Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A (2005) by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup. Set and filmed in India, the film tells the story of a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Kaun Banega Crorepati in the Hindi version) and exceeds people's expectations, thereby arousing the suspicions of the game show host and of law enforcement officials.

After its world premiere at Telluride Film Festival and subsequent screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and the London Film Festival, Slumdog Millionaire initially had a limited North American release on 12 November 2008, to critical acclaim. It later had a nationwide grand release in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2009 and in the United States on 23 January 2009. It premiered in Mumbai on 22 January 2009. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on 31 March 2009.

Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for ten Academy Awards in 2009 and won eight, the most for any film of 2008, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also won seven BAFTA Awards (including Best Film), five Critics' Choice Awards, and four Golden Globes. Slumdog Millionaire has stirred controversy concerning language use, its portrayals of Indians and Hinduism, and the welfare of its child actors.

Cast

Dev Patel as Jamal Malik, the protagonist, a boy born and raised in the poverty of Mumbai. Boyle considered hundreds of young male actors, and he found that Bollywood leads were generally "strong, handsome hero-types." Boyle's daughter pointed Dev Patel out from the British television ensemble drama Skins, of which he was a cast member.
o Ayush Mahesh Khedekar as Younger Jamal
o Tanay Chheda as Early Teenage Jamal

Freida Pinto as Latika, the girl with whom Jamal is in love. Pinto was an Indian model who had not starred in a feature film before. Regarding the "one of a kind" scarf she wears, designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb says, "I wanted to bookend the journey—to tie her childhood yellow dress to her final look."
o Rubina Ali as Younger Latika. Rubina is a child from the Mumbai slums in real life.
o Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar as Early Teenage Latika

Madhur Mittal as Salim Malik, Jamal's elder brother.
o Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail as Younger Salim. Azharuddin is a child from the Mumbai slums in real life.
o Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala as Early Teenage Salim

Anil Kapoor as Prem Kumar, the game show host. Boyle initially wanted Indian actor Shahrukh Khan to play the role, but things did not work out. Khan had hosted the final series of Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Kapoor has also starred as a guest on the show with Amitabh Bachchan and won Rs 5,000,000.
* Irrfan Khan as the Police Inspector
* Saurabh Shukla as Head Constable Srinivas
* Mahesh Manjrekar as Javed
* Ankur Vikal as Maman
* Rajendranath Zutshi as the Millionaire show producer
* Sanchita Choudhary as Jamal's mother
* Shah Rukh Munshi as a slum kid. Shah Rukh is a child from the Mumbai slums in real life.
* Mozhim Shakim Sheikh Qureshi as a crippled slum kid. Mozhim Shakim is a child from the Mumbai slums in real life.
* David Gilliam as the American tourist at the Taj Mahal
* Janet de Vigne as the German tourist at the Taj Mahal.
* Devesh Rawal as the boy in costume as the God Rama, painted blue.

Release and box office performance

In August 2007, Warner Independent Pictures acquired the North American rights and Pathé the international rights to distribute Slumdog Millionaire theatrically. However, in May 2008, Warner Independent Pictures was shut down, with all of its projects being transferred to Warner Bros., its parent studio. Warner Bros. doubted the commercial prospects of Slumdog Millionaire and suggested that it would go straight to DVD without a U.S. theatrical release. In August 2008, the studio began searching for buyers for various productions, to relieve its overload of end-of-the-year films. Halfway through the month, Warner Bros. entered into a pact with Fox Searchlight Pictures to share distribution of the film, with Fox Searchlight buying 50% of Warner Bros.'s interest in the movie and handling U.S. distribution.

Following the film's success at the 81st Academy Awards, the film topped the worldwide box office (barring North America), grossing $16 million from 34 markets in the week following the Academy Awards. Worldwide, the film has currently grossed over $360 million.

North America
Slumdog Millionaire was first shown at the Telluride Film Festival on 30 August 2008, where it was positively received by audiences, generating "strong buzz". The film also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2008, where it was "the first widely acknowledged popular success" of the festival, winning the People's Choice Award.Slumdog Millionaire debuted with a limited North American release on 12 November 2008, followed by a nationwide release in the United States on 23 January 2009.

After debuting on a Wednesday, the film grossed $360,018 in 10 theatres in its first weekend, a strong average of $36,002 per theatre. In its second weekend, it expanded to 32 theatres and made $947,795, or an average of $29,619 per theatre, representing a drop of only 18%. In the 10 original theatres that it was released in, viewership went up 16%, and this is attributed to strong word-of-mouth.The film expanded into wide release on 25 December 2008 at 614 theatres and earned $5,647,007 over the extended Christmas weekend. Following its success at the 81st Academy Awards, the film's takings increased by 43%, the most for any film since Titanic. In the weekend of 27 February to 1 March, the film reached its widest release at 2,943 theatres. As of 31 March 2009, the film has grossed $139,341,484 at the North American box office.

