Awards

For film producers, an Academy Award can be worth much more than its weight in gold. Based on box office sales over the past five years, winners of the Academy Award for Best Picture averaged $10.3 million in additional box office sales following their victory. In comparison, nominated films that failed to win the Oscar generated an average of $3.9 million in box office receipts following the awards, which is $6.4 million less than their winning counterparts. However, studios, producers and actors need not walk away with any Oscar hardware to achieve massive financial success. While they may not always secure the Oscar, films with relatively smaller budgets benefit from higher profit margins upon nomination. After Room was nominated for Best Picture in the 88th Academy Awards, the number of theaters screening the movie more than quadrupled, increasing from 198 theaters prior to its nomination to 862 after the announcement.

Laika was honored at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ Scientific & Technical Awards on Saturday, February 13 in Beverly Hills, California. Brian McLean and Martin Meunier received the Scientific and Engineering Award for Laika’s pioneering use of rapid prototyping for character animation in stop-motion film production. Laika, the animation studio located just outside Portland, Oregon, has produced three films, all of which have earned Oscar nominations for Outstanding Animated Film.

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers has received a Special Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. AMPAS presented the Special Award plaque to SMPTE at the Academy's annual Scientific and Technical Awards presentation, which took place Februrary 13 in Beverly Hills, California.