Anora, The Brutalist, Conclave, and A Complete Unknown are films that have spent a fortune on Oscar promotions, from nominations to the final announcements.
Out of them, Anora spent Rs 149 crore, The Brutalist spent Rs 83 crore, Conclave spent Rs 166 crore, and A Complete Unknown spent a staggering Rs 582 crore.
Anora, a film based on the life of a prostitute, even opened a themed merchandise store in LA, selling items like "Little Wifey" thongs and slogan T-shirts to generate buzz.
After all this, at the 97th Academy Awards, The Brutalist won three Oscars—Best Actor (Adrien Brody), Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score.
Anora bagged Best Director, Best Writing, Best Editing, Best Actress, and Best Picture. A Complete Unknown won nothing, while Conclave received Best Adapted Screenplay.
On the whole, all these films spent heavily, and the above figures were revealed by agencies and distributors handling their Oscar campaigns in the U.S.
For RRR, Rajamouli and his team reportedly spent around Rs 80 crore on promotions, ultimately securing an Oscar only for Best Original Song.
Given this, if Pushpa genuinely aims to compete for major categories like Best Film, Best Actor, or Best Director, it may need to invest at least Rs 200 crore, aggressively market itself, and hope for the best.