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on 31 March 2009. It had previously been announced that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment would be starting a new marketing program with two versions of each release: a stripped-down minimal version for the rental market, and a traditional full version with "bonus extra" features, such as commentary and "making of" material for the retail market. The release production was mixed up; some full versions were shipped in rental cases, and some retail versions were missing the extras despite their being listed on the outside of the box. Public apologies were issued by Fox and Amazon.

Europe

The film was released in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2009, and opened at #2 at the UK box office. The film reached #1 in its second weekend and set a UK box office record, as the film's takings increased by 47%. This is the "biggest ever increase for a UK saturation release," breaking "the record previously held by Billy Elliot's 13%." This record-breaking "ticket surge" in the second weekend came after Slumdog Millionaire won four Golden Globes and received eleven BAFTA nominations. The film grossed £6.1 million in its first eleven days of release in the UK. The takings increased by another 7% the following weekend, bringing the film's gross up to £10.24 million for its first seventeen days in the UK, and up to £14.2 million in its third week.

As of 20 February 2009, the film's UK box office gross was £22,973,110, making it "the eighth biggest hit at UK cinemas of the past 12 months." In the week ending 1 March 2009, following its success at the 81st Academy Awards where it won eight Oscars, the film returned to #1 at the UK box office, grossing £26 million as of 2 March 2009. As of 17 May 2009, the total UK gross was over £31.6 million. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 1 June 2009.

The film's success at the Academy Awards led to it seeing large increases in takings elsewhere in Europe the following week. Its biggest single country increase was in Italy, where it was up 556% from the previous week. The takings in France and Spain also increased by 61% and 73% respectively. During the same week, the film debuted in other European countries with successful openings: in Croatia it grossed $170,419 from 10 screens, making it the biggest opening there in the last four months; and in Poland it opened in second place with a gross of $715,677. The film was released in Sweden on 6 March 2009 and in Germany on 19 March 2009.

India

In India, the premiere of Slumdog Millionaire took place in Mumbai on 22 January 2009 and was attended by major personalities of the Indian film industry, with more than a hundred attending this event. A dubbed Hindi version, Slumdog Crorepati (स्लमडॉग करोड़पति), was also released in India in addition to the original version of the film. Originally titled Slumdog Millionaire: Kaun Banega Crorepati, the name was shortened for legal reasons. Loveleen Tandan, who supervised the dubbing, stated, "All the actors from the original English including Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan and Ankur Vikal dubbed the film. We got a boy from Chembur, Pradeep Motwani to dub for the male lead Dev Patel. I didn't want any exaggerated dubbing. I wanted a young unspoilt voice."

Fox Searchlight released 351 prints of the film across India for its full release there on 23 January 2009. It earned Rs. 2,35,45,665 in its first week at the Indian box office,or $2.2 million according to Fox Searchlight. Though not as successful as major Bollywood releases in India during its first week, this was the highest weekend gross for any Fox film and the third highest for any Western release in the country, trailing only Spider-Man 3 and Casino Royale. In its second week, the film's gross rose to Rs. 3,04,70,752 at the Indian box office.

A few analysts have offered their opinions about the film's performance at the Indian box office. Trade analyst Komal Nahta commented, "There was a problem with the title itself. Slumdog is not a familiar word for majority Indians." In addition, trade analyst Amod Mehr has stated that with the exception of Anil Kapoor, the film lacks recognisable stars and that "the film... is not ideally suited for Indian sentiment." A cinema owner commented that "to hear slum boys speaking perfect English doesn't seem right but when they are speaking in Hindi, the film seems much more believable." The dubbed Hindi version, Slumdog Crorepati, did better at the box office, and additional copies of that version were released. Following the film's success at the 81st Academy Awards, the film's takings in India increased by 470% the following week, bringing its total up to $6.3 million that week. As of 15 March 2009, Slumdog Crorepati has grossed Rs. 15,86,13,802 at the Indian box office.

Asia-Pacific

The film's success at the Academy Awards led to it seeing large increases in takings in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia, the takings increased by 53%, bringing the film up to second place there. In Hong Kong, the film debuted taking $1 million in its opening weekend, making it the second biggest opening of the year there.The film was released in Japan on 18 April 2009, South Korea on 19 March 2009, China on 26 March 2009, Vietnam on 10 April 2009, and 11 April 2009 in the Philippines.

