Of course, winning an Oscar is priceless. But buying one? Well, depending on who you are, that might be much cheaper than you think.
The first Oscar to be sold was hawked by Harold Russell in 1992 for a cool $55k.
And that’s a steal in comparison to other sales ― Steven Spielberg purchased Bette Davis’s 1938 Best Actress Oscar for $578,000, for instance, and in 2014, Joseph Wright’s 1943 Best Colour Art Direction Oscar for My Gal Sal sold for $79,200.
Not a bad profit considering the statue only costs $400 to make, right?
Well… wrong
Anyone who wins an Oscar has to sign an agreement that includes a 1951 no-resale rule introduced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 2015, a court ruling changed a rule that meant anyone selling an Oscars statue should offer it to the Academy for $10 first, and lowered it to one measly dollar.
“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 $1.00,” says the Academy’s site.
“This provision shall apply also to the heirs and assigns of Academy Award winners who may acquire a statuette by gift or bequest.“
The Academy has successfully sued people who have tried to sell their Oscar without first giving them their $1 shot ― including the owner and auction house behind the Joseph Wright sale we mentioned before.
In that case, the statue was returned to the Academy.
So, technically an Oscar is only worth a single US dollar (blood, sweat, and tears nonrefundable).
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