Anora
Neon / Universal Pictures International
Campaign Focus: Trailer & TV
After Anora won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Neon/Universal Pictures faced a strategic challenge: introduce a grounded, no-stars indie to a global audience primed for event cinema. With Sean Baker’s vérité filmmaking and Mikey Madison’s breakout performance at the center, the campaign needed to balance indie rawness with mainstream accessibility, and create anticipation that would sustain momentum at the box office all the way through awards season.
Solutions:
International Trailer
The trailer was crafted as a tonal journey, beginning with impulsive chaotic romance and gradually building into a high stakes psychological drama. Sharp, rhythmic pacing and minimalistic sound design pulled viewers into Anora’s volatile world.
"Icon"
Trailer
TV
TV focused on the cultural and familial clash between Anora and her new Russian inlaws, while also spotlighting Mikey Madison’s performance using accolades and awards buzz to drive urgency.
"Fun Safe Review"
2025 Golden Trailer Awards
Best Independent TV Spot
Results
- 12M+ international views in under a month
-3x average completion rate on TikTok and YouTube versus previous prestige indie benchmarks
-Top-performing trailer globally for a non-franchise release in Q1 2025
-+60% unaided awareness lift across key markets post-Academy Awards
-Social edits of trailer footage trended on TikTok in France, Brazil, and South Korea
-After its Best Picture win at the 97th Academy Awards, Universal re-released localized TV spots with Oscar laurels—resulting in a 40% box office surge in secondary markets
Takeaway
In a year dominated by spectacle and franchise fatigue, Universal’s trailer and TV campaign for Anora showed the power of precision storytelling and emotional clarity. By respecting the film’s raw tone while elevating its stakes, the campaign helped turn a gritty, vérité indie into a globally resonant Best Picture winner, and positioned Mikey Madison as one of the most talked-about talents of the year.
“Winner of Best Picture at the 97th Academy Awards.”