Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' epic biopic, a top contender for the best picture Oscar, emerged as the highest spender among this year's 10 films nominated in the category. Data from TV and streaming ad measurement firm iSpot revealed that 'Oppenheimer' led the pack with an estimated national TV media value of $25.7 million from Jan. 1, 2023, to Feb. 29, 2024.
The Universal Pictures production proved to be both a critical and commercial success, raking in $958 million at the global box office. Interestingly, three of this year's best picture nominees, namely 'Past Lives,' 'The Zone of Interest,' and 'Anatomy of a Fall,' did not advertise on national linear TV in the U.S. at all. These films also had minimal TV ad impressions on streaming platforms, as per iSpot data.
It's worth noting that the amount of marketing dollars spent on traditional TV networks does not always correlate with a film's chances of winning the top prize at the Academy Awards. For instance, the 2023 best picture winner, 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' from A24, did not air any ads on national linear TV either.
Following 'Oppenheimer,' Apple's 'Killers of the Flower Moon' directed by Martin Scorsese had the next highest TV ad budget among this year's best picture nominees, with an estimated national TV media value of $17.8 million. Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie,' the highest-grossing film of 2023 with $1.44 billion in global box office receipts, saw $9.6 million in national TV ad spending.
The remaining four 2024 best picture nominees, 'The Holdovers,' 'American Fiction,' 'Poor Things,' and 'Maestro,' had national TV media values ranging from $4 million to $6 million during the same period, according to iSpot's estimates.
Overall, 'Oppenheimer' ranked sixth among movies for national TV ad spending over the past year. The top five spots were claimed by Universal's 'Fast X' ($32.5 million), Warner Bros.' 'The Flash' ($32.1 million), Universal/Illumination's 'Migration' ($31.8 million), 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' ($29.8 million), and Amazon Studios' 'Air' ($29.4 million).
These figures underscore the diverse marketing strategies employed by studios in promoting their films, with varying levels of investment in TV advertising across the board.
