Motion picture academy and ABC renew Oscars pact [Updated]

One of the longest streaks in television history ... will continue.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the ABC television network said Thursday they had extended their licensing agreement six years, through 2020. The agreement keeps the Academy Awards telecast a fixture on ABC, and the announcement comes just days before this weekend's 83rd annual Oscar gala on the network.

"This contract ensures that the Oscar show will be an ABC tradition for 45 consecutive years," academy President Tom Sherak said in a prepared statement.

The contract had been scheduled to expire in 2014.  

Foreign television rights for the Oscar telecast are covered by a separate contract with Walt Disney International, an arm of ABC's parent company, and is separately negotiated. That deal also expires in 2014. 

Updated 2:07 p.m:  Financial details for the new contract were not disclosed. The existing license agreement is part of a television rights package that provides the academy approximately $70 million annually. (This version clarifies an earlier post) The telecast is highly profitable for both parties. The academy relies on the television licensing to finance its operations, including staging the Oscar telecast and Governor's Ball.  

And for ABC this year, the telecast is expected to garner at least $80 million in advertising revenue -- up substantially over the last two  years.  The ad rate for the show is near a record of an average $1.7 million per 30 second spot during the program.

-- Meg James

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Oscar gold: Academy aims for younger audiences

Advertisers have spent nearly $720 million during the last decade to advertise their products in the Academy Awards telecast, according to an analysis released Monday by Kantar Media.

That comes out to an average of $72 million a year, although three years -- 2006, 2007 and 2008 -- saw spending levels top $80 million. The total haul is important to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences because the organization relies heavily on ad revenue from the telecast to finance its operations and stage Hollywood's annual glitzy gala, including the Governors Ball. 

ABC is on track to bring in more than $80 million in commercial sales for this year's event, which will be broadcast Feb. 27.  The Walt Disney Co.  network has sold out its available inventory for the program and fetched prices of about $1.7 million per 30-second spot.  That's up considerably from last year's $1.4 million per spot.

Last year's higher ratings -- an average of nearly 42 million people tuned in -- helped ABC bump up the ad rates this year.

Over the last five years, more than half the total ad revenue from the show has come from just five companies: Coca-Cola, J.C. Penney, General Motors, American Express and Mastercard International, Kantar said. Auto giant GM took itself out of the running two years ago and was promptly replaced by Hyundai, which continues to be the exclusive auto sponsor -- and the program's largest advertiser overall.

This year's hosts -- James Franco and Anne Hathaway -- are part of the Academy's campaign to attract more young adults to the TV screen.  The median age of last year's Oscar audience was 50, according to Kantar, and that's slightly grayer than advertisers would like.

In another bid to attract young viewers and whip up excitement surrounding the awards show, the Academy this year has amped up its interactive media elements, such as Internet coverage of red carpet arrivals and peeks at backstage areas, including press-room interviews with winners. 

-- Meg James

Photo: Awards show host James Franco arrives at last week's nominees luncheon in advance of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. Credit: Mike Nelson/EPA

ABC sells out advertisements for Oscar telecast at near-record prices

After two years of struggling to maintain pricing, sales of commercial time for this month's Academy Awards telecast have rebounded sharply, with ABC fetching prices at near-record rates.

The network confirmed Thursday that it has sold out its available inventory in the glittery Feb. 27 award show. The network is fetching about $1.7 million per 30-second spot -- a haul that could help the network achieve revenue of more than $80 million for Hollywood's biggest night of the year, according to advertising insiders.

"If ABC does reach that level of $1.7 million per spot, it would be the high water mark," said Jon Swallen, senior vice president for research at Kantar Media, which tracks advertising spending.  "They've never quite reached an average price of $1.7 million before."

Total revenue for last year's telecast was $70 million, Swallen said. ABC collected about $1.3 million to $1.5 million per spot in 2009 and 2010.

If the award show pulls in $80 million this year, it would be a huge relief to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which relies heavily on the television money to finance its annual operations and stage the Academy Awards.

Last year's strong ratings for the Oscar telecast have helped to fuel sales this year. An average of nearly 42 million people viewed the program last year, producing Oscar's largest audience in five years.

Advertisers including JC Penney, AT&T, Coke, Sprint, Procter & Gamble, Hyundai, Nokia, Amazon.com, Anheuser-Busch, McDonald's and Best Buy have bought spots in this year's telecast, according to ABC.

