On Sunday night, the stars were out, awards were given, speeches were made, and the Oscars came and went with elegance, flair, and a random Neil Patrick Harris. Hurt Locker won big, taking home best picture, best director, best original screenplay, and a number of other awards. Analysts are predicting that the win could double its box office sales. DVD sales have already spiked. But what about public interest in this best picture? And, how does the effect of winning best picture compare to just being nominated?
On average, the other best picture nominees have increased 50% in views since the Oscars. Before winning best picture, Hurt Locker generated about 40,000 views daily. On Sunday that number more than doubled, reaching in excess of 90,000 views. But that was just the beginning. Yesterday's view count exploded, rocketing past 580,000 views. We'll have to see if this trend continues, but to this point the post-Oscars views for Hurt Locker have increased an impressive 750%, 15x the field (!!).
While best picture casts a long shadow over other awards, the "actor awards" also help drive public interest and awareness. Inglourious Basterds shot up 480% after Christoph Waltz's win for best supporting actor while Crazy Heart jumped 320% after Jeff Bridges took home the Oscar for best actor. The ladies helped increase views for their films as well, with Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side scoring a nearly 220% increase after her Oscar for best actress. Precious rose by over 210% with Mo'nique's best supporting actress win.
Perhaps most surprisingly, viewing activity associated with the Avatar trailer, the highest grossing film of all time and perhaps the favorite for best picture going into Sunday night, has decreased in views since the Oscars. View counts for the film have fallen from 320,000 to 250,000 since the awards show, over a 20% drop.
These numbers reveal just how high the Oscar stakes are. As Hurt Locker's surge in online video activity demonstrates, a win can mean the difference between a solid bump and a true mountain of increased public interest, DVD sales, and box office returns.
If you're interested in monitoring the performance of Hurt Locker and other Academy Awards winners, be sure to check out our Online Film Trailers Premium Collection, available in Trends, our solution for benchmarking online video performance.
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