Cinépolis India rolls out Oscar Film Festival at ₹149 to monetise awards buzz

India’s multiplex chains are increasingly turning to curated content windows to offset volatility in the release calendar. Cinépolis India is the latest to double down on that strategy.

The company has announced the launch of the Oscar Film Festival 2026, a showcase of seven Academy Award-nominated films that will run from March 6 across 30 properties in 15 states, covering 41 cities. Tickets will start at ₹149, a sharp discount to prevailing multiplex averages in urban centres.

The timing is deliberate. The festival begins nine days ahead of the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, allowing the chain to ride the marketing momentum and social media chatter around this year’s nominees.

Packaging prestige as product

The line-up is anchored by four Best Picture nominees—Sinners, which has clocked a record 16 nominations, One Battle After Another (13 nominations), Marty Supreme (9 nominations) and Bugonia (4 nominations).

The slate also includes F1, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Zootopia 2, and awards-season title Weapons. Together, the films account for more than 50 nominations at this year’s Oscars.

For exhibitors, such clustering of critically acclaimed films into a time-bound festival serves multiple purposes. It drives incremental footfalls in a typically non-peak window, optimises screen utilisation between tentpole releases, and positions the chain as a destination for premium, global content.

Devang Sampat, Managing Director, Cinépolis India, said this year’s Oscar lineup is among the strongest in recent memory, led by Sinners’ record 16 nominations. He added that the festival is aimed at meeting rising demand for event-driven theatrical experiences and making award-season cinema accessible across 41 cities at ₹149, enabling more viewers to watch these films on the big screen as intended.

Pricing as a volume play

The ₹149 entry price is central to the strategy. In top metros, multiplex ticket prices frequently range between ₹250 and ₹400 depending on format and showtime. By lowering the barrier to entry, Cinépolis is effectively betting on higher occupancy to compensate for thinner per-ticket realisations.

The move also reflects a broader recalibration underway in exhibition economics. With mid-budget Hindi and Hollywood films increasingly heading to streaming platforms and box office performance skewed towards a handful of blockbusters, chains have been experimenting with re-releases, anniversary screenings, regional film festivals and franchise marathons to stabilise revenues.

Curated festivals, in particular, offer relatively predictable economics. Marketing costs are lower than for new releases, content risk is mitigated by global awards traction, and programming flexibility allows exhibitors to scale shows based on demand.

Building “film-led” properties

Cinépolis India currently operates 491 screens under the Cinépolis, Cinépolis VIP and Fun Cinemas brands. Over the past few years, the company has sought to differentiate itself through premium formats and thematic programming.

The Oscar Film Festival builds on that approach by creating a branded content property around the Academy Awards—arguably cinema’s most visible global event. For urban, English-speaking audiences that closely track international awards cycles, the festival provides a curated, time-bound viewing window in theatres.

The larger question for the industry is sustainability. While discounted festivals can drive short-term spikes in occupancy, they must ultimately expand the audience base rather than cannibalise regular ticket sales.

For now, as multiplex chains navigate uneven content pipelines and intensifying competition from streaming, packaging prestige cinema into accessible, eventised formats appears to be an increasingly important lever in the theatrical playbook.