After winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards, Anora has pᴀssed another notable box office milestone. The award-winning movie had a near-clean sweep, winning five out of the six awards for which it was nominated. The only one it missed out on was Best Supporting Actor for Yura Borisov, who failed to beat A Real Pain‘s Kieran Culkin. As for its other wins, director Sean Baker made history by becoming the only person to take home four Oscars for the same film in one night, winning for Best Picture, Director, Editing, and Original Screenplay.

Per Box Office Mojo, Anora has pᴀssed another major box office milestone during its victory lap in theaters. With recent numbers, the movie has officially pᴀssed the $40 million mark at the worldwide box office, with a total of $42.3 million. Domestically, the film also saw huge week-to-week growth, with February 28 to March 6 seeing a +247.5% increase over the previous week after February 21 to 27 totals were also a 109.7% increase.

What This Means For Anora

Anora’s Success Is A Win For Independent Film

Anora was made on a budget of just $6 million, making it one of the lowest-budget films ever to win Best Picture in the modern era. As such, the film has already made its budget by sevenfold, turning a huge profit. These are great margins for any independent film and also represent the highest returns of any Baker-helmed project to date. Anora‘s success story is a hopeful narrative for the future of independent film.

The timing of Anora‘s box office gains is no coincidence. Its mᴀssive surge came immediately before and after the Oscar ceremony, where it was announced as the Best Picture winner for the 97th Academy Awards. Its post-Oscar theatrical viewership, even months after its release, shows that the public is curious about Best Picture winners on some level. The narrative tends to point to the contrary, citing worsening awards ratings, but Anora‘s success can craft a different story.

Our Take On Anora’s Box Office Gains

Moviegoers Are Following Sean Baker’s Request

For anyone who follows independent films and awards shows, Anora‘s box office success is incredibly inspiring. It may not be hitting nine-figure numbers at the box office, but its $40 million gross still positions it in a respectable range. One of Baker’s speeches on Oscar night urged people to go to the theater to support films in a streaming-dominated age. Immediately following Anora‘s Best Picture win, at minimum, moviegoers seemed to follow this call to action to support independent films and this Oscar-winning feature.

Source: BOM