The 88th Academy Awards will revere the best films of 2015 this Sunday evening. While the star-studded event is sure to pump up the adrenalin of nominees and moviegoers, it should keep investors on the edge of their seats too.

Oscar-winning films hog attention all over the world that translates into solid business for the film and distribution companies. Forget about winning in this lavish ceremony, just a fair number of nominations prove extensively profitable for the companies that are in the movie business.

Soon after receiving a nomination, a film starts attracting movie lovers. And if it is worthy enough to be a winner, then the move goes out in front globally, spurring distributors to release it in as many theaters as possible. As per sources, best film winners earn an incremental $14 million to $15 million in box office revenues on average.  

Treasure Trove for Media Companies 

Moreover, big events like the Oscars acts as a drawing card for television audiences. This year, the ceremony will be aired live on American Broadcasting Company, which is owned by the Disney– ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (DIS - Analyst Report).
Also, Walt Disney Studios-owned Pixar’s film Inside Out is a likely winner in this Oscar race. The film has been nominated for both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Screenplay. Already having lifted the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film, the film is highly anticipated to lift the Oscar trophy this time around.

20th Century Fox can also expect rising profits from distributing The Revenant and The Martian, both nominated for best films. The company is owned by Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox Corporation (FOXA).  

Yet another studio, Universal Pictures, is also in the race with its film Steve Jobs vying in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories. This studio is owned by Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) through its subsidiary NBCUniversal. Quite obviously, these stocks and ETFs that are heavy on these companies are likely to get a boost ahead.

Both DIS and CMCSA have considerable exposure to several consumer discretionary funds including Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) with about 6.7% exposure in Disney and 6.21% in Comcast and Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR) with about 5.5% and 4.9% share invested in Disney and Comcast, respectively (see all Consumer Discretionary ETFs here) .

In a nutshell, these award ceremonies act as havens for media companies, which makes it essential to look at the top-ranked PowerShares Dynamic Media ETF (PBS).

PBS looks to provide exposure to the Dynamic Media Intellidex Index, holding a basket of 30 securities. The product allocates roughly 45% of its assets to the top 10 holdings. Time Warner Cable (5.9%), Facebook (5.77%) and Time Warner Inc (5.47%) take top three spots in the fund. Disney takes the seventh position the basket with about 4.78% share. The fund charges 59 bps as fees. The fund has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) (read: 3 Consumer Discretionary ETFs to Buy Now).

Internet ETFs Benefit Too

Not only ticket sales, nominations or winnings boost other newer ways of movie watching that include downloading from the Internet or streaming. As a result, Internet ETFs like PowerShares Nasdaq Internet Portfolio (PNQI - ETF report) should perk up ahead cashing in on this event. PNQI has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy).

Who Can Forget Social Media? 

The Oscars is already a hot topic on social media, with people sharing their opinion on prospective winners and making their picks. This gives social media stocks like Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TWTR) a chance to get mileage out of the event. The best way to tap this growing awareness is with Global X Social Media Index ETF (SOCL), which has a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (read: What Do Twitter & Zynga Earnings Mean for Social Media ETF?)