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.”

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.”

Ever since Anora won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, a section of the Indian audience has been waiting to watch director Sean Baker’s dark comedy. While the Mikey Madison and Mark Eidelstein-starrer was initially slated to release in India on November 8, the suits at Universal Pictures India changed their mind and are now planning to make it available on video-on-demand later this month. What exactly brought on the change in plans?

Not a censorship row, as was initially speculated. Sources tell us that the studio did not submit Anora to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) at all, fearing that the body would hand out extensive cuts to the movie. Since the CBFC certificate is a legal requirement for theatrical releases in India, the makers decided to forgo the big-screen route, instead opting for a digital release.

In Anora, Baker—who, in the past, helmed the acclaimed The Florida Project (2017)—tells the story of a 23-year-old sex worker from Brooklyn whose life takes a dramatic turn when she marries the son of a wealthy oligarch in Russia. However, her happiness is threatened when the groom’s parents head to New York to annul the marriage. Apparently, the top brass of Universal Pictures India felt that the film’s intense themes and provocative storytelling would be a hurdle in getting the censor board’s nod.

An insider from the studio revealed, “The decision to pull Anora from theatrical release was made proactively, anticipating that the film’s bold content could face resistance from the CBFC. There is a lot of nudity in the film, and cuts or edits would have compromised how the director wanted to tackle certain societal themes. We did not want to dilute the story in any way.” The team was confident that a video-on-demand release would allow them to honour Baker’s creative vision.

Meanwhile, sources within the CBFC noted that Anora was not submitted for certification. One of the censor board’s members stated, “We were not approached with a certification request. The CBFC aims to work closely with filmmakers to achieve a balance between creative expression and regulatory guidelines. It’s unfortunate if a release was delayed due to assumptions about our process.”

While the dark comedy, which hit the US theatres last month, is headed for a Hulu release worldwide by November-end, Lionsgate is likely to be its home in India. Another source noted, “It will be available as a pay-per-view offering. But if it is to stream on Jio Cinema because of the Hulu-Hotstar partnership, the film will be delayed further in India.”