Movies That Got an Oscar 'Bump'

Movie studios can spend millions campaigning for an Academy Award. This isn’t just a move to take home a golden statue. Winning an Oscar can translate into big money for a movie studio. Just how much financial influence can the Oscars have? According to IBISWorld, the average best picture Academy Award winners between 2006-2010 saw a bump of 22.2 percent (or $20.3 million) in box-office revenue after receiving a nomination and an additional 15.3 percent (or $14 million) following a trophy.The 2011 best picture winner, “The King’s Speech,” saw a significant Oscar bump, with 42 percent of its box-office sales coming after its nomination and 16 percent more after it won. Paramount Pictures is hoping for a big bump for Martin Scorsese’s high-budget family film “Hugo,” which grabbed 11 Oscar nominations but has been underwhelming at ticket sales. Which movies have seen the biggest boost from Oscar? With data from BoxOfficeMojo.com, CNBC.com looked at box-office sales for best picture winners, comparing revenues before and after their win since 1982. (That’s the earliest comprehensive Oscar data available from BoxOfficeMojo.) The movies on the following list are the winners that had the largest percentage of box-office revenue after they were named best picture. Like several on our list, many films are released on a limited basis near the end of a given year and are not widely released until the following year, and that can have a significant effect on the bump. In some cases, distributors will purposely release movies around nomination time to help maximize the Oscar boost. Click ahead to see which best pictures have benefited the most from Oscar. By Jill Weinberger and Joseph O'DellPosted 21 February 2012Oscar bump: 24.9%Box office post-award: $34.5 million Box office pre-award: $104.1 million Total box office gross (inflation adjusted): $284.3 million Limited release date: Dec. 19, 1986 Wide release date: Feb. 6, 1987 Directed by Oliver Stone, and starring Charlie Sheen, “Platoon” tells the story of a young recruit in Vietnam. In addition to best picture, the movie took home three other Oscars, including best director, among its eight nominations. The film had a limited opening in six theaters in December 1986, and then opened to a wide release on Feb. 6, 1987. Coincidence or not, Oscar nominations were announced four days later. Oscar bump: 25.6% Box office post-award: $47.1 million Box office pre-award: $137 million Total box office gross (inflation adjusted): $317 million Limited released date: Nov. 9, 1990 Wide release date: Nov. 23, 1990 Orion Picture's “Dances With Wolves” tells the story of a Civil War soldier who chooses to leave his former life to live with an Indian tribe and falls in love with a woman raised by the tribe. The movie was directed by Kevin Costner, who also played the lead. Compared to many other Oscar-nominated movies, “Dances With Wolves” had an early wide-release date, about three months before the nominations. Despite the early release, the film drew only 57 percent of its box-office sales before nominations. However, after 12 nominations and seven trophies, including for picture and director, it saw a significant boost at the box office – grossing $33 million after its nomination and $47.1 million more after the awards. Oscar bump: 26.3%Box office post-award: $13.9 million Box office pre-award: $38.9 million Total box office gross (inflation adjusted): $123.1 million Limited released date: Dec. 10, 1982 Wide release date: Feb. 25, 1983 Columbia Pictures’ “Gandhi” is the biography of Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi, depicting him leading a nonviolent resistance movement for the rights of Indians in South Africa and then India’s fight for independence. The film had 11 nominations and took home eight trophies, including for picture, director (Richard Attenborough) and lead actor (Ben Kingsley). Oscar bump: 27%Box office post-award: $27.1 million Box office pre-award: $ 73.1 million Total box office gross (inflation adjusted): $138.4 million Limited released date: Dec. 11, 1998 Wide release date: Jan. 8, 1999 In Miramax's “Shakespeare in Love,” Joseph Fiennes stars as a young William Shakespeare struggling from writer's block. During the film, Shakespeare meets and falls in love with Viola, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, who becomes his inspiration for Juliet. “Shakespeare in Love” received 13 Oscar nominations and won seven, including best picture, director and actress. The movie saw a box office bump after its nominations, with approximately 63 percent of its box office sales coming after its nominations, despite having already been in theatres for just over a month. Oscar bump: 29.5%Box office post-award: $31.4 million Box office pre-award: $ 75.2 million Total box office gross (inflation adjusted): $193.4 million Limited released date: December 15, 1989 Wide release date: January 26, 1990 “Driving Miss Daisy” from Warner Bros. is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, and tells the story of a strong-willed Southern widow, played by Jessica Tandy, and her African-American chauffeur, played by Morgan Freeman. In the film, Freeman’s character is hired to drive her around as the plot follows how the relationship between the two evolves. The movie didn't have a wide release until Jan. 26, 1990, a few weeks before the nominations. The film was nominated for nine Oscars and won four, including for best