"They ordinarily don't have trouble selling this event. There is always pretty strong demand," Swallen said. Advertisers like the upscale audience that typically tunes into the program. In addition, live events have been generating higher ratings because people watch them in real time.

Revenue for the Oscar telecast plummeted two years ago during the recession when the advertising market was soft. "Revenue really fell off during the last two years because of the lower unit pricing," Swallen said.

In 2009, ABC also lost a marquee sponsor, General Motors, which had consistently been one of the biggest spenders in the program. Hyundai stepped in, and it continues to be the exclusive auto advertiser in the Academy Awards.

The advertising market has improved dramatically in the last year. Also helping to drive pricing is the relatively lower number of commercial spots available during the show. The academy limits the amount of time devoted to commercials to eight to 10 minutes per hour, Swallen said, and that includes promotional spots for ABC's other programming.  In contrast, a typical prime-time hour contains 16 to 17 minutes of commercial time. 

For the Oscars, "that's 40% to 50% less than what you have in a normal hour of prime-time," Swallen said.

ABC also said it had sold all of its available time in the red carpet show that precedes the Oscar telecast.

-- Meg James

Photo: Oscar statue in the Grand Ballroom at the 83rd Academy Awards Governors Ball preview. Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images.

'King's Speech' may be recut for lower rating, gets new ad campaign following Oscar nominations

The challenge now is making “The King’s Speech” into the lingua franca.

With a dozen Oscar nominations under its belt, the movie’s executive producer and distributor Harvey Weinstein is ready to unleash a new marketing strategy that aims to rope in more movie-going commoners who normally wouldn’t go near a historical drama about a British king.

The plans involve a potentially risky decision: re-editing the movie to excise coarse language and secure a lower rating that will open “The King’s Speech” to a broader audience. Weinstein, whose New York-based studio The Weinstein Co. released the film, said he is talking with director Tom Hooper about trimming the profanity that earned the film an R rating in order to attain a PG-13 or even PG.

He is eyeing the success of the movie in Great Britain, where a 12-and-over rating has helped it to top the box office chart for the last three weekends, beating such bigger-budget pictures as “Gulliver’s Travels” and “The Green Hornet.”

“The British numbers are huge because the rating lets families see the movie together,” said Weinstein. “Tom and I are trying to find a unique way to do this that keeps his vision of the movie.”

Hooper could not be reached for comment.

A recut version wouldn’t hit theaters until after the Oscars ceremony on Feb. 27. But The Weinstein Co. has aggressive plans for the $12.3-million production leading up to that date. Beginning this weekend, the distributor will expand the film to about 2,500 theaters in the U.S. and Canada from 1,680, making it accessible to nearly every moviegoer.

The Morning Fix: Oscar working on timing. Hasbro and Discovery not toying around. `Superman' has its director.

After the coffee. Before yet another flight to New York.

The Skinny: Discovery's and Hasbro's new kids channel doesn't premiere until Sunday, but the critics are already pouncing. Can't Google everyone with Google TV. "Superman" has its next director. The FCC wants more dirt from Comcast and NBC Universal as part of its review

Oscars on the move. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences wants to move the annual Oscar Awards telecasts from its current home of the end of February or early March to January or early February. The motivation is to make the Oscars one of the first awards shows instead of the last so there is less chance of awards-show fatigue impacting the telecast's ratings. The challenge is finding a new home that won't get run over by football. Huh? That's right, football. See, the NFL wants to expand its regular season to 18 games (that's a debate for another day) and if (when) that happens, it will mean the Super Bowl and probably some of the playoffs will get pushed well into February. That means the Oscar folks (and host network ABC) have to find a home where they won't bump up against all that football hype on rival networks and still get ahead of other shows. The scoop from the Los Angeles Times.

Not toying around. On Sunday, Discovery and Hasbro will launch "The Hub," a new cable channel aimed primarily at kids age 6-11. Not only will it face tough competition from entrenched channels such as Viacom's Nickelodeon and Disney's Disney Channel and Disney XD, it will also be scrutinized by media watchdogs. That's because there are concerns that Hasbro will try to make the network into nothing but ads for its toys. The channel's boss, respected kids TV executive Margaret Loesch, says that won't be the case and that only about 20% of Hub shows are based on Hasbro products. But will that be enough to silence the critics? More on The Hub from the Los Angeles Times.

