It’s Oscar season, and cinemas are rolling out releases and re-releases of nominated films. Recently, a screening of Conclave sold out, and most of its shows are pulling in audiences. Last year, Anatomy Of A Fall (Best Original Screenplay) also drew large crowds. There was a time when Oscar-nominated films weren’t widely available in India, but that’s changed. Now, these films are available in cinemas, and some are also available on streaming platforms. However, most films released during Oscar week see increased footfalls in cinemas. Exhibitors say that the market for foreign films in India has grown, which is why they are able to secure more foreign films for theatrical releases. We spoke to cinema experts to understand how Oscar season releases work in cinemas.

Girish Johar, producer and cinema business analyst, says, “A major reason these films get the kind of occupancy they do is that movie buffs prefer the big screen over home viewing. Unlike regular Hindi films, where moviegoers often wait for them to arrive on streaming, award-season favourites drive people to theatres.”

Raj Bansal, exhibitor and cinema business expert, agrees, “It goes without saying that films that haven’t released on any platform tend to attract the highest footfalls in cinemas due to the FOMO factor.”

Exhibitors say that the market for foreign films in India has grown, which is why they are able to secure more foreign films for theatrical releases.

Sanjeev Bijli, Executive Director of a cinema chain, says, “Last year, Anatomy Of A Fall and The Zone Of Interest, which were among the top 10 Oscar nominees, were released. This year, two foreign films, Emilia Pérez and I'm Still Here, are set for release. Foreign production houses definitely see India as a growing market. However, sometimes these films get stuck because of censorship. One year, The Favourite got stuck because of censorship and never got released. This year, Anora, a frontrunner for Best Picture, which was to be released in India is facing the same problem and could not get a release date. The Apprentice, which had already been acquired for release in India, also got stuck due to censorship.”

He elaborates, “Distributors are willing to take the risk and release these films in India during the Oscar buzz as it leads to some business. We tried a lot with The Apprentice, as Sebastian Stan has also been nominated in the Best Actor category. But it’s unfortunate that the censor board insisted on cuts. In such cases, the producer or director sometimes refuse to release the film with those cuts because it compromises their narrative and creativity.”

Earlier, these films were not available to Indian audiences. In the last 10-12 years, Oscar-nominated films have become available for theatrical release. The availability of these films has increased, and the audience has become more evolved in their tastes, say exhibitors. Sanjeev Bijli says, “The award season buzz, which kicks off in November with the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and BAFTAs, has become very newsy. I think access to all that news has fuelled the appetite of Indian moviegoers to watch these films on the big screen.”

Exhibitors say that by and large, most films released and re-released during Oscar season attract audiences from all age groups. This year, films such as The Brutalist, Conclave, and A Complete Unknown are expected to appeal more to an older audience.

Exhibitors say the demand for Oscar-nominated films has grown so significantly that cinemas now schedule screenings in Tier-II and Tier-III cities also, and not just in metros. Yogesh Raizada, Director of a cinema chain, explains, “The response to Oscar-nominated films has grown over the years. When streaming services were not widely available in India, people would go to websites to watch pirated versions of Oscar nominees, so the interest has always been there.”

A senior programmer of a cinema chain adds, “Some of these Oscar-nominated films are available on streaming, but not everyone has subscriptions to five or six streaming platforms. Plus, some platforms have a model of video-on-demand model, where you must pay additional Rs. 200-500 for a film. A movie ticket costs less. So, beyond the two or three films available on widely accessible platforms, there is an audience that eagerly waits for Oscar season releases.”

There was a time, not so long ago, when only Hindi movies used to play at the single screen cinemas in India. The ’80s and early ’90s were decades dominated by films with Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor and Jeetendra to name a few. If we wanted to watch a Hollywood film, we either had to wait for months for it to release at the cinemas, or drive to obscure places to rent it on VHS. Hollywood studios usually gave India a miss in their overall release plan, as there just weren’t enough cinemas and business to justify the cost of releasing it here.

With the advent of multiplexes though in the late ’90s and early 2000, things began to change. The proliferation of new and premium screens gave rise to both demand and supply for English films. And from a gap of months from US release, films were released within a couple of weeks. Sometimes even on the same day as the US release.

Liberalization, rising middle class and incomes, proliferation of satellite channels and the internet, all contributed to the discovery and consumption of English films. I remember, in 1997, when Titanic was released, it was nothing short of a momentous event in India. We were operating only two properties in Delhi at the time, a four screen multiplex and a single screen. The studio, 20th Century Fox, wanted to release only one print in the entire city, and we had to choose where to play the film. We decided to play it at a single-screen cinema. Such was the euphoria and anticipation around the film, that we had the entire cinema decked up by an eminent designer.

The landscape of cinema, consumer taste and preference has evolved over the years. A day and date in sync the US release of a Hollywood film is now standard, and so is a wide release with over 500 prints or more of commercial films. The list of blockbusters that have surpassed the 50 crore to 100 crore box-office collections is long and impressive with recent hits like Oppenheimer, Barbie, Avatar proving that English films can be as big as Indian films.

But what has also emerged in the last few years is the penchant for foreign language films. The Indian audience has become extremely discerning and receptive to consuming content in foreign languages. We are travelling more, getting exposed to different cultures and watching foreign language content on streaming platforms.

A couple of years ago, through social listening, we inferred there was a huge demand for Japanese anime films. We started to distribute and screen them, and the response was phenomenal. Films like Suzume and Demon Slayer did a box office of 10 crores and 6 crores respectively. Not just anime films, other foreign language films have also done exceedingly well at the box office. Buoyed by the Oscar recognition, films like Parasite and most recently Anatomy Of A Fall did a business of 7 crores and 1.5 crores respectively.

With globalization and increased awareness, I am certain this is just the tip of the iceberg, and foreign language films have found an audience in one of the largest cinema markets in the world!