Hollywood is buzzing with the upcoming Academy Awards nominations out Tuesday, Jan. 23. If this awards season so far is any indication, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” will continue to gain accolades after collecting five Golden Globes.
But the road to a nomination is not as simple as producing great work. Getting on the awards ballot can be a tough and expensive proposition akin to a presidential election.
“It’s so political, and obviously not in the true political sense, but Hollywood politics are very intricate,” ComScore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Straight Arrow News.
Every year, seemingly obscure movies and actors are nominated for awards like the Golden Globes and Oscars. Movie studios spend big money on marketing campaigns starting around November to get their films recognized.
“Sometimes the way you do that is with a ‘for your consideration’ ad, and that can be in the trade papers,” Dergarabedian said. “If you look through Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, or even online with The Wrap or Deadline, any of the big trades for Hollywood, it’s really like speaking to that in-house crowd.”
“It’s so political… Hollywood politics are very intricate.”
Paul Dergarabedian
Unlike politics, there isn’t a federal regulator keeping an eye on campaign spending, so studios don’t have to disclose exact amount they spend. However, a Variety report on the 2015 Oscars race for Best Picture estimated small studios spent up to $3 million per film, while larger studios could pay as much as $10 million per movie to lobby for the honor of being nominated. At the time, getting watermarked screeners to prospective voters could also run as much as $300,000. It’s nowhere near the $14 billion spent in the 2020 presidential election, but still a significant investment.
Academy Award winner and actress Susan Sarandon took issue with the process in 2016, saying Hollywood needs “campaign finance reform.”
“You have to start on the road, it’s as long as a presidential campaign,” Sarandon told Variety. “You have to have money to go to festivals, you know, Palm Springs, where all the older Academy voters are. People have to be available for months. And someone has to pay for that.”
Crafting the award-worthy story
Hollywood is about storytelling and that’s exactly what studios do for candidates for individual awards. Dergarabedian says crafting a narrative around a star can be very beneficial.
“Paul Giamatti has been really everywhere, big screen and small screen, promoting ‘The Holdovers,’” Dergarabedian said. “There was a picture of him after the Golden Globes going to In-N-Out Burger, an institution in Southern California. And I don’t think that was any mistake. I think that was just a way to get him out there that went viral.”
The Academy has rules on how a studio can market its film, cast and crew for award consideration. But social media has muddied the waters in recent years.
In 2023, Andrea Riseborough received a Best Actress nomination for her role in “To Leslie.” Her manager, along with the wife of director Michael Morris, tapped their famous-friends network to get the word out about the film and Riseborough’s performance, even hosting an intimate reception at the director’s home. After the ask, Edward Norton and Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow were among those who took to social media to applaud the performance.
After hearing about the circumstances, the Academy investigated the grassroots campaign. The Academy allowed Riseborough to keep her nomination but maintained the campaign tactics “caused concern.”
Beyond the prestige of taking home statuettes, a substantial Oscar campaign can show actors what a studio is willing to do for them.
“It’s sort of a dog and pony show for everybody else in the industry,” Dergarabedian said. “And if you’re a studio, and you’re really putting yourself out there, spending a lot of money on ads, getting out screeners and other promotions, then talent will look to that studio and say, ‘They do a really good job of getting my movie out there.’”
The Academy expanded the Best Picture category in recent years to 10 films, which has broadened the category to include big-budget blockbusters along with the independent dramas that have dominated awards for decades.
“Everyone’s expecting ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer, Barbenheimer, to both be nominated for Best Picture,” Dergarabedian said. “So there you’ve got, in just domestic box office, close to a billion dollars. That’s a lot of people who saw both of those movies [and] have a vested interest in watching an awards show that has both of them in contention.”