Google this! Google, the search engine that wants to become the connector between the Internet and the television, unveiled its content partners, but the list was more notable for who wasn't on it. While several cable networks, including CNBC, HBO and Turner Broadcasting are on board, the big broadcast networks are steering clear of Google -- for now anyway. To get Google TV, at least in its early incarnation, you'll need either a Sony high-definition TV set, a Blu-ray player or a special set-top box. In other words, it may take a little while for this thing to take off. More on Google's small-screen dreams from the New York Times.

Peace accord. Mexican broadcaster Grupo Televisa is shelling out $130 million for a 5% stake in Univision and an additional $1.07 billion in convertible debt that translates into 30% of Univision's shares, according to the Wall Street Journal. Besides giving Univision a much needed infusion, it ends years of acrimony between the two media giants.

And the backlash begins. Although many critics are worshiping "The Social Network" and already talking about how many Oscar nominations it should get, gripes about the portrayal of women in the movie are starting to surface. Missing from the movie, says Rebecca Davis O'Brien in the Daily Beast, are women who aren't "doting groupies, vengeful sluts, or dumpy, feminist killjoys." 

He's baaack! Former NBC Enertainment chief Ben Silverman is back to doing what he does best -- making new versions of successful shows. He's near a deal to make a sitcom for ABC based on an old Latin American comedy called "I Hate This Place." Not sure what's more ironic, that ABC -- whose old entertainment chief Steve McPherson loathed Silverman -- will be home for the show or that Deadline Hollywood, which relished in Silverman's downfall at NBC, was where the story was leaked.

Super Director. Zack Snyder, whose credits include "300" and "Watchmen," has been tapped to direct the latest version of "Superman" for Warner Bros. and Legend Pictures. Chris Nolan will produce. Deadline Hollywood on the choice and what Snyder's thoughts are about taking on the franchise.

Where's mine? The Wrap makes the shocking discovery that even in a field as challenged as journalism, there are some people pulling down huge salaries. Next you'll tell me there are hockey players making big bucks too. The hook for the story is that Michael Ausiello, an Entertainment Weekly writer best known for his television casting scoops, is launching his own website, backed by the owners of Deadline Hollywood. Hey, if someone wants to pay top dollar for content, you'll get no complaints from me.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Thomas Tull, the chairman of Legendary Pictures, is buying out his original investors and has new partners in Fortress Investment Group and Fidelity. The Federal Communications Commission wants more inside information from Comcast and NBC Universal as part of its review of their pending merger. 

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter and I'll tweet you something special. Twitter.com/JBFlint

The Morning Fix: TV's manic Monday and Fox's fizzling 'Lone Star'! DC moves to L.A. Blockbuster nears bankruptcy. Another MySpace remake.

After the coffee. Before wondering if the Oscar talk for "The Town" isn't just a tad premature.
 

Here we go again. Monday night marked the official start of the new TV season, but it was an old show -- ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" -- that ran away with the viewers. Still, CBS can crow about the launches of "Hawaii Five-0" and "Mike & Molly," NBC can breathe a little easier about its big-budget drama, "The Event," and Fox can ... never mind. Poor Fox might have to adopt the Boomtown Rats song "I Don't Like Mondays" as its new marketing song if things don't improve. "Lone Star," its critically acclaimed drama about a Texas con man failed to hustle up much of an audience. The 9 p.m. show barely broke the 4-million-viewer mark as more than half of the audience from its "House" lead-in fled. There is already talk that "Lone Star" might join that small list of shows canceled after just one episode. HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," which played in less than one-third of the homes of "Lone Star," got a bigger audience and was already renewed for a second season. Ratings analysis on night one of the season from the Los Angeles Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter and Deadline Hollywood.

No rush on returning that DVD. Blockbuster Inc., once the king of the home-entertainment business, is expected to finally file for bankruptcy later this week. The chain has been shuttering stores for years as it has struggled to keep up with Netflix and Redbox and has a $900-million debt load it is struggling to pay off. Hard to believe that Viacom once paid more than $8 billion for Blockbuster. Then again, it's hard to believe I used to go there all the time and even its heyday didn't like the way the stores were run. Details on Blockbuster's late-fee issues from the Wall Street Journal.

