Oscar 2024 Awards: What's Inside The 'Everyone Wins' Oscars Goodie Bags This Year?

The Oscars have arrived! The Academy Awards, highly anticipated and prestigious in Hollywood, have been revealed. Yet, did you realize that nominees for the Oscars can receive more than just the iconic gold statuettes? While not every nominee will emerge victorious at the 96th Academy Awards, they will all receive an "Everyone Wins" gift bag.

This tradition of distributing goodie bags at the Oscars has become somewhat of a ritual. What exactly is included in these goodie bags? And why do they sometimes stir controversy? We delve into the details.

Oscar goodie bags

The "Everyone Wins" gift bags are curated by PR company Distinctive Assets, which operates independently from the Academy Awards. According to The Guardian, these gift bags are distributed to the ceremony's host and 25 nominees in the acting and directing categories.

These lavish packages include luxurious items, vacations, cosmetics, and more. Last year's Oscar nominees received vouchers for a $12,000 arm liposuction procedure and a three-night stay at a luxury Canadian property valued at $40,000, among other items, as reported by Deseret News.

The size of the goodie bags was so massive that Oscar contenders required two suitcases to transport the items. Each package was valued at approximately $125,000 (approximately Rs 10,33,8612), as reported by Deseret News. According to Fox Business, Distinctive Assets has been assembling items for celebrities for many years.

What's in the 2024 Oscars goodie bags?

The contents of the Oscars goodie bags have been revealed, with 70 companies contributing gifts and paying a fee of around $4,000 (approximately Rs 3,30,835) to have their products included for this year's nominees, as reported by Yahoo News. Pets of celebrities are likely to benefit the most this year, with complimentary bags from the Canadian brand Smack for cat owners and 10,000 canine meals donated by plant-based company v-dog to Peta's Global Compassion Fund for dog owners, according to The Guardian.

Among the highlights of the giveaway are three vacations: a Swiss chalet retreat worth $50,000 (approximately Rs 41 lakh), a holistic wellness retreat near Hollywood, and a three-night stay at Saint-Barth Paradise in the Caribbean. The goodie bag is filled with health and grooming products, including various skincare items, liver pills, topical glutathione, and microneedling treatments, as detailed by the British newspaper.

Additionally, Oscar nominees will receive portable purse seats, blenders, and an infrared grill, along with food and drink items such as tequila, gin, sugar-free cherry gummies, and gluten-free cashew cookies. The 'Everyone Wins' nominee gift bags also feature home project management, a clinical sleep consultation, gourmet popcorn, a 'red light sleep therapy device', a 'performance activewear' gift set, a luxury shoe bag, and sustainable artisan backpacks and handbags, according to Deseret News.

Kitchen items include a 45-bottle wine fridge from THOR Kitchen valued at $1,800 (approximately Rs 1.4 lakh), a $1,250 (approximately Rs 1 lakh) Schwank portable grill, and an $80 (over Rs 6,000) BlendQuik portable blender, as reported by Business Insider. Dr Carl Christman, described as a "mentalist to the stars," is offering a private showing, according to The Guardian.

This year's gift bag, according to Reuters, costs a whopping $170,000 (approximately Rs 1,40,60,513). Lash Fary, the founder of Distinctive Assets, stated, "While this gift bag does, as always, have an impressive six-figure value, that is neither our focus nor goal.

Just as any A-list actor doesn't 'need' millions of dollars to walk onto a film set, these gifts are given based on the invaluable stardust these nominees can bestow upon a brand." He expressed hope that this year's offerings would spotlight "small businesses, minority-owned brands, female entrepreneurs, and companies who give back," as per The Guardian.

Why the Oscars gift bag is controversial?

Since their inception, these lavish gift bags have been scrutinized. The hefty price tag of the Oscars gift bags has drawn attention, particularly amidst a cost of living crisis in the United States. According to a report by Yahoo News, the tradition of these gifts has been criticized as "tone-deaf" by some.

The cost of the goodie bag was $16,000 (approximately Rs 1.3 crore in today's value) in 1999. After a brief decline in the value of the items in 2003, the package's worth rose to $1,00,000 (about Rs 82 lakh in today's value) in 2006.

In 2009, it further increased to $1,26,000 (roughly Rs 1 crore today). Following severe backlash over the cost of these gift bags, their value began to decrease - from $90,000 (about Rs 74 lakh in today's value) in 2010 to $48,000 (approximately Rs 39 lakh as per current value) in 2013, as per the report.

Prices surged again in 2014, with the value of items reaching $85,000 (approximately Rs 70 lakh). It peaked in 2016 as the gift bag cost $2,32,000 (about Rs 1.9 crore), the report added. The Academy of Motion Pictures sued Distinctive Assets the same year, alleging trademark infringement. The lawsuit confirmed that these gift bags have no official ties to the Oscars.

Since then, the value of these bags has decreased, ranging from $2,25,000 (about Rs 1.8 crore) in 2017 to $1,00,000 (roughly Rs 82 lakh) in 2023, according to Yahoo News.