Revealed: The Cost Behind ‘Anora’s’ Oscar Win

The film, which follows a stripper who impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch while on vacation in Las Vegas, won five trophies at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Sean Baker, and Best Actress for Mikey Madison. In an interview with The Town podcast, Tom Quinn, CEO of the film’s U.S. distributor, Neon, revealed that the campaign budget was three times the film’s production cost and that it was used for TV, print, and online advertising in addition to giving out physical DVDs to Oscar voters.

‘Anora’s box office success has been a matter of contention despite its Oscar victory.  With $41.6 million worldwide, the movie is among the lowest-grossing Best Picture winners in recent decades; since 1990, only ‘CODA’ ($3 million) and ‘Nomadland’ ($39 million) have made less.  But those movies had special circumstances: ‘CODA’ was mostly a streaming release on Apple TV+, while ‘Nomadland’ was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Image Courtesy: IMDb

 Quinn defended the movie’s overall financial performance, pointing out that success may be measured in ways other than box office receipts.  He described Anora’s streaming success as “massive,” noting that it is currently the top-ranked title on key digital platforms like Apple and Amazon.

Sean Baker, the filmmaker, meanwhile, stated that he still views theatrical distribution as essential.  He fervently argued for the preservation of the cinematic experience in his acceptance speech for the Oscar.  In order to create a new generation of moviegoers, he urged distributors to give theatrical releases top priority and urged parents to take their kids to the movies.

 Mikey Madison also acknowledged and thanked the s*x worker community during her Best Actress award speech, acknowledging their impact on the movie.

–Farheen Ali