Exactly How Much The Academy Is Spending On The 2025 Oscars Ceremony In This Economy
Can spending this kind of money on an awards show really be justified when people are struggling to pay for necessities?
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A | Shutterstock The 97th annual Oscars will be held in Los Angeles on March 2, 2025. While the cinephile in your life is surely looking forward to Hollywood’s biggest night, some didn’t think the Oscars should even take place this year, particularly amidst the aftermath of multiple wildfires in the Los Angeles area. But, the show must go on, as always.
Nevertheless, with more people being let go from their jobs by the day and prices showing no sign of decreasing, there is a question about how ethical it is to hold the yearly awards show — especially when you consider the behemoth amount of money used to make it happen.
This year’s Oscars ceremony will cost almost $58 million.
According to research conducted by WalletHub, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will shell out a whopping $57.7 million for the Oscars ceremony this year. For comparison, the average household in the U.S. brings in about $66,622, according to SoFi, though comparing such amounts of money is about as different as apples and oranges.
In 2024, CBS reported that 19.5 million people watched last year’s Oscars ceremony. If you do the math, you’ll find that that means the Academy averaged roughly $3 million per viewer.
The red carpet alone will cost $24,700. It’s hard to justify spending that much money on the walkway for a pre-show event that serves no real purpose other than to allow fans to see their favorite stars and for celebrities to serve as walking advertisements for high-end fashion labels. Then again, it’s just a fraction of the total production cost.
If you’re a business owner looking to advertise during the Oscars, you might want to think twice. While a 30-second Oscars ad is considerably less expensive than one during the Super Bowl — by 72%, to be exact — it still costs $1.95 million. Then again, with an audience of nearly 20 million, it seems like you get what you’re paying for.
Seeing such numbers is staggering for the average American who is struggling to pay for rent and groceries. Admittedly, it’s even a bit upsetting. How could so much money that could be used to help people be allocated for an event that just celebrates celebrities?
In light of recent events in Los Angeles, some big names called for the Oscars to be canceled.
Due to the absolute devastation caused by the wildfires in Southern California, Stephen King, author, and Academy member, said in a post on his Bluesky account that he would not be voting this year and felt the show should not go forward. “Not voting in the Oscars this year,” he said. “IMHO they should cancel them. No glitz with Los Angeles on fire.”
In a follow-up post, King said the show going on “feels like Nero fiddling while Rome burns.”
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Actress Jean Smart agreed with King. In an Instagram post, she wrote, “With ALL due respect, during Hollywood’s season of celebration, I hope any of the networks televising the upcoming awards will seriously consider NOT televising them and donating the revenue they would have garnered to victims of the fires and the firefighters.”
The California wildfires are estimated to have caused $250 billion in damages, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Others argued the Oscars are exactly what Hollywood needs right now.
As many people pointed out in comments on King’s and Hacks’ posts, the Oscars give hundreds of people jobs. The Academy said on its website that it employs over 650 people. Without the show, all of the people working behind the scenes to earn a living would be out of a paycheck.
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And, really, could anyone imagine a world in which the Oscars were canceled? They are simply a part of life and a part of Hollywood. We’ll all end up tuning in and picking every moment apart, even if we thought moving forward with the show this year was distasteful.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.