture' title.
Because since 1951 Oscar winners and their heirs, are prohibited from selling the gold statuette without first offering to sell it back to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (prior to 1951 there was no such rule). Your browser can't play this video.
Who knows the winners before they're announced? According to the academy website, just two PricewaterhouseCoopers partners know the results beforehand.
While some gold medals are solid gold, others are gold-plated or silver-gilt, like those of the Olympic Games, the Lorentz Medal, the United States Congressional Gold Medal and the Nobel Prize medal. Nobel Prize medals consist of 18 karat green gold plated with 24 karat gold.
The Academy Award statuette's nickname, “Oscar,” has three possible sources. Actress Bette Davis claimed that the name derived from her observation that the backside of the statuette looked like that of her husband Harmon Oscar Nelson. Columnist Sidney Skolsky maintained that he gave the award its nickname.
Upon seeing the gold statuette for the first time, Margaret Herrick reportedly remarked that it looked like her Uncle Oscar. As the Academy Awards moved away from a more insular, industry affair, the award of merit became more affectionately known as the Oscars.
Prior to 1950, Oscar statuettes were (and remain) the property of the recipient. Since then the statuettes have been legally encumbered by the requirement that the statuette be first offered for sale back to the Academy for US$1. If a winner refuses to agree to this stipulation, then the Academy keeps the statuette.
Do celebrities have to pay to go to the Oscars? Oscar presenters, performers and nominees do not have to pay to attend the Academy Awards, whether they are celebrities or not. Those who are simply audience members do have to pay for their tickets, whether they are celebrities or not.
Made in solid bronze and plated in 24-karat gold, the 1-foot tall, 8-pound golden statuette has become one of the most recognizable and desired trophies in the world since the first Academy Awards in 1929.
