Some pundits see the possible reward as being worth the risk. “If you don’t get nominations, you risk losing more than you gain.” and New York dailies and other online sources, they’re not going to re-review them when you open the film for patrons four to 10 weeks later,” notes film historian and ReelzChannel host Leonard Maltin. “Everyone is shooting for the brass ring, but if you’ve gotten reviewed by the L.A. Each has scored Golden Globe and SAG acting noms, but both are gambling on Oscar noms that might not come. “It’s important in the awards world that voters know it’s being endorsed by people outside the industry.”īoth “Kevin” and “Nobbs” chose to make a big media splash by playing weeklong runs on both coasts, though only a Los Angeles County run is required by the Academy. 1 priority for being an Oscar qualifier is to make sure a film has a consumer presence,” Fenkel says. 9-15 with “Kevin,” whose lead Swinton has been figuring in year-end honors, before the film’s official January opening. He attempted his first qualifying run the week of Dec.

Oscilloscope Laboratories prexy David Fenkel sees the strategy as one of seeking attention, instead of sneaking past it. “We feel more confident in a film both getting nominations and being profitable by doing the qualifying run.” “It costs an enormous amount to keep (a film) grossing during this period with all the competition, money that we think is too high-risk and may never come back,” Cohen adds, noting that he avoided being mowed down by higher-profile indies like “Black Swan” last year. It’s a tactic that worked for Roadside and LD Entertainment on last year’s Spanish-language “Biutiful” (landing $5 million and an Oscar nom for Javier Bardem), and the companies are trying the same strategy with “Nobbs.” “For independents, it’s a way to release a film without duking it out with a big group of films spending heavily (to attract the) same audience in December and January,” says Roadside Attractions co-prexy Howard Cohen. What’s unusual this Oscar season is the number of small distribs using the technique, and their fervor as they try to gain the attention of critics, awards and audiences in the heat of December - without the struggle to keep the pics in theaters. Qualifying runs are far from new it’s a common, practical approach for less-than-commercial documentary and animated features - and a handful of narrative films - for decades.

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