Just how golden is that globe?

Marketplace Staff Jan 15, 2007

TESS VIGELAND: All over town today you could just hear the sound of desperate Hollywood starlets, calling their stylists to ask how a fleece jacket might accessorize silks and chiffons. The Golden Globes will carry on tonight despite record low temperatures that could force a coverup . . . of plunging necklines.

The Globes are the annual awards given out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Now, while it’s nice to have that statue on the shelf, we wondered: Does it do anything besides collect dust?

Here’s Marketplace’s Lisa Napoli.


LISA NAPOLI: Sure, it looks cool and it’ll impress all your friends.

But Brandon Gray of BoxOfficeMojo.com says the Golden Globes are kind of tinny when it comes to the box office.

BRANDON GRAY: Brokeback Mountain or The Aviator, the last two winners, didn’t have significant improvement after the Golden Globe win.

As opposed to, say, what happens when you win the Academy Award. That almost guarantees a box office boost — even just a nomination can equal cash.

Consider the film “Finding Neverland,” which saw a boost of 125 percent when it got a Best Picture nomination a couple years ago.

Even still, Gray says the parade of awards shows is diluting the power of Oscar, which for all you die-hard moviegoers is only 42 days away.

If you think the glitz of the Globes are just frivolous fun, consider the winners who don’t make it to the stage.

Over the last decade, the show has raised six and a half million bucks for charity.

In Los Angeles, I’m Lisa Napoli for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.