Anora Was Not Released In India Due To This Reason & Where To Watch This Oscar Winning Movie (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Anora swept most of the awards at the 97th Academy Awards, or the Oscars 2025. The movie by Sean Baker features an impressive cast led by Mikey Madison and Mark Eydelshteyn. It received multiple accolades and was rounded up with Oscar wins. However, the critically acclaimed movie was not released in India. However, cinephiles can watch it on OTT platforms. Keep scrolling to know more.
About
The romantic comedy-drama premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and was released in theatres last year. It won the 2024 Palm d’Or, among other honors. The supporting cast includes Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, and Aleksei Serebryakov.
Anora received a remarkable rating on Rotten Tomatoes, securing 93% from the critics and 89% from the audience. Mikey Madison plays a young sex worker from Brooklyn whose life takes an unexpected turn when she meets and impulsively marries Vanya, the impetuous son of a Russian billionaire. However, when Vanya’s parents catch wind of the union, they send their henchmen to annul the marriage, setting off a wild chase through the streets of New York.
The Indie film was made on a reported budget of $6 million and collected around 6.8 times more than that. It was released in limited release in the United States and was out in six theatres only. It collected only $550K on its opening weekend.
According to Box Office Mojo’s data, the film collected $15.68 million in its US run and a solid $25.30 million overseas. Therefore, its worldwide gross is $40.98 million. It is a huge box office success.
Why was it not released in India?
According to a previous Mid Day report, the Universal Pictures India studio did not submit Anora to the CBFC, aka the Central Board of Film Certification. They feared the body might hand out extended cuts to the movie due to its explicit subject. Therefore, the makers decided to go for the digital release.
The report quoted an insider who said, “The decision to pull Anora from theatrical release was made proactively, anticipating that the film’s bold content could face resistance from the CBFC. There is a lot of nudity in the film, and cuts or edits would have compromised how the director wanted to tackle certain societal themes. We did not want to dilute the story in any way.” The sources at the CBFC also said the same thing.
The CBFC insider said, “We were not approached with a certification request. The CBFC aims to work closely with filmmakers to achieve a balance between creative expression and regulatory guidelines. It’s unfortunate if a release was delayed due to assumptions about our process.”
When & where to watch it in India?
The Mid-day report also stated that Lionsgate Play could be its home in India. However, it is available to rent on Zee5 and as VOD on BookMyShow Stream. It will be streaming on Jio Hotstar from March 17, 2025.
Bringing this year's biggest Academy Award wins to your screens! #Anora streaming from March 17th, on the Peacock Hub on JioHotstar. pic.twitter.com/dkQleIGQcB
Anora was nominated in six categories at the Oscars 2025 and won five of them. It is the film with the most wins this year. The awards won by Anora are Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Director for Sean Baker, Best Actress for Mikey Madison, and Best Picture. Also, check out our review of Anora here.
