The most coveted Awards’ night is here, yes we’re talking about the gold-plated bronze statuette that drives every actor, and is on practically on all of their bucket lists. Originally sculpted by George Stanley from a design by Cedric Gibbons, the Oscar was first presented in 1929 at the first ever Academy Awards. The statuette’s official name is the Academy Award of Merit and the 92nd Oscar Awards will be held on February 9 at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre.
The gold-plated statuette of a knight holding a crusader’s sword stands 13-and-a-half inches tall and weighs a robust (approximately) 4kgs. This figurine stands atop a film reel which features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy, that are the actors, directors, producers, technicians, and writers. More than 3,000 statuettes have been presented since the inception of the Academy Awards, but have you ever wondered what does the most coveted Awards’ statuette cost?
Made in solid bronze and plated in 24-karat gold, the original price of the Oscar statuette is open to debates. Steven Spielberg purchased Bette Davis’s 1938 Best Actress Oscar for $ 578,000. He also famously bought Clark Gable’s Best Actor award for $607,500, but after each purchase, returned it to the Academy.
However, according to Academy regulations, following a 2015 court ruling, Award winners shall not sell or otherwise dispose of the Oscar statuette, nor permit it to be sold or disposed of by operation of law, without first offering to sell it to the Academy for the sum of $1.
Sometimes, however, Oscars have an uncanny ability to enter the open market. According to The New York Times, Jho Low, a Malaysian businessman and financer, purchased Marlon Brando’s missing 1954 Oscar for On the Waterfront from a memorabilia dealer for $600,000 and gave it to Leonardo DiCaprio along with a Picasso painting, both of which DiCaprio handed over to the authorities. Low stole billions of dollars from a Malaysian government investment fund, called the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fun (1MDB), and is currently a fugitive on the run from US investigators.
As for the production cost of the Oscar, the statues are reportedly made for around $400 apiece. The rules of sale remain the same for gold miniature Oscar statuettes as well, they can’t be sold to anyone except back to the Academy. Before 2016, the Academy bought back Oscars for $10 and prior to 1951, there was no return policy at all.
