Still a golden investment?
LOS ANGELES - There was a time when a best picture Oscar meant everything to studios. A big win could significantly boost the box office for a film and create years of steady revenue from video sales and replays on TV. Before his downfall, Harvey Weinstein used the clout of the Oscars to turn movies like "Chicago" and "The King's Speech" into box-office champions.
But the famed, gold-plated statuette appears to have lost some of its luster.
Studios spent tens of millions of dollars during the last four months to woo Oscar voters for movies including "Roma," "Green Book" and "A Star Is Born," hoping for the prestige and legitimacy that comes with the top honors. Despite the spending, many in the film industry increasingly question the economic and cultural value of the awards.
The so-called Oscar bump - a surge in cinema ticket sales from
