The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures was an instant hit, something few Hollywood expected.
After an almost comical setback, the Academy Museum will open in Los Angeles in September 2021, attracting 700,000 visitors, about 20% above its pandemic-adjusted target, according to Academy of Motion CEO Bill Kramer. Attracted more visitors. The art and science of painting. (For several months, gallery capacity was limited.) Half of the museum’s visitors were under the age of 40, he added, citing a survey of participants. Adult tickets are $25.
“There was perhaps a slight concern. I have chosen my words carefully, but young people under the age of 40 may not be interested in the history of cinema or film museums. Because we’re streaming,” Kramer said. “It wasn’t true. Even from afar. One of the museum’s many success stories is that he’s helping nurture a new generation of moviegoers.”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about how to encourage repeat customers — building a sense of community so people don’t just see new things when they come back again, but they want to stay with us.” Jacqueline Stewart, president of the Academy Museum, said: “Our museum is what it is when you hear the word Academy. It relies in many ways on breaking down some barriers that people may have felt. There is an assumption that it is an elitist institution.”
The museum has sold 24,000 memberships. $100 and $1,000 every year. Additional revenue was generated from hosting over 100 private events. Renting out the glass dome terrace at the top of the museum’s spherical theater building will cost him $50,000, in addition to corporate memberships that start at $10,000.Funnies in the museum well reviewed The restaurant serves more than 150,000 people, according to the Academy. Dishes range from $16 to $90.
The museum’s gift shop has generated more than $6 million in sales, which Cramer said “far exceeded our expectations.”Ann oscar made out of legoretailing for $500, and the $50 catalog of the museum’s Hayao Miyazaki exhibition is one of the top sellers.
With philanthropic donations and additional revenue, the opening gala will generate $11 million, allowing the Academy Museum to comfortably cover annual operating costs while ultimately paying off hundreds of millions of dollars in construction debt. Cramer said it provides revenue that will be used to
At the very least, the museum’s optimistic first-year financial position is unusual among nonprofit cultural institutions, many of which are still reeling from the pandemic.
By the time the seven-story museum opened last year, it was four years behind schedule. That cost ballooned by 90% for him, to about $480 million. Setbacks include the discovery of mastodon fossils by excavation parties, the sparring of architects, the civil war over curator’s focus and, of course, the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, Academy leaders became known for one failure after another when it came to their most high-profile undertaking, the annual Oscar ceremony.
Los Angeles Times columnist and critic Mary McNamara wrote, “Many began to wonder if the Academy Museum, which had risen as box office numbers dwindled, was a strange hoax that it would never actually be completed. I have written last year.
Shortly after opening, the museum came under accusations of anti-Semitism. Taking great care to honor the contributions of women and artists of color to the cinematic arts—an achievement that has long been overlooked in an industry historically dominated by white men—the curators was excluding all predominantly Jewish immigrants, i.e. white men, who founded the To remedy this problem, curators have unveiled a new permanent exhibit, “Hollywoodland,” on the founding of the American film industry, specifically the lives and contributions of Jewish studio founders. Opens in late spring.
Other upcoming exhibitions “Director’s Inspiration: Agnès Varda” and “The Art of Filmmaking: The Godfather”. ‘Casablanca’, ‘Boys and the Hood’ and ‘Birds’ will be exhibited in a small gallery.
But visitors were plentiful from the start. The museum’s retrospective of Miyazaki, the Japanese animation giant behind films such as “Spirited Away” (2001), was a big draw, Stewart said. The museum also offers 137 extensive public programs in its first year, including onstage discussions with filmmakers like Spike Lee and actors like Denzel Washington. The institution also operates a separate ticketed cinematheque. Over 500 films were screened in the first year.
“I met a man a few weeks ago, on his 83rd visit to the museum, who promised to read all the labels,” Stewart said.
At least the Angelenos now have a place to take their Hollywood-obsessed visitors, regardless of the dreaded Hollywood & Highland shopping mall or the sticky, stinking Walk of Fame.
What the future holds is anyone’s guess. Tourism officials hope to see Los Angeles fully recovered by 2023. Visitor numbers to the region, especially from abroad, are still well below pre-pandemic levels. But a recession could just as easily stifle growth.
Academy museums will also face increased competition in the coming years.Adjacent Los Angeles County Museum of Art In the midst of a huge expansion. Also near downtown Los Angeles, George Lucas’s Lucas Museum, home to his 20th-century American illustrations, comic books, costumes, storyboards, stage sets, and other “Star Wars” materials collected by him. The obnarrative construction of his art has begun. and other movies.
The continued financial health of the museum is critical to the Academy. The construction debt is secured by the Academy’s gross revenues, most of which comes from the Oscars’ annual telecast. But award earnings — after decades of rising — 10.8% decrease The Academy’s 2021 fiscal year reflects the plummeting Oscar viewership. Kramer faces the possibility that the value of the ceremony’s broadcast rights will continue to fall, perhaps dramatically, and is scrambling to diversify the organization’s revenue streams.
“This is what a healthy nonprofit needs and should do,” Kramer says.