The Oscar's commercial value, as measured by box-office grosses, was not immense in the first two decades of the award's operation. In the 1930s, the average domestic rentals of an Oscarwinner was about $2 million, as was the case of Cimarron, the 1930-31 winner and the year's top money-maker.
Grand Hotel, the 1931-32 Oscar winner, was also that year's top grosser, with $2.25 million dollars.
Cavalcade, which won the 1932-33 award, ranked second among the season's blockbusters with $3.5 million dollars, which made it the decade's second most popular Oscar-winner, after Gone With the Wind in 1939, the first Oscar-winning blockbuster.
