HOLLYWOOD's biggest box-office successes are usually splashy, expensive films packed with slick special effects that appeal to audiences the world over. But these popular spectacles are unlikely to carry off Tinseltown’s highest honour: winners of the Academy Award for best picture tend to deal with serious subjects and have smaller budgets (exceptions such as “Titanic” notwithstanding). The eight nominees for this year’s prize—to be awarded with the usual fanfare on Sunday—include films about the Iraq war, motor neurone disease, Martin Luther King and homosexuality. They were cheap by Hollywood’s standards: their average production budget was $21m, against $153m for the eight highest-grossing films of 2014, according to our calculations. When a film wins an Oscar, it also earns a longer run in cinemas and higher ticket sales. That little golden statue signals riches to come.