Why the Oscars Matter for Investors

By Tim Beyers and Alison Southwick – Feb 27, 2013 at 6:12PM

NYSE: DIS

Walt Disney

Market Cap

$207B

Today's Change

(-0.17%) -$0.19

Current Price

$112.58

Price as of April 26, 2024, 1:20 p.m. ET

Franchise builders tend to keep on winning.

While Ben Affleck was busy taking home the Best Picture award for Argo Sunday night, studio executives at News Corp.'s (FOXA) 20th Century Fox were busy celebrating four Oscars for Life of Pi, already one of the year's most profitable films thanks to a $584 million worldwide box-office haul on a $120 million production budget.

Every major studio did well. Argo nabbed three Oscars and more than $150 million in gross profit for Time Warner (TWX) while Walt Disney (DIS -0.17%) took home two Oscars, including Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, and nearly $180 million in gross profit for Lincoln.

Should investors count this year's slate of profitable pictures as an exception, or can high art also make for sustainably high profits in Hollywood? The Motley Fool's Alison Southwick asks Tim Beyers of Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova for his perspective in the following video. Please watch, and then leave a comment to let us know what you think.

Alison Southwick has no position in any stocks mentioned. Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Time Warner and Walt Disney at the time of publication. Check out Tim's Web home and portfolio holdings, or connect with him on Google+, Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.

The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Walt Disney. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.