picture, actress, and adapted screenplay. The film brought in approximately 68 percent of its box-office sales after receiving its nominations. Oscar bump: 30.4%Box office post-award: $43 million Box office pre-award: $98.3 million Total box office gross (inflation adjusted): $168.3 million Limited release date: Nov .12, 2008 Wide release date: Dec. 26, 2008 A film from Fox Searchlight, “Slumdog Millionaire” tells the story of a young teen accused of cheating on India’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” The movie follows the character as he recounts how he learned the answers while growing up in the slums of Mumbai. The story is filled with tales of forced labor, gang run-ins, oppressive conditions, and love. “Slumdog” saw its wide release only a month before its nomination, and two months before the awards. It was nominated for 10 awards, winning eight, including best picture and director. Over 30 percent of its total gross came after the awards, and 68 percent came after the Oscar nominations. The film screened in over 2,000 theaters after the nominations, as opposed to only 600 beforehand. Oscar bump: 32.5%Box office post-award: $16.8 million Box office pre-award: $34.8 million Total box office gross (inflation adjusted): $111.7 million Limited release date: Sept .21, 1984 Wide release date: April 5, 1985 Antonio Salieri, the main character in “Amadeus,” harbored both respect and hatred for composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The film was written from the perspective of Salieri, now confined in an insane asylum, and recounts his plots and schemes to degrade Mozart and limit his influence as a composer. It was distributed by Orion pictures and starred F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce. “Amadeus” was nominated for 11 Oscars and took home eight, including for best picture, director and actor (Abraham as Salieri). Approximately 50 percent of its box-office receipts came after the nominations and 32 percent after the awards. The movie wasn’t widely released until April 5, several weeks after the Academy Awards. Oscar bump: 35.5%Box office post-award: $35.6 million Box office pre-award: $64.9 million Total box office gross (inflation adjusted): $119.7 million Limited release date: Dec 15, 2004 Wide release date: January 28, 2005 Frankie Dunn, played by Clint Eastwood, is an aging boxing trainer with few friends and an estranged daughter. Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) is a down-on-her-luck waitress who pursues a career in boxing, enlisting Frankie to be her trainer. Frankie and Maggie create forge a father-daughter-like bond throughout the film, helping Frankie reconcile with his biological daughter. Maggie is severely injured in a match, causing permanent and life-threatening damage to her spine. While on life support Maggie asks Frankie to pull the plug because she does not want to live in her current existence. Opening to only eight theaters and expanding to only 147 screens prior to Oscar nominations, “Million Dollar Baby” made just 8.5 percent of its total box-office revenue before its wide release to over 2,000 theaters after its nomination. After its wide release, it made a whopping $56 million and another $35 million post award, accounting for 92 percent of its total box-office revenue. Oscar bump: 37.2% Box office post-award: $35.8 million Box office pre-award: $60.3 million Total box office gross (inflation adjusted): $149.6 million Limited release date: Dec. 15, 1993 Wide release date: Feb. 4, 1994 Liam Neeson plays Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who enlists Jews in Poland to work in his factory during World War II. As the war rages on, he expresses deepening concern for the people working in his factory as he sees the crushing policies of the Nazi party. The movie opened with a limited release in 25 theaters in December 1993, not seeing wider release (in 764 theaters) until February 1994, just days before the Oscar nominations. Post-nomination sales accounted for 69 percent of its box office receipts, 37 percent of which came after its seven Oscar wins, including for best picture and director (Steven Spielberg), in March 1994. Oscar bump: 42.3% Box office post-award: $18.6 million Box office pre-award: $25.4 million Total box office gross (inflation adjusted): $87.12 million Limited release date: Nov. 20, 1987 Wide release date: April 15, 1988 The film with the biggest “Oscar Bump” in recent history is Columbia Pictures’ “The Last Emperor.” The story is a biography of Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, an enigmatic leader who yearned for a simpler life away from the responsibilities of power bestowed on him at age 3. The film follows Pu Yi in flashbacks and flash-forwards detailing his life as a shut-in in the Forbidden City. The plot twists from his role as emperor, his exile, his years as a playboy, and his final days as a gardener in the Botanical Gardens of Peking. The movie won all nine of its academy nominations, which bolstered its box office sales by a whopping 42 percent, or $18 million. Although it only opened in eight theaters during its limited release, the film was screening in 371 theaters prior to its nomination. Its wide release was four days after the awards in April, almost five months after its limited release, screening in 877 theaters. It accumulated 73 percent of its total box office earnings during this time.

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