Oscars Gift Bag: What Goodies Are Hollywood’s Elite Receiving This Year?

The Academy Awards is the night of nights in Hollywood, where members from all areas of film production come together to celebrate the achievements of the past year. While not every Oscar nominee will walk away with a trophy, many will receive an Oscars gift bag.

Because the honour of winning an Oscar is seemingly not enough, the Oscars gift bag has become quite the coveted item over the years. I mean, who doesn’t love free stuff? So let’s take a look at what celebs are receiving in their Oscars goodie bag this year.

What is in the Oscars gift bag?

For over two decades, the LA-based marketing company Distinctive Assets has provided a gift bag (known as the ‘everyone wins’ bag) to select Oscar nominees. So what do you gift someone who is already (presumably) rich, famous and potentially about to receive Hollywood’s biggest prize?

Let me tell you, this isn’t your typical chocolate and flowers kind of delivery. The bag’s value is monstrously expensive, due to some of the wild and unexpected items contained within – which in the past have ranged from entire holidays to medical procedures like liposuction to pieces of land in Australia (what? Where can I get one of those?).

Buzzfeed got the lowdown from Distinctive Assets on what’s included in the 2024 Oscars gift bag and the items are, well… interesting. Note not all of the items from the 61 different brands in the goodie bag were listed, but here’s a selection of some of the most outrageous.

• Collectors edition Rubiks cube
• Bagceit device
• Sagar (vegetable forest sugar derived from maple water in Quebec – valued at US$1,000+)
• Private sound bath with a tuning fork
• Private sleep consultation
• Cynosure micro needling session (valued at US$10,000)
• Private show by “mentalist to the stars” Carl Christman (valued at US$25,000)
• Complimentary project management from Maison Construction on the nominee’s next home remodel or project (valued at US$25,000)
• 3-night stay at Chalet Zermatt Peak for the nominee and up to 9 guests (valued at US$50,000)
• V-Dog donation in the nominee’s name of 10,000 meals to PETA’s global compassion fund

Oh, how the other half live.

How much are the Oscars gift bags worth?

As you can see from some of the valuations on that list, this year’s Oscar goodie bag will be just as expensive as past ones.

CNBC reported that the 2023 gift bags for nominees were valued at $123,000 USD. According to Buzzfeed, the 2024 Oscars goodie bag outstrips that significantly at $178,410.29. Kind of rubs salt on the cost-of-living crisis wound, doesn’t it?

CNBC did reveal, however, that the IRS views the gift bags as taxable income, so if a nominee accepts the extravagant items on the list, they will pay more in taxes that year.

Who gets the Oscars goodie bag?

Now here’s where it gets complicated. The Oscars gift bag is not officially associated with the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and the recipients are chosen completely by Distinctive Assets. Being a marketing company, they are, of course, going to choose the names on the list with the most exposure, which is why the acting and directing nominees are typically the only ones to receive the gift bag.

This year that list includes: Bradley Cooper, Colman Domingo, Paul Giamatti, Cillian Murphy, Jeffrey Wright, Annette Bening, Lily Gladstone, Sandra Hüller, Carey Mulligan, Emma Stone, Sterling K. Brown, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan Gosling, Mark Ruffalo, Emily Blunt, Danielle Brooks, America Ferrera, Jodie Foster, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Justine Triet, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Yorgos Lanthimos, Jonathan Glazer.

Those who opt in for the gift bag will not receive it under-the-chair style during the Academy Awards ceremony. Instead, it is delivered to their hotel room. Given the size and scale of the products, it’s less of a gift bag and more of a multiple giant suitcases situation.

Tune in to the Academy Awards ceremony next week to see which of the nominees takes home not just the Oscar goodie bag, but the Oscar itself.

Lead Image: Getty