The Oscars: how they have changed since 1929

US TV audience 1929 0 2012 40m Twitter 1929 0 2012 1,269,970+ tweets sent during last year's broadcast Host with the most 1929 Douglas Fairbanks Jr 2012 Billy Crystal Statuette 1929 Gold-plated solid Britannia 2012 Gold-plated solid bronze Most nominations 1929 7th Heaven 2012 Hugo Dinner 1929 $5 a head at the Roosevelt Hotel 2012 None, just the epic ceremony at the Kodak Theatre Best actor 1929 Didn't turn up (Emil Jannings sailed to Europe) 2012 Guaranteed to be sweating beneath TV lights Announcement 1929 LA Times three months earlier 2012 Golden envelope Running time 1929 15mins 2012 4hrs Cash value of statuette 1929 Six figures, minimum 2012 $1, the Academy technically "owns" them Obscurest award 1929 Best engineering effects (won by Wings) 2012 Best achievement in sound mixing Top grossing film 1929 Gold Diggers of Broadway ($5.2m) 2012 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($381.1m in 2011) US life expectancy 1929 58 2012 78 Average price of popcorn 1929 5c 2012 $4.78 Top pinup 1929 Clara Bow (also in Wings) 2012 Angelina Jolie