2021 Oscars Facts: 93rd Academy Awards By The Numbers

Hollywood had a rough year in 2020, with theaters across the country closed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are still quite a few impressive films to celebrate. To help you get psyched for the film industry’s biggest night, WalletHub did our homework on everything from box office sales and Rotten Tomatoes ratings for the Best Picture nominees to the price of awards-season lobbying. You can find all of these awesome Oscars fun facts in the infographic below. That’s followed by a Q&A on the state of the film industry with a panel of entertainment experts.

Top 5 Oscars Facts for 2021:

• $40M+: Total cost of Oscars ceremony.
• $10M: Cost of the look for an A-list actress attending the Oscars.
• 32%: Share of this year’s Oscar nominees who are women (highest percentage ever).
• $2M: Cost of a 30-second commercial during the Oscars telecast (64% less than the Super Bowl).
• $24.7K: Cost of the 50,000-square-foot Oscars red carpet.

Ask the Experts: Taking Oscar’s Pulse

For a closer look at a variety of issues related to the Academy Awards, from demographics to dollars and cents, we posed the following questions to a panel of leading business and entertainment experts. You can check out their bios and responses below.

1. What impact would the lack of diversity on the main categories have on the awards? Will they be considered less relevant for the general public as time goes by?
2. In light of the past years’ controversies, the Academy has worked to improve the diversity of the awards (from the implementation of new representation and inclusion standards to the diversification of its membership). What else can be done to address this critical issue?
3. Do you believe the current system of nominating films is a fair and transparent one? How can this process be improved?
4. Who is going to win the award for Best Actor? Actress? Director? Motion Picture?