Oscars 2020 was held on Sunday, Feb. 9 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Many popular artists from the entertainment industry, including Joaquin Phoenix, Bernie Taupin, Laura Dern and Greg Butler, received their first Academy Awards on Sunday night. All of them received the iconic Golden Statuette on stage from the presenters.
Now, the biggest question that's revolving around the minds of cinema lovers and moviegoers is whether the Oscar winners will be getting any special gifts or perks for winning the titles. The answer is a big no. They will not be getting anything else than the other nominees already got before the award ceremony.
What are the financial benefits of receiving an Academy Award?
The only additional benefit an Academy Award winner can get is something called an Oscar Bump, which is a pay hike of 81 percent. In other words, an artist with an Oscar title can earn big. But a study conducted by a group of researchers from the Colgate University suggested that only male artists have received a salary hike for winning the Oscars. There is no evidence of a female artist receiving a pay hike for getting an Academy Award.
Here is what the study says (via Forbes):
The regression proves that winning an Oscar [for Best Actor] increases a male winner's salary by 81% holding all other variables constant...Female winners do not experience this same clear boost in their salaries. Depending upon the specification of the model used, women experience significantly lower salary increases...In such cases, winning an Academy Award did not have a statistically significant effect on women's salaries in the sample.
So, how does a female artist benefit from wining an Academy Award?
Well, the only option for a female artist to earn big by receiving an Oscar Award is by selling the 24-karat gold plated prestigious 13.5 inch long trophy. In the past, Steven Speilberg reportedly paid $607,500 for Clark Gable's best actor statuette that he had won for 'It Happened One Night', according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Michael Jackson apparently paid the statuette given for best picture 'Gone With the Wind' at an auction for $1.54 million.
However, the Oscar winners are not allowed to bid their Golden Statuette without informing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science since 1951. Before trying to bid the trophy, they will have to offer it to the Academy for $1, reported Entertainment Weekly.
Though Academy Award winners do not receive any additional gifts or perks, people in the film industry are always excited about winning the title. It is because Oscars cannot be bought with money, it has to be earned through hard work and dedication.
