Risky Oscar Bids: How Festival Strategy Determines the Success or Failure of Academy Award Nominations
In the world of film, major fall festivals like Telluride, Venice, and Toronto serve as strategic platforms for Hollywood studios to launch Oscar campaigns. These events offer a unique blend of early critical buzz, industry visibility, and a prestige halo that helps films enter awards season with positive attention.
The benefits of premiering at these festivals are manifold. Early screenings generate important reviews from influential journalists and Oscar voters, fostering word-of-mouth buzz that can set the narrative for a film, establishing it as an awards contender before its wider release. This "Awards Season Gamble" is critical because timing and perception significantly influence Oscar nominations and wins.
However, there are also risks associated with festival premieres. A lukewarm or negative reception at a high-profile festival can damage a film's awards prospects and limit its momentum throughout the season. The stakes are high because these festivals attract intense scrutiny from critics and the industry, so a film must be ready to impress.
Sometimes, studios delay premieres to control timing around other major festival debuts or holiday release windows, aiming for maximum impact. On the other hand, premiering too early can risk fading out before the key Oscar voting period, while too late of a debut might miss initial buzz opportunities.
A successful festival debut can generate months of positive buzz, while an unsuccessful one can hinder an awards campaign. Early critical rejection at festivals can spawn a negative narrative that is difficult to reverse.
One example of a film that suffered from early critical backlash despite an initial positive reception at the Venice premiere is Todd Phillips' "Joker: Folie à Deux." On the other hand, winning the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival does not guarantee Oscar success, but it provides international prestige and media attention.
Focus Features, for instance, will juggle Yorgos Lanthimos' "Bugonia" and Chloé Zhao's "Hamnet" at Venice and Telluride, while debuting Daniel Day-Lewis' acting comeback drama "Anemone" later in the year. The studio's box-office-first approach involves a collaboration between the film and the online game Fortnite, which is an unusual partnership in modern cinema.
Warner Bros.' film "One Battle After Another," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is not expected to appear at Venice or Telluride festivals due to its large budget and the studio's strategy to avoid critical scrutiny that might dampen commercial prospects. Hollywood studios consider the choice of film premiere location as a strategic decision for Oscar campaigns.
A festival premiere strategy reflects a studio's confidence in its film and its willingness to take risks, as the decision to debut at Venice instead of Toronto - or to skip festivals entirely - may determine not only a film's awards trajectory but also its place in the Oscars echelon.
Netflix continues to invest heavily in festival strategy, as seen with Noah Baumbach's "Jay Kelly" being showcased at multiple festivals after "The Power of the Dog" earned 12 Oscar nominations following its festival run. On the other hand, Universal Pictures rarely participates in the festival circuit, and its upcoming film "Wicked: For Good" is not expected to premiere at any major festival.
In the end, the strategic choice to premiere films at major fall festivals allows studios to test their films with critics, industry professionals, and tastemakers whose endorsements shape early conversation. These festivals serve as a crucial stepping stone in the journey towards Oscar glory, making them an essential part of the Hollywood landscape.
[1] The New York Times [2] Variety [3] The Hollywood Reporter [4] IndieWire [5] Deadline
- Premiering at major fall festivals, such as Telluride, Venice, and Toronto, offers a strategic opportunity for Hollywood studios to generate critical buzz, industry visibility, and a prestige halo for their films, boosting their prospects in the awards season.
- A successful festival premiere can set a positive narrative for a film, fostering word-of-mouth buzz and establishing it as an awards contender, whereas a negative reception can spawn a narrative that is challenging to reverse, potentially impacting its awards campaign and box-office success.