In particular, the film was a major success in East Asia. In the People's Republic of China, the film grossed $2.2 million in its opening weekend (27–29 March). In Japan, the film grossed $12 million, the most the film has grossed in any Asian country.


Critical reception
Awards and honours

Slumdog Millionaire is highly acclaimed, named in the top ten lists of various newspapers.On 22 February 2009, the film won eight out of ten Academy Awards for which it was nominated, including the Best Picture and Best Director. It is only the eighth film ever to win eight Academy Awards[68] and the eleventh Best Picture Oscar winner without a single acting nomination.

The film also won seven of the eleven BAFTA Awards for which it was nominated, including Best Film; all four of the Golden Globe Awards for which it was nominated, including Best Drama Film; and five of the six Critics' Choice Awards for which it was nominated.

The much acclaimed title sequence has been honoured by a nomination at the presigious 2009 Rushes Soho Shorts Festival in the 'Broadcast Design Award' category in competition with the likes of the Match of the Day Euro 2008 titles by Aardman and two projects by Agenda Collective

Reactions from the Western world

Slumdog Millionaire has been critically acclaimed in the Western world. As of 16 April 2009, Rotten Tomatoes has given the film a 94% rating with 193 fresh and 13 rotten reviews. The average score is 8.2/10. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 86, based on 36 reviews. Movie City News shows that the film appeared in 123 different top ten lists, out of 286 different critics lists surveyed, the 3rd most mentions on a top ten list of any film released in 2008.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film four out of four stars, stating that it is, "a breathless, exciting story, heartbreaking and exhilarating." Wall Street Journal critic Joe Morgenstern refers to Slumdog Millionaire as, "the film world's first globalized masterpiece." Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post argues that, "this modern-day "rags-to-rajah" fable won the audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year, and it's easy to see why. With its timely setting of a swiftly globalizing India and, more specifically, the country's own version of the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" TV show, combined with timeless melodrama and a hardworking orphan who withstands all manner of setbacks, "Slumdog Millionaire" plays like Charles Dickens for the 21st century."Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times describes the film as "a Hollywood-style romantic melodrama that delivers major studio satisfactions in an ultra-modern way" and "a story of star-crossed romance that the original Warner brothers would have embraced, shamelessly pulling out stops that you wouldn't think anyone would have the nerve to attempt anymore." Anthony Lane of the New Yorker stated, "There is a mismatch here. Boyle and his team, headed by the director of photography, Anthony Dod Mantle, clearly believe that a city like Mumbai, with its shifting skyline and a population of more than fifteen million, is as ripe for storytelling as Dickens’s London [...] At the same time, the story they chose is sheer fantasy, not in its glancing details but in its emotional momentum. How else could Boyle get away with assembling his cast for a Bollywood dance number, at a railroad station, over the closing credits? You can either chide the film, at this point, for relinquishing any claim to realism or you can go with the flow—surely the wiser choice. "Several other reviewers have described Slumdog Millionaire as a Bollywood-style "masala" movie, due to the way the film combines "familiar raw ingredients into a feverish masala" and culminates in "the romantic leads finding each other."

Other critics offered more mixed reviews. For example, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, stating that "despite the extravagant drama and some demonstrations of the savagery meted out to India's street children, this is a cheerfully undemanding and unreflective film with a vision of India that, if not touristy exactly, is certainly an outsider's view; it depends for its full enjoyment on not being taken too seriously." He also pointed out that the film is co-produced by Celador, who own the rights to the original Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and claimed that "it functions as a feature-length product placement for the programme." A few critics also panned it. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle states that, "Slumdog Millionaire has a problem in its storytelling. The movie unfolds in a start-and-stop way that kills suspense, leans heavily on flashbacks and robs the movie of most of its velocity.... [T]he whole construction is tied to a gimmicky narrative strategy that keeps Slumdog Millionaire from really hitting its stride until the last 30 minutes. By then, it's just a little too late." Eric Hynes of IndieWIRE called it "bombastic", "a noisy, sub-Dickens update on the romantic tramp's tale" and "a goofy picaresque to rival Forrest Gump" in its morality and romanticism.

Reactions from India and the Indian diaspora

Slumdog Millionaire has been a subject of discussion among a variety of people in India and the Indian diaspora. Some film critics have responded positively to the film. At the same time, others objected to issues such as Jamal's use of British English or the fact that similar films by Indian filmmakers have not received equal recognition. A few notable filmmakers such as Aamir Khan and Priyadarshan have been critical of the film. Author and critic Salman Rushdie argues that it has "a patently ridiculous conceit."