Heard this before. News Corp. is once again promising a "dramatic remake" of MySpace, that other social-networking site that Hollywood isn't making a big movie about. Speaking at a conference sponsored by the Wrap, Jon Miller, the digital czar of News Corp. said the new MySpace will take the site "back to its roots of music, discovery and self-expression" and will "jar some people and excite others." As long as it excites boss Rupert Murdoch, Miller can jar as many people he wants. More on the latest do-over for MySpace from Bloomberg. For more on the other sessions at the Wrap's daylong conference, here is the roundup.

DC moves to L.A. No, not Washington, D.C., DC Comics. Warner Bros. has wrapped up its yearlong reorganization of its DC Entertainment division, otherwise known as DC Comics. The bulk of DC's New York-based operations are headed West, and about 50 people will be let go. Details on the moves from the Los Angeles Times.

Amy on the move. Amy Banse, who has been running much of cable giant Comcast Corp.'s digital operations, is exiting that post, and her job was so big it will be filled by two people, reports Peter Kafka at All Things Digital. Banse isn't expected to leave the company and, in fact, has a very close relationship with Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts and his family and could end up with a very senior position in the new Comcast after the NBC Universal deal closes.

Ready for his closeup. John Gotti Jr., son of the late New York mobster John Gotti, is participating in an effort to bring his life and relationship with his father to the big screen. Gotti told Variety, "The story's about redemption. ... My father had a hard time accepting that I ultimately didn't want to follow his path." No word on who will play Curtis Silwa, the Guardian Angel founder, radio personality and target of a shooting that Gotti Jr. was accused but not convicted of arranging.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: James Rainey on tabloid gossip and how even good things are said without attribution. Patrick Goldstein on the premature Oscar hype for "The Town." Will there be enough hooting from audiences to make "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" a hit? A former assistant to a top Disney executive pleaded guilty to charges related to insider trading. Ex-"SNL" star Norm MacDonald is developing a new show for Comedy Central.

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter and at least the day won't be a total loss. Twitter.com/JBFlint

Many theaters refuse to book "Hurt Locker" despite Oscar win

Even a best picture Oscar isn't enough to get theaters excited about playing a movie already on DVD.

On Monday, the day after their movie "The Hurt Locker" won top prizes at the Academy Awards, Summit Entertainment chief executive Rob Friedman and his team worked the phones trying to expand the Iraq war drama's run beyond the 283 theaters where it played last weekend. The independent studio was hoping to capitalize on its victories, which also included the director prize for Kathryn Bigelow, and enhance the picture's paltry $14.7-million domestic box-office total.

But most of the nation's major exhibition chains refused to give Summit more screens, citing a policy of not showing films that are already available to watch at home. Two of the three biggest, AMC Entertainment and Cinemark, agreed to play the movie at just a handful of theaters, according to a knowledgeable person. However, Regal Entertainment, the biggest theater circuit in the U.S., won't show the film at all, the person said.

Regal did not immediately respond for comment.

Because exhibitors want to discourage studios from releasing films on DVD before they finish playing in theaters, they generally refuse to re-book a movie after it's available in home entertainment formats. They do occasionally bend that rule, however. For example, Warner Bros. has re-released 2004's "The Polar Express" several times during the holiday season, as has Walt Disney Studios each Halloween with "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

In total, Summit was only able to book 35 new theaters for "The Hurt Locker" in the U.S. this Friday, bringing its total to 318. Most are independent theaters or part of small chains.

After coming out on DVD Jan. 12, "The Hurt Locker" has continued to play at just a few hundred theaters, some of which don't typically play first-run films.

In Los Angeles, "The Hurt Locker" is already playing at several theaters, including ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood and The Landmark in West L.A.

"The Hurt Locker" has performed well in the home entertainment market. Through Saturday, Summit sold 780,000 DVDs and electronic downloads. In addition, the movie has been rented 5.4 million times by consumers. That's a relatively high number for a movie that has grossed less than $15 million.

It will likely get a further boost in DVD sales and rentals this week following the Oscars.

The last Oscar best picture winner that was already on DVD was "Crash," which took the prize in 2006. Lionsgate was only able to book the movie in about 200 theaters after it won. Over four weeks it generated $1.2 million in additional box-office receipts.

--Ben Fritz and Claudia Eller

Photo: Director-producer Kathryn Bigelow holding her two Oscars for "The Hurt Locker" at Sunday's ceremony. Credit: Gabriel Buoys / AFP / Getty Images.

