3 min readFeb 14, 2026 08:45 AM IST
The Oscar-obsession of Indians is not limited to wanting to bring home the golden statuette. There is a growing eagerness among domestic audiences to watch the films that have secured nominations. With that in mind, PVR INOX is rolling out a festival of 15 films in 23 cities across 58 cinemas from February 20.
After the success of the specially-curated ‘Oscar film festival’ for the last two years, this year it will showcase Oscar nominees, including Hamnet, The Secret Agent, Song Sung Blue and Arco that have not yet released in India. A number of Oscar-nominated movies such as One Battle After Another, Sinners, Marty Supreme, F1, Jurassic World: Rebirth, Avatar: Fire and Ash and Zootopia 2 will also return to the Indian theatres. Bugonia, Weapons, Elio and The Smashing Machine are also part of the line-up.
“Typically, we have a three-week festival. This time, due to the commercial viability of the top performing films, we felt the need to increase the expanse,” says Aamer Bijli, lead specialist – innovation, film marketing and digital programming, PVR INOX Ltd. According to Sacnilk, an entertainment data platform, Sinners grossed around Rs 12.50 crore and One Battle After Another around Rs 6.15 crore in India. Marty Supreme earned Rs 6.22 crore, F1 minted Rs 105.07 crore, Jurassic World: Rebirth Rs 101.94 crore and Avatar: Fire and Ash Rs 192.70 crore.
Bijli says that the last two editions of the festival that will continue till March 18, saw the occupancy in theatres increasing gradually — starting at about 17 per cent and going up to 23 per cent. “We will bring the films that win awards towards the end of the festival. There’s a lot of demand on social media to watch these films. We want to ensure that the audiences get what they want,” he says.
The focus of PVR INOX Pictures Limited has been acquisition of international and Indian titles as well as presenting it to a wider audience. “Through this, we have about 36 titles since 2013 that have been nominated for the Academy Awards. We have been fortunate enough to partner with fantastic studios such as A24, Black Bear, Lionsgate and Neon,” Bijli shares and adds that the film acquisitions are done after attending film festivals across the globe and keeping their ear to the ground to understand which movies are creating a buzz. Some titles are acquired at a script stage while others at a completion or a pre-production stage.
Bijli says that the audience is currently lapping up both niche and popular movies. A case in point is the box-office performance of Sinners. “Director Ryan Coogler and actor Michael B Jordan play a huge part in this. The franchise, like Black Panther, is popular in India and the audience is familiar with Coogler’s work. Similarly, Marty Supreme, headlined by Timothée Chalamet, is a niche film. But it managed to do a Rs 2 crore business in the first weekend of release. We are at a stage where the commercial success is validating audience interest in a film,” he says.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
