Spotlight got no love, money in India. Are we not ready for good films?

Oscars may do wonders for films but they leave India cold. This year’s Best Picture winner Spotlight has managed to earn a measly Rs 1.45 crore, ever since it released in India on February 19. Last year’s winner earned Rs. 2.6 crore and Ben Affleck’s political thriller Argo made only made Rs 2.86 crore.

They might have managed to impress everyone at the Oscars, by winning the Best Picture award but the box office in India doesn’t think so. Spotlight — the film which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2016 — is the latest film that got rave reviews by every critic, and yet didn’t do great business at the box office here. At the time of going to press, the film which is still running in only a few theatres managed to earn Rs 1.45 crore, ever since its release in India on February 19. Last year’s best picture winner, Birdman only managed to collect Rs 2.6 crore and Ben Affleck’s Argo made only made Rs 2.86 crore despite winning the Oscar for Best Picture in 2013.

A still from Spotlight, winner of Best Picture at the 2016 Oscars, and a BO disaster in India.

Experts from the industry feel Indian audiences are not yet ready to appreciate films that deal with heavy subjects and almost unanimously agree that illegal internet downloads don’t help the films.

A still from Birdman, last year’s winner which earned only Rs 2.86 crore.

Some also believe that films don’t promote their films in other parts of the world as compared to a superhero franchise. “People in India already know about films like Batman or The Avengers, a year before their release. Films like Spotlight have no buzz around them. Many don’t even know when they release in India,” says another trade analyst Omar Qureshi.

Read: ‘Spotlight’ burns 140% brighter after Oscar best picture win

A still from Argo, another Oscar winner which made no money here. (Claire Folger)

*All figures are taken from boxofficemojo.com