ABC's Oscar audience grows by 14%; biggest number in five years

Maybe it was the expanded best-picture category or, who knows, maybe it was that Neil Patrick Harris opening number. Whatever it was, Oscar ratings were up big time.

About 41.3 million people tuned in to ABC last night for the 82nd Academy Awards to see "The Hurt Locker" take best picture and best director and Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock walk away with the lead acting honors. That's an almost 14% jump from the 2009 awards, which were seen by 36.3 million, according to Nielsen. In the coveted category of adults ages 18 to 49, the Oscars averaged a 13.1 rating, an 8% gain over last year's show. Each rating point in that demographic represents 1.3 million viewers.

Sunday's telecast was the most-watched Oscars since the 2005 show, which saw Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" take best picture. in five years. This is the second year in a row the audience for the Oscars has grown. Of course, the bar has been pretty low lately. The 2008 awards, which saw "No Country for Old Men" take the top prize, were the least-viewed on record with only 32 million people watching.

The Oscar ratings again highlight the strength of big event television. The audiences have been growing for award shows as of late, with the Golden Globes, Emmy Awards, Super Bowl and Grammy Awards all seeing their audiences get bigger.

ABC was certainly helped by its parent company, Walt Disney Co., resolving its fight with Cablevision Systems Corp. Disney had pulled the signal of WABC-TV New York from 3.1 million Cablevision homes in the nation's No. 1 television market. A tentative deal was reached between the two companies as the show began, and the signal was restored to those homes about 15 minutes into the Oscar telecast. Numbers in New York for the first half hour of the show's broadcast were down but rose throughout the night as word spread that WABC-TV was back on in Cablevision homes.

The painful Oscar pre-show on ABC, in which co-host Kathy Ireland, whose interview skills with stars was a disservice to Sports Illustrated swimsuit models everywhere, averaged 25.1 million viewers. Barbara Walters' final interview special lured 15 million viewers, a 30% gain over the 2009 special.

-- Joe Flint

Photo: Director and best picture winner Kathryn Bigelow does some two-fisted celebrating. Credit: Valerie Macon/ AFP Getty Images. 

'Avatar' could lift Oscar ratings, but there is the Leonardo DiCaprio factor and ABC's feud with Cablevision to consider

While everyone puts the finishing touches on their Oscar pools, it seems appropriate to take a look at the ratings of the show over the last few years and see if we can get any hints on how Sunday's telecast will perform.

Awards shows have been on the rise as of late, with the Grammys, Emmys and Golden Globes all making ratings gains. ABC's Oscars broadcast should easily beat last year's numbers, but if it doesn't top 40 million viewers, it seems safe to say the word "disappointment."

Last year's Oscars, which saw "Slum Dog Millionaire" take home the top prize, was seen by 36.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Though that's not a spectacular number, it was actually an improvement on the 2008 show, which drew just 32 million viewers ("No Country for Old Men" was the best picture winner) and was the least-watched Oscars show ever, according to the information Nielsen has. However, Nielsen does not have viewer information for the Oscars before 1974, so who knows, maybe there was a smaller audience for the year "Midnight Cowboy" won. The second least-watched Oscars was 2003, when "Chicago" won best picture.

Because this year's broadcast has an expanded best picture category and the hugely successful "Avatar" is in the running, many are expecting a big audience. If history is a guide, there may be reason for such optimism. The last time a James Cameron movie was in the Oscar running was 1997 with "Titanic," and that telecast had a record audience of 55.2 million viewers. If you're curious, the previous record was in 1983, when 53.2 million watched "Ghandi" win. 

But although "Avatar" is a hit, that alone might not be enough to bring a big audience. There is the Leonardo DiCaprio factor. He starred in "Titanic," but "Avatar" does not have any superstars in it. And yes, "Titanic" helped cement DiCaprio's status as a superstar, but it does not seem like "Avatar" is going to have the same effect on its cast. The year "The Departed" (another DiCaprio movie) won best picture, 40.2 million people tuned in.

Then there are the hosts. Hosts probably can't boost a show's ratings so much as hurt them. Although Steve Martin is at national-treasure status, there are probably as many people who loathe Alec Baldwin as there are who love him. Well, as long as his daughter doesn't call 911 during the program, hopefully everything will be OK.

