Film Academy Financials Reflect A Rocky Fiscal Year
06.12.2022 - 18:41
/ deadline.com
Investment income crashed, awards expense rose, museum operating costs kicked in: All in all, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has had a rocky time of it, according to its just-released financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022.
As the dust settled, net assets fell to $844.5 million from $893.8 million at the beginning of the year, a decrease of $49.4 million, after having risen by $104.6 million in 2021. Revenue fell to $170.3 million, down 15 percent from $201.7 the earlier year. But the big hit came from the investment portfolio, which saw a $47.3 million loss, after having posted a gain of $73.4 million in fiscal 2021.
Academy officials are expected to assure members that the investment loss, which reflected a downturn in financial markets, actually marked a much smaller decline than the general drop in bond and equity markets during the year. Officials are expected to point out that the previous two years have seen a $26 million gain–perhaps a better gauge of performance than is the one-year drop in a down market.
The investment decline came even as operating expenses for the Academy Museum kicked in. After opening in the fall of 2021, the museum, in the nine months through June 30, recorded $23.7 million in revenue, and $93.5 million in expenses. The large gap between income and expense partly reflects one-time costs that were recorded with the opening of the museum last September, and museum expense in the future is expected to be lower, according to people briefed on the numbers.
Some relief to the bottom line came with the release of restrictions on some $117.6 million in donor funds as the museum opened.
Oscar-related revenue for the year rose to $137.1 million from $117.7