Kantara Chapter 1, Tanvi The Great enter eligible list for Oscar Best Picture race; Anupam Kher calls it ‘huge triumph’
The Oscars has announced that 317 feature films are eligible for consideration at the 98th Academy Awards. As per a press release, this includes 201 titles that qualify for the Best Picture race. The four Indian films that feature in the list are Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: Chapter 1, Anupam Kher’s Tanvi The Great, M Sasikumar Tourist Family and the animated epic Mahavatar Narasimha. Radhika Apte’s Sister Midnight have also made it to the list.
Indian films that have made it to the Oscars list
The other films in the list include Avatar: Fire and Ash, The Conjuring: Last Rites, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Superman, and Wicked: For Good. According to the Academy, to be eligible for consideration in the general entry categories, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theatre in at least one of six US metropolitan areas between January 1-December 31, 2025, and complete a minimum qualifying run of seven consecutive days in the same venue. Feature films must have a running time of more than 40 minutes.
The full list of eligible Best Picture contenders is below
The Accountant 2
The Actor
After the Hunt
All of You
All That’s Left of You
The Alto Knights
The Amateur
Americana
Anaconda
Anemone
Anniversary
The Assessment
Audrey’s Children
Avatar: Fire and Ash
The Bad Guys 2
Ballad of a Small Player
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Ballerina
The Baltimorons
Bau, Artist at War
Becoming Led Zeppelin
Belén
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
Black Bag
Black Phone 2
Blue Moon
Bob Trevino Likes It
Bone Lake
Bring Her Back
Brownsville Bred
Bugonia
The Carpenter’s Son
Caught Stealing
The Choral
Christy
The Chronology of Water
Companion
The Conjuring: Last Rites
Dead Man’s Wire
Death of a Unicorn
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle
Die My Love
Dog Man
Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
Dust Bunny
East of Wall
Echo Valley
Eddington
Eden
Eephus
Eleanor the Great
Elio
Ella McCay
Eternity
Everything’s Going to Be Great
F1
Fackham Hall
Fairyland
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Father Mother Sister Brother
Final Destination: Bloodlines
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
Folktales
40 Acres
Frankenstein
Freakier Friday
Freaky Tales
The Friend
Friendship
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie
Good Boy
Good Fortune
Goodbye June
Guns & Moses
Hamnet
Hedda
Hell of a Summer
Highest 2 Lowest
Him
The History of Sound
A House of Dynamite
The Housemaid
How to Train Your Dragon
I Wish You All the Best
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Is This Thing On?
It Was Just an Accident
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
Jay Kelly
Jurassic World Rebirth
Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1
Karate Kid: Legends
Keeper
Kiss of the Spider Woman
The Knife
La Grazia
Last Breath
Left-Handed Girl
The Legend of Ochi
The Life of Chuck
Lilly
Lilo & Stitch
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
The Long Walk
The Lost Bus
Love Hurts
Love Me
The Luckiest Man in America
Magazine Dreams
Mahavatar Narsimha
The Man in My Basement
Marty Supreme
Materialists
M3GAN 2.0
Mickey 17
A Minecraft Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
The Monkey
My Dead Friend Zoe
The Naked Gun
No Other Choice
Nobody 2
Nouvelle Vague
Novocaine
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t
Nuremberg
Oh, Hi!
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
On Swift Horses
One Battle After Another
100 Nights of Hero
One of Them Days
One to One: John and Yoko
Opus
Orwell 2+2=5
Paddington in Peru
Peter Hujar’s Day
The Phoenician Scheme
The Plague
Plainclothes
Preparation for the Next Life
Presence
Prime Minister
Rebuilding
Regretting You
Relay
Rental Family
Resurrection
Roofman
Rosemead
The Roses
Rule Breakers
The Running Man
The Ruse
Scarlet
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
She Rides Shotgun
Sheepdog
Shelby Oaks
The Shrouds
Sinners
Sirāt
Sister Midnight
Sisu: Road to Revenge
Sketch
The Smashing Machine
Song Sung Blue
Sorry, Baby
Soul on Fire
Sovereign
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues
Splitsville
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
Steve
The Summer Book
Superman
Tanvi the Great
Tetami
The Testament of Ann Lee
Thunderbolts
Together
Tourist Family
Train Dreams
Trifole
Truth & Treason
28 Years Later
Twinless
The Ugly Stepsister
Urchin
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Warfare
Weapons
The Wedding Banquet
Wicked: For Good
Wolf Man
The Woman in the Yard
Zootopia 2
How Anupam has reacted to his film entering the list
Reacting to Tanvi The Great being included in the list, actor Anupam Kher, who directed the film, shared an emotional note. Expressing his gratitude, Anupam wrote that featuring in the list “is already a huge triumph” for team. He said, “Oscar…. Best film….shortlist…. Tanvi The Great!!! Every year thousands of films from all over the world are sent for the most prestigious film awards #OSCARS! Millions of people in the movie industry work very hard to get that initial nod and appreciation by the @theacademy!”
He added, “This also puts one in the category of the few very best in the business! Getting nominated and finally winning will be of course an ultimate feeling. BUT being in the list of top 200 films in the world finalised by the #98ThAcademyAwards committee is already a huge TRIUMPH for team #TanviTheGreat! We worked very hard!”
“And today having completed 100 Days in theatres and being shortlisted by #Oscar selection committee validates our be belief that hard work and sincerity always gets rewarded! Thank @theacademy for this AMAZING honour! We also love the tag of it being an INDIAN FILM! Jai Hind!! #KuchBhiHoSaktaHai,” he concluded.
About the films
Besides Kantara Chapter 1 and Anupam Kher’s directorial, the other two Indian productions are the multilingual animated film Mahavatar Narsimha and the Tamil title Tourist Family by first-time filmmaker Abishan Jeevinth. Radhika’s Sister Midnight is a Hindi-language UK-India co-production.
