Insiders once associated with Harvey Weinstein have famously described Oscar campaigning as a “blood sport.” For Indian films, which largely compete in the International Feature Film category, entering this arena is a daunting challenge. The goal might be simple but what’s difficult to achieve is ensuring Academy members actually watch the film. As voters are not required to see every submission, visibility is everything, but it comes at a high price.

Karan Johar, who has backed the Oscar-shortlisted Homebound, recently highlighted the staggering financial and logistical hurdles involved, describing the campaign process as a “bottomless pit.” So what does it take to ace the Oscar campaign?

It’s the season of the Oscars – or rather, the season of the Oscar campaign trail. PR firms are hired. Strategists are deployed. Social media campaigns are organized. Several people work their phones to drum up support.

And it costs a lot. By some estimates, an Oscar campaign may cost even more than making the film.

Dheer Momaya, producer of Chhello Show, which was India’s official entry for Oscars and won shortlist nomination, says, “Running an Oscar campaign is one of the most challenging and misunderstood parts of filmmaking. People often call it lobbying, but it’s really about positioning a film in the minds of Academy members and, most importantly, getting them to actually watch it and vote for it.”

He explains, “That requires a sophisticated strategy and usually multiple publicist separately for North America, UK and Europe, each organising high-profile screenings at premium venues. In Los Angeles alone a single screening at places like the Ross House can cost $50–60,000, the Four Seasons around $30–40,000, and then there are events at Soho House in London or MoMA in New York. Beyond screenings, there is an enormous advertising push. Full-page ads in the LA Times, The New York Times, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, and often billboards on Sunset Boulevard targeted directly at voters.”

The campaign run can be one expensive marathon for the film. “It’s not unusual for the campaign to cost more than the film itself,” shares Dheer, adding, “Neon reportedly spent around $20 million on Anora when the film cost about $5–6 million, and Apple invested a similar amount for CODA. Distributors do this because an Oscar win unlocks long-term value for the IP and global visibility. Each branch of the Academy, directors, writers, editors has to be engaged separately, especially when competing in multiple categories. I saw this firsthand with Last Film Show; we were up against Netflix titles like Bardo and All Quiet On The Western Front, with campaigns well over $10 million, flying teams across continents for Q&As from Tokyo to Los Angeles. It’s exhilarating, but it’s also an expensive marathon few people truly see from the outside.”

So many expensive campaigns (including Paheli, Gully Boy, Peepli Live/Taare Zameen Par, all from huge banners) did not make it, even though they spent money. Producers say that however, it’s not just about the money, the film has to actually resonate with the academy voter base.

Screenings are crucial for the buzz they create, far beyond just getting eyes on the screen, said Kiran Rao in an interview last year. “Everyone’s films are now online. You don’t have to rely on screenings. What you rely on is the buzz. The multitude of online viewing options means it’s still easy for some films to be overlooked. The sound surrounding it has to be pretty loud. Back then, screenings were the only option, and you relied on word-of-mouth to get people to come. You do screenings regardless of the fact that your film is available online,” she explains.

Guneet Monga explained to us in 2023 when The Elephant Whisperers won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film, “I’ve been trying to articulate and explain for so many years that you have to get into that country’s distribution. It’s important to select films with US distribution because hum log jo wahan ja kar campaign karte hain, at that time, we have like 40 or 30 days for the campaign. In 30 days, you can’t learn the market and ace it, right? Woh campaign khatam ho jata hai, and by the end, every filmmaker is like achha, ab humein samajh aaya karna kya hai. It’s basically American awards, so you have to work with American distributors. It’s the core of it. Lagaan got nominated (for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 74th Academy Awards) because Sony Pictures Classics did the campaign with Aamir. And The Lunchbox would have been nominated agar India select karta, the film would have gone far. And if we do good campaigns, hum paanch saal mein nominate bhi ho jayenge, jeet bhi jayenge. But as of now, we don’t do good campaigns. With Period: End of Sentence and The Elephant Whisperers, we had an American distributor.”

Ensuring that your film doesn’t get overlooked is key, said Aamir in an interview last year. “There are separate committees for the foreign language category and for the documentary category. The (Academy’s) entire membership doesn’t get involved. Roughly 600 to 800 people sign up to watch these films and then vote. Your main work is to get the members of the Foreign Language committee to watch your film. Given that voters are only required to watch 80% of the submissions, ensuring your film doesn’t get overlooked is a critical part of the process,” he explained.

- Awards campaigns often rely heavily on statistics and timing narratives rather than just performances or films. Negative narratives are also a part of the strategies

- As The New York Times notes, narratives don’t always work, but the right one can overpower a bad film.

- Strong personal or comeback narratives can outweigh weak or poorly reviewed films, as seen with Brendan Fraser’s nomination for The Whale.

Oscar campaigns are often run by professional strategists. In Hollywood, sometimes their work starts a year before the award ceremony. These strategists advise where a film should premiere, what should be the campaign platform.

According to an NYT report, "Sometimes several strategists work on a single film, and the war room of an Oscars campaign can grow to be as many as 10 or 20 people.”