Oscars 2026: The real test of the 5 Indian films that are ‘eligible’ to compete begins on January 12

Oscars 2026: Kantara Chapter 1, Tourist Family, Mahavatar Narsimha, Tanvi The Great and Sister Midnight are among 317 films eligible for consideration across 12 categories; voting starts on Jan 12

Voting for nominations for Oscars 2026 begins Jan 12

A few days ago, the ‘big news’ was that 5 Indian films - Kantara Chapter 1, Tanvi The Great, Sister Midnight , Tourist Family and Mahavatar Narsimha - had achieved ‘historic milestones’ by making it to the Oscars general entry list. Production houses and netizens celebrated this ‘achievement’, as if they were in the final shortlist and conveniently forgot to add that they were among the 317 films that had become eligible for consideration on account of having had a 7-day run at a commercial theatre in at least one of six US metros by December 31, of the preceding year.

Feature films of over 40-minute runtime are eligible for consideration in the general entry categories, provided they complete a mandatory 7-day run at a theatre in one of the six metros - Los Angeles County; the City of New York; the Bay Area; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; or Atlanta, Georgia, between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025.

Also read: Mahavatar Narsimha on OTT: Netizens in awe of ‘divine’ experience, but wonder how it got a U/A 13+ rating despite violence and gore

What happens next after getting on to the Oscar general entry list?

The real test for these films begins on January 12 and ends on January 16, when voting for the nominations in 24 categories begins. 12 of the 24 categories already have their initial shortlist of 15 in place. The final nominations, 5, in each category, except Best Picture, which gets 10, will be announced on January 22, 2026. An initial shortlist of 15 is whittled down to 5 after eligible members watch and vote.

Also read: Kantara Chapter 1 movie review: Rishab Shetty goes all out in grand but bland sequel

Last year, for instance, there were 7 Indian films on the general entry list, besides the official entry, namely All We Imagine As Light, Girls Will be Girls, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, Aadujeevitham, Kanguva, Santosh and Putul.

For the 5 film in contention, besides India’s official entry Homebound, which has made it to the shortlist of 15 from the 98 submissions this year, it is now down to the ten thousand odd members of the academy whether they will advance to the next round or not.

On December 16, 2026, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had announced shortlists in 12 categories for the 98th Academy Awards, including Animated Short Film, Casting, Cinematography, Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Live Action Short Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Sound and Visual Effects.

2026 Oscar eligible Indian films FAQs

Q. Where to watch Tourist Family?

A. Tourist Family is available to stream on JioHotstar, also via OTTplay Premium.

Q. Where to watch Sister Midnight?

A. Sister Midnight is streaming on JioHotstar in India, also via OTTplay Premium.

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