Neon will mount its most substantial awards campaign to date for James Gray's "Paper Tiger," positioning the crime drama across above-the-line and below-the-line categories in what the distributor is treating as its first genuine push behind a Gray-directed feature. The film, set for a November 12, 2026 theatrical release, stars Adam Driver as Gary Pearl and Miles Teller as Irwin Pearl, two brothers whose entanglement in a scheme that proves too good to be true pulls them into the orbit of the Russian mafia.
The studio confirmed the category strategy to USA Film News, outlining plans that place Driver and Teller in the lead actor race, Scarlett Johansson - who plays Hester Pearl - in supporting actress, and Gray in both directing and original screenplay. Supporting actor submissions include Gavin Goudey as Scott Pearl, Roman Engel as Benjamin Pearl, Yavor Vesselinov as Alexei Yunov and Victor Ptak as Semion Bogoyavich, with Cindy Katz entered for supporting actress as Iris Belfer. The campaign extends to editing, cinematography, production design, sound and score, a breadth that signals Neon intends to compete in craft fields rather than confine the film to a single narrative category.
For Gray, the move represents a shift in how his work has been handled through awards season. The writer-director has built a reputation over three decades for muscular, character-driven dramas - among them "The Yards," "We Own the Night" and "The Lost City of Z" - that draw critical admiration but have rarely been steered through a full-scale campaign by a distributor with Neon's recent track record. Pairing him with Driver, who led Gray's 2019 feature "Ad Astra," gives the filmmaker a familiar collaborator at the center of the ensemble.
"Paper Tiger" runs 115 minutes and is told in English, a Hollywood production in the crime, drama and thriller lanes. Its premise follows the Pearl brothers as a promising opportunity sours, forcing them through a criminal underworld where their loyalty to each other is tested with consequences that reshape the family. The supporting cast, including Johansson as Hester Pearl, suggests the film balances its genre mechanics against domestic stakes, a combination that has been central to Gray's best-received work.
The November date places the film in the corridor where distributors typically launch awards contenders, giving Neon room to build a theatrical run before nomination voting begins. That timing is deliberate. A fall release allows a film to accumulate reviews, festival exposure and industry screenings while staying close enough to the height of the season that voters are still engaging with new material.
Neon's decision to go wide with its categories also reflects the reality of a crowded field. Rather than concentrating resources on one or two longshots, the distributor is submitting across the board, a strategy that can raise a film's overall profile even in races where it ultimately falls short. Craft nominations in particular can be easier to secure for a well-reviewed drama with a distinctive visual identity, and they often build momentum for the higher-profile categories.
One notable absence from the available data is any audience rating. The film currently registers 0/10 on TMDb, a figure that reflects the absence of user votes rather than reception, since the movie has not yet been released. That will change quickly once "Paper Tiger" opens and the campaign shifts from positioning to persuasion. For now, the awards categories amount to a statement of intent.
Gray has long been a critical favorite whose films have attracted devoted followings without consistently converting that regard into trophies. If "Paper Tiger" lands with reviewers and audiences the way Neon is betting it will, the distributor's first real awards effort on his behalf could carry him further into a season than any of his previous releases have gone. The campaign formally begins as the release date approaches, with the studio expected to roll out screenings and talent appearances in the coming weeks.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
