Trade newspaper Variety reports that Hollywood spending on awards marketing is escalating as dot.coms such as Netflix flash their huge cash-wads in the movie business.
On top of that, the major studios have some legitimate Oscar contenders for Best Picture, unlike in past years, so they too are reaching into their deep pockets (usually it’s cash-strapped indie film companies leading awards with their serious drama fare).
“Oscar campaign budgets for films seeking nominations in multiple categories, such as ‘A Star Is Born,’ ‘Roma’ and ‘First Man’, can run from $20 million to $30 million as companies compete with each other to out-wine and dine awards voters, according to insiders at the various studios and streamers,” says the Variety article by Matt Donnelly. “One source said the campaign for [major studio Warner Bros.’] ‘A Star Is Born’ came in at slightly lower than $20 million, in a studio effort to spend more strategically than in past years (as with the $25 million it spent on ‘Argo,’ or the $20 million for ‘Gravity,’ the insider said).”
“Roma” is a Netflix release and “First Man” from major studio Universal Pictures. However, moonwalk drama “First Man” got little attention in Oscar nominations a few days ago.
The dot.coms are big spenders for movie and TV awards, as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Studios seek to pile on subscribers and also garner respect from Hollywood professionals.
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