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Oscars trophies: A history of disappearances
The iconic Academy Awards statuette has repeatedly gone missing over the decades, lost to theft, natural disasters, or simple misplacement. This week, another Oscar resurfaced after being confiscated by airport security in New York, highlighting the trophy's long history of unexpected disappearances.
Airport security seizes Oscar as potential weapon
Documentary filmmaker Pavel Talankin, director of Mr. Nobody Against Putin, was forced to check his Oscar at a New York airport after security officials deemed the statuette a potential weapon. The trophy was later recovered by Lufthansa, which confirmed it is working to return the award to Talankin.
Wildfires destroy multiple awards
Costume designer Colleen Atwood lost three Oscars, three BAFTAs, and two Emmys when her Pacific Palisades home was engulfed by last year's Los Angeles wildfires. While her Chicago Oscar was safely displayed at the Academy Museum, the trophies for Memoirs of a Geisha and Alice in Wonderland melted in the blaze, and her Fantastic Beasts statuette was left charred beyond recognition. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences later announced it would replace or repair damaged awards for living winners in cases of catastrophic loss.
Thefts and ransoms
In 2018, a man was arrested for stealing Frances McDormand's Oscar from the Governors Ball after the Academy Awards. Though the statuette was quickly returned, prosecutors dropped the case the following year. Meanwhile, Olympia Dukakis' Oscar was stolen from her home, and the thief attempted to ransom it. Dukakis refused to pay, instead purchasing a replacement from the Academy for $78.
Lost in transit and misplaced
Jared Leto's 2014 Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club vanished during a move and remained missing for six years before resurfacing in 2024. Matt Damon reported his Oscar lost after a flood in his New York apartment, while Whoopi Goldberg's statuette disappeared in transit when she shipped it for cleaning. The package arrived empty, but the trophy was later found by an airport security guard in Ontario, California.
Bulk thefts and mysterious disappearances
In 2000, a repairman discovered 52 Oscars in a dumpster behind a Los Angeles laundromat, packed in unmarked crates. Two trucking company employees were later arrested for stealing 55 statuettes from a loading dock in Bell, California, though three remain missing. Additionally, two Oscars won by the Weinstein Company for The King's Speech and The Artist vanished from its New York offices, with their whereabouts still unknown.
Academy's replacement policy
The Academy has a long-standing policy of replacing lost or damaged Oscars for living recipients, though winners must sign an agreement preventing them from selling the new trophy. The original statuettes, however, remain the property of the Academy, even after being awarded.
