Brazil gears up for Oscar night as if it were the World Cup final
On the eve of the Oscars ceremony, Brazil is once again experiencing a curious and rare phenomenon in the audiovisual world – a spirit of generalized cheering. Just like during a World Cup final, bars, movie theaters, and film clubs in various cities across the country are organizing broadcasts of the awards, betting pools, quizzes, and special screenings to follow the 98th edition of the biggest night in world cinema this Sunday (Mar. 15).
While Hollywood treats the Oscars as a sophisticated machine of campaigns and studio strategies, in Brazil the event has taken on new dimensions. Memes flood social media, campaigns are launched by fans, and a spontaneous mobilization of film lovers is underway – much like what happened last year with I’m Still Here, which won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.
Now, the focus of this anticipation is Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, which heads into 2026 with nominations for Best Picture, Best International Feature Film, and Best Actor for Wagner Moura. It has also been nominated for Best Casting – a category making its debut this year.
The numbers help explain the enthusiasm. Even while competing against Hollywood blockbusters, the Brazilian feature, according to data from FILME B, a portal covering the Brazilian film market, leads the box office among the Oscar nominees, with 2,464,071 tickets sold and over BRL 50 million in revenue. Among the ten contenders for the top prize from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organizer of the awards, it is also the lowest-budget feature film—a detail that makes its journey all the more symbolic.
In several Brazilian cities, the awards ceremony will be watched by large groups of people—a trend that has been growing in recent years. In Rio de Janeiro, producer and exhibitor Cavi Borges, of Grupo Estação and Cavideo, is once again organizing a major film-lovers’ party for the broadcast.
He recalls that live Oscar broadcasts have been a gathering of film buffs for 25 years, but in recent years they have taken on unexpected proportions.
“Last year was the peak – nearly two thousand people. Five packed theaters and a big screen in the lobby. When Brazil won the Oscar, the theater shook. It was historic.”
For 2026, expectations are even higher. The event will feature a betting pool, a movie trivia quiz, a Wagner Moura look-alike contest, and simultaneous broadcasts in different movie theaters.
More than a celebration, Borges sees this as a direct result of the current state of Brazilian cinema.
“A lot of people who didn’t use to go to art-house cinemas started showing up. People who used to go to the mall to see blockbusters went to Estação to see I’m Still Here and The Secret Agent. And when they get there, they discover a whole bunch of other films.”
He believes this trend helps reveal something curious.
“Brazil produces about 300 films a year, but the general public knows only four or five. When people walk into the theater because of a Brazilian film that’s become a phenomenon, they discover there’s so much more.”
