How much money is an Emmy award worth?
The prizes given out at the 74th Emmy Awards ceremony this evening may not be worth their weight in gold, but to recipients they are priceless.
Every year, actors, directors, writers and many more await for the moment to dust off their suits and strut their stuff on the red carpet. Awards season is drawing near and the Emmy Awards 2022 is taking place tonight.
Tipped to do well this year are Better Call Saul, Succession and Ozark, all of which boast multiple nominations. Zendaya is expected to pick up a second award for Lead Actress in a Drama Series, having become the youngest person to win that prize in 2020.
But while she may well have a second Emmy award by the end of the evening’s ceremony, how much would that actually be worth? We take a look at the real-world value of an Emmy…
An Emmy award is not worth its weight in gold
Despite the grandeur of the event, the statuette’s glitzy appearance and the huge significance given to this award, most people expect the award to be literally made out of gold. But in reality that is not the case.
An ounce of solid gold is worth around $1,700 and the Emmy award weighs 128 ounces. This means that the material value of a solid gold statuette would be worth around $217,600.
To save money the actual award if made primarily from copper and nickel with only a thin coating of gold to give the glamorous appearance. The Emmy award costs little more than $350 to make, according to CNBC.
Given the huge number of awards that are given out every year this is a very neccessary bit of cost-cutting. The Emmy awards are not simply restricted to the headline categories that are given out on the night. There are also countless pre-ceremony categories that are awarded in the days before, which multiply the total cost of production considerably.
Emmy award kudos is priceless
In Hollywood perception is key when talking about success. Regardless of the actual material cost of the $350 statuette, the publicity and reputation garnered by an award win is worth far more than even a gold statuette would cost.
Last year Debbie Allen, actress, director and producer, picked up her fifth Emmy award, receiving the 2021 Governors Reward. As she took to the stage a video montage of her illustrious career was played to the audience, along with a tribute to her iconic ‘Fame’ character.
“I am trembling with gratitude and grace, I’m trying not to cry and be equal to the situation, because it’s been many years in the making, taking a lot of courage to be the only woman in the room most of the time, a lot of courage and creativity and faith to believe that I could keep going. And I have,” Allan said, highlighting the importance of a fifth Emmy award to her.