Winning an Oscar award is entering the Olympus of cinema, one of the greatest honors an actor can receive in their career. For an actor, director, or screenwriter, it means engraving their name in gold in the Hollywood industry, but how much money does an Oscar winner take home? The answer is not so simple.
Firstly, Oscar winners do not directly receive any amount of money for taking the statuette home. The regulations of the Academy of Hollywood establish this, emphasizing that the merit will only be recognized with a golden statuette.
However, winning an Oscar award significantly boosts the careers of actors. It enables them to land million-dollar contracts and increase their bank accounts.
An example of this is the case of Lupita Nyong'o. The actress won the award in 2014 for her work in 12 Years a Slave, her first major role after entering the business - as IMDb points out - and after her victory, she was hired for blockbuster films with high earnings such as Star Wars or Black Panther.
What do celebrities receive for being nominated for an Oscar?
Although the Oscar award does not provide money, it has been known for years that some of the Oscar nominees receive a gift bag valued at thousands of dollars.
The value of the 2025 Oscar gift bag, prepared by Distinctive Assets, amounts to over $200,000 (approximately ¤192,000) and includes a complete line of skincare and hair care products, four nights at a luxury resort in the Maldives, a five-night retreat in the hills of Sri Lanka, genetic testing kit, vouchers for liposuction procedures, or cannabis dog treats.
However, this lavish gift is only available to the 25 candidates in the acting and directing categories.
The curious price of the Oscar statuette
The Oscar statuette is plated with 24-karat gold. However, winners are not allowed to resell it since this rule was introduced by contract in 1951 following several cases of resale that were not well-received.
Therefore, any Oscar winner must sign a no-resale agreement that can only be avoided if the Academy itself refuses to purchase it for one dollar.
"Award winners may 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 it to the Academy for the sum of $1," states the Academy's rules webpage. "This provision also applies to the heirs and assigns of Oscar winners who may acquire a statuette by gift or bequest," it indicates in its guidelines. Additionally, it is estimated that the manufacturing cost of each statuette is around $400.