Oscar Isn't Automatic Gold

Thursday's medianote came from a recent Los Angeles Times story about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and other major-studio "prestige pictures." These movies are crafted to be winners at the box office and on Oscar night, unlike, say, Hey, Dude Where's My Car? It was long thought in Hollywood that these prestige pictures, like Button or Australia or Memoirs of a Geisha would almost certainly be profitable if they gathered some important Oscar considerations, especially for Best Picture.

But this article indicates that these films don't always get consideration from the Academy, and even if they do profits are still hard to come by.

Questions for the class...

•Would you be more likely to see a movie because it was nominated for Best Picture?
•Are prestige pictures a better financial bet in the long run?
•How should the movie studios ride out the economic downturn?