The 88th annual Academy Awards are only about a month away.
In order to watch all 57 films that have received an Oscar nomination this season at The Athena Grand, it would cost $285.
With only a month left until the big night arrives, there is only a short amount of time to see all — or at least most — of the nominated films. For some, the money is well worth it.
The Athena Cinema is currently showing four films that have been nominated for more than one Academy Award: Spotlight, Carol, Brooklyn and The Danish Girl.
Yang Miller, the technical director at the Athena, said the theater experiences an increase in ticket sales during the winter, closer to awards season. Miller, who is also the audience experience coordinator, added that Spotlight and Brooklyn have been popular recently. Tickets at The Athena cost $6.50, with matinee pricing at $5 for any show before 6 p.m.
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“We do mostly first-run films — films being released for the first time, but we get them a little later,” Miller said. “We don’t know the films we are going to get until about a week beforehand, so we shoot for the best films that we can get.”
Maddie Pinney, a sophomore studying journalism, said she goes to the Athena every Friday.
“You can’t find movies like that in a Movies 10,” Pinney said.
Miller added that the theater receives some second-run films, or films that are re-released in certain theaters, as well. He said he would love to have second runs of The Revenant or Mad Max: Fury Road come to the Athena. Students can contact an Athena staff member and suggest which films the theater should screen, he added.
“I usually watch the Oscars and then make a point to see the award-winning movies,” Allison Arnold, a sophomore studying strategic communications, said.
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Some online outlets — Entertainment Weekly and Oscar.go.com,for example — supply readers with an Oscar ballot in which a person can check off who he or she thinks will win each category.
“I’ll watch the Oscars with my friends and make a night of it,” Emma Thompson, a senior studying communications, said.
Savannah Heller, a freshman studying film in the Honors Tutorial College, said she doesn’t go to the movie theater a lot and waits until the films come out on DVD.
“I briefly looked over the nominees once or twice so that I would have a general idea of who was up for the awards,” Heller said.
For those who don’t want to spend money and go to a movie theater, people can now watch a handful of the nominees in the comfort of their own home. Mad Max: Fury Road is streaming on HBO Go. While The Martian is already available on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc, Bridge of Spies will be available Feb. 2, Steve Jobs on Feb. 16 and Spotlight on Feb. 23.
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Jorge Nunez, a freshman studying nursing, has not seen any of the nominated films, but he said it will not stop him from watching the ceremony.
“I find it entertaining to see all of the stars in one place at one time,” he said. “And Chris Rock is hosting this year so that should be interesting.”
Despite the appeal of the host, Nunez said he isn’t as interested in this year’s nominees.
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“I have tremendous respect for the people who can carry through with their ideas,” Rafal Sokolowski, an assistant professor of film, said. “Overall, I don’t think it’s been a jaw-dropping season.”
The 88th annual Academy Awards will air Feb. 28 at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.
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