They Went Woke: Oscars Facing Liquidity Crisis, Launch $500 Million Fundraising Drive As Viewers Fleet

Given that Ricky Gervais has been the only good thing about the Oscars in years, if not decades...

...the Academy of Motion image Arts & Sciences has launched a $500 million fundraising initiative in an effort to offset the Oscars dramatic drop in viewership – which wet from close 44 million in 2014, to just 19.5 million in the later ceremonies, according to Statista.

Bill Kramer, the Academy’s Chief Executive, reviewed in an interview with the Financial Times that the organization has already raised about $100 million, with subscriptions from high-profile donors like billionaire Leonard Blavatnik. The run is furtherbolstered by sponsorship agreements with renewed luxury brands, including the Dorchester Collection.

The timing of this fundraising drive is cruel as the Academy’s current broadcasting agreement with ABC, a Walt Disney-owned network, is set to expire in 2028, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Oscars. Negotiations for renewal are expected to communicate briefly, with Kramer describing the existing deal as “very healthy” and lauding the partnership with Disney as “amazing.” However, the shift towards streaming and the upheavals in the tv and movie manufacture have promoted the Academy to shine what Kramer calls a “revenue diversification campaign.”

“No healthy company or organization should trust on 1 origin of support to a degree that could origin performance if that support decrees,” he told the outlet.

The decision comes amid broadcaster financial streams within the non-profit arts sector. Notable institutions like the Metropolitan Opera in fresh York have had to draw emergency funds from endowments due to cash shortfalls, and the Sundance movie Festival has faced crucial challenges recovering post-Covid-19 disruptions.

Going forward, the Academy is trying to position itself to apply to a broadcaster, more global donor base, reflecting a shift in its audience and membership demographics. Approximately 30 percent of its membership now stays outside the U.S.., a crucial increase from a decade ago.

As the Academy seeks to broaden its appearal and financial stability, the success of this global fundraising run could be pivotal. With the movie manufacture and its audiences undergoing extremist transformations, These benefits might not only reshape the Academy’s financial scenery but besides its cultural footprint on a global scale – with the run set to be launched in Rome on Friday.

Good luck. As Gervais put it best in 2020:

No 1 cares about movies anymore. No they goes to cinema, no they actually watch network TV. Everyone is watching Netflix. This show should just be me coming out, going, “Well done Netflix. You win everything. Good night.” But no, we got to drag it out for 3 hours...

...Seriously, most films are awful. Lazy. Remakes, sequels. I’ve heard a rumor there might be a sequel to Sophie’s Choice. I mean, that would just be Meryl just going, “Well, it’s gotta be this 1 then.” All the best actors have jumped to Netflix, HBO. And the actors who just do Hollywood movies now do fantasy-adventure nonsense. They wear masks and caps and truly tight costumes. Their occupation isn’t acting anymore. It’s going to the gym twice a day and taking steroids, really. Have we got an award for most ripped Junky? No point, we’d know who’d win that.