There is one other factor to consider, and it's a big one. ABC is threatening to pull the signal for its New York City television station, WABC, from Cablevision on Sunday. Cablevision serves 3.1 million homes in that region. If ABC follows through on that threat and the Oscars are not available to Cablevision subscribers, that could depress the ratings.

We'll see who blinks.

-- Joe Flint

Photo: A Kodak Theatre security guard stands watch over Oscar. Credit: Amy Sancetta / Associated Press

Studios looking to cash in on Oscar nominations

After amassing more than $2 billion in global ticket sales, “Avatar” seems like the last film that would get a financial boost from today’s Oscar nominations. But Academy Award recognition can bring surprising benefits to even the least needy candidates.

Though director James Cameron’s 3-D blockbuster has been atop the box office charts for seven weeks, much of the business has come from repeat customers. However, there is still a potentially untapped audience.

“There are plenty of people around the world who are not frequent moviegoers and may be motivated by the nominations,” said Tom Rothman, chairman of the film’s distributor, 20th Century Fox. With nine nominations, he added, “We expect it to be a meaningful help to the box office.”

Every studio with a best picture nominee made plans today to benefit from Oscar attention, be it by drawing new audiences to existing theaters, expanding into new theaters or bringing attention to DVDs.

• "Avatar": It has already racked up more than $2 billion in worldwide grosses. Fox is hoping the movie's nine nominations will help it reach more infrequent moviegoers, about 12% of the U.S. population who typically go out to the cinema once a year.
• "The Blind Side": Currently playing nationwide, it has grossed $237 million domestically. However, nominations for best picture and actress Sandra Bullock could provide a major boost as the film rolls out internationally in the next few months. "These nominations will certainly help the film overseas," said Sue Kroll, president of marketing for “Blind Side” distributor Warner Bros. "They will be included in all the advertising across all media."
• "District 9": Sony Pictures' sci-fi action picture is out of theaters after grossing more than $200 million worldwide but could see an increase in its already strong DVD sales. Vice Chairman Jeff Blake said Sony plans to highlight the film's nominations in a big DVD marketing push.
• "An Education": Sony Pictures Classics will expand the British drama, which has collected $8.8 million so far in the U.S. and Canada, from 75 theaters to 760 this Friday.
• "The Hurt Locker": The movie was released on DVD last month. However, Summit is aiming to grow the movie from the 28 theaters it is still playing in to about 100 to boost the modest $12.7 million it has generated.
• "Inglourious Basterds": The Weinstein Co. Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein said he hopes Oscar attention can generate an additional 1 million DVD unit sales on top of the 3 million it has so far. In addition, director Quentin Tarantino's revisionist World War II drama may get a small re-release in theaters.
• "Precious": It has grossed $44.5 million so far, primarily from African American moviegoers. Lionsgate will triple its theater count to more than 650 and may draw a more diverse audience thanks to its six nominations.
• "A Serious Man": The movie recently finished its theatrical run with $9.2 million. Will be released on DVD next Tuesday.
• "Up": It was released on DVD in December after grossing more than $700 million worldwide. Disney may re-release the animated comedy in its El Capitan Theater in Hollywood to take advantage of the best picture nomination.
• "Up in the Air": The movie is playing in 1,500 theaters. The studio will not add more theaters but will give the movie another marketing push, says Paramount Pictures Vice Chairman Rob Moore. "These accolades can help give the movie another pop at the box office." The picture has grossed $73.5 million domestically. 

Other films with multiple acting nominations are expanding this week as well. Fox Searchlight's country music drama "Crazy Heart," which received three nominations, including best actor for Jeff Bridges, will go from 239 theaters to more than 800 on Friday. Sony Pictures Classics will expand "The Last Station," for which Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer received acting nominations, to about 50 theaters this week, up from nine.

Studio executives with nominated films will be tallying movie ticket and DVD sales in the coming weeks, but at the same time they have their eye on taking home the big prize. 

"While helping box office is certainly important, even more so is that the best picture Oscar tells generations to come that the winning film has enduring significance,” Fox’s Rothman said.

-- Claudia Eller and Ben Fritz

Top photo: Emma Thompson, Ellie Kendrick, Amanda Fairbank-Hynes and Carey Mulligan in "An Education." Credit: Kerry Brown / Sony Pictures Classics.

Bottom photo: Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart." Credit: Lorey Sebastian / Fox Searchlight.