Oscar 2025: How expensive is Oscar Trophy and why can’t winners sell it?

The Academy Awards have taken place in Los Angeles once again, bringing together Hollywood’s biggest stars. While the night is filled with glitz and glamour, it comes with a massive price tag. The Oscars ceremony costs around $57 million each year, with the iconic gold-plated trophies playing a significant role in the event’s expenses.

The Academy enforces a unique regulation to preserve the prestige of the Oscars. Winners cannot sell their trophies freely. Instead, they must first offer them back to the Academy for just $1 before any sale or transfer. This rule applies to all winners, including heirs who inherit an Oscar through a gift or bequest.
 

Older Oscars given out before 1951 have gotten around these rules. When 15 of these statuettes were put up for auction in 2012, they brought in over $3 million (₹250 crore). Herman Mankiewicz's 1941 Oscar for Citizen Kane brought up $588,455 (₹48 lakh) among them. These sales demonstrate the Oscars' enormous cultural and economic significance.

To preserve the credibility of the awards, the Academy still follows its rules. But as history has demonstrated, Oscar trophies are highly valuable on the market. Although victors are not allowed to openly sell their statues, there are several exceptions, demonstrating that an Oscar can still be sold for the appropriate price within the correct time period.