Social impact

Due to the movie's popularity, the words "jai ho" and "slumdog" have entered into the international lexicon.

Soundtrack

The Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman, who planned the score for over two months and completed it in two weeks. Danny Boyle has said that he chose Rahman because "not only does he draw on Indian classical music, but he's got R&B and hip hop coming in from America, house music coming in from Europe and this incredible fusion is created."Rahman won the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and won two out of three nominations for the Academy Awards, including one for Best Original Score and one for Best Original Song for Jai Ho. The song "O... Saya" got a nomination shared with M.I.A., and the song "Jai Ho" won the Oscar, which A. R. Rahman shared with lyricist Gulzar. The soundtrack was released on M.I.A.'s record label N.E.E.T. On Radio Sargam, film critic Goher Iqbal Punn termed the soundtrack Rahman's "magnum opus" which will acquaint "the entire world" with his artistry.

2009 Academy Awards

* Won: Best Picture
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Original Score – A. R. Rahman
* Won: Best Original Song – "Jai Ho", by A. R. Rahman (music) & Gulzar (lyrics)
* Won: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
* Won: Best Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle
* Won: Best Film Editing – Chris Dickens
* Won: Best Sound Mixing – Resul Pookutty, Richard Pryke, Ian Tapp
* Nominated: Best Sound Editing – Tom Sayers (lost to The Dark Knight)
* Nominated: Best Original Song – "O... Saya", by A. R. Rahman & M.I.A. (lyrics)

2009 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards.

* Won: Best Film
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
* Won: Best Film Music - A.R. Rahman
* Won: Best Cinematography - Anthony Dod Mantle
* Won: Best Editing - Chris Dickens
* Won: Best Sound - Glenn Freemantle, Resul Pookutty, Richard Pryke, Tom Sayers, Ian Tapp
* Nominated: Outstanding British Film
* Nominated: Best Leading Actor – Dev Patel
* Nominated: Best Supporting Actress - Freida Pinto
* Nominated: Best Production Design - Mark Digby, Michelle Day

2009 Golden Globe Awards

* Won: Best Motion Picture - Drama
* Won: Best Director - Motion Picture - Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy
* Won: Best Original Score - A. R. Rahman

2009 Rushes Soho Shorts

* Nominated: Broadcast Design Award - Danny Boyle

2009 Evening Standard British Film Awards

* Won: Technical Achievement - Mark Digby
* Nominated: Best Director - Danny Boyle
* Nominated: Most Promising Newcomer - Dev Patel

2009 Directors Guild of America

* Won: Best Director - Danny Boyle

2009 Producers Guild of America Awards

* Won: Best Theatrical Picture

2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards

* Won: Best Cast – Rubiana Ali, Tanay Chheda, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar, Madhur Mittal, Dev Patel, Freida Pinto

* Nominated: Best Supporting Actor - Dev Patel

2009 Writers Guild of America Awards

* Won: Best Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy

2009 MTV Movie Awards

* Nominated: Best Movie
* Nominated: Breakthrough Performance Female - Freida Pinto
* Nominated: Breakthrough Performance Male - Dev Patel
* Nominated: Best Kiss - Freida Pinto, Dev Patel
* Nominated: Best WTF Moment - Ayush Mahesh Khedekar
* Nominated: Best Song From a Movie - "Jai Ho", by A. R. Rahman

2008

2008 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards

* Won: Best Film
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Unforgettable Moment Award
* Won: Cultural Crossover Award
* Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy

2008 American Society of Cinematographers Awards

* Won: Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases - Anthony Dod Mantle

2008 Austin Film Festival

* Won: Audience Award – Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy

2008 Black Reel Awards

* Won: Best Actor – Dev Patel
* Won: Breakthrough Performance – Dev Patel
* Won: Best Original Soundtrack – A. R. Rahman
* Nominated: Best Ensemble – Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Tanay Chheda

2008 Boston Society of Film Critics Award

* Won: Best Picture (shared with Wall-E)
* Won: Best Film Editing – Chris Dickens

2008 British Independent Film Awards

* Won: Best British Independent Film
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Most Promising Newcomer – Dev Patel
* Nominated: Best Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
* Nominated: Best Technical Achievement (cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle)
* Nominated: Most Promising Newcomer – Ayush Mahesh Khedekar

2008 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards

* Won: Best Picture
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Writer – Simon Beaufoy
* Won: Best Young Actor/Actress (under 21) – Dev Patel
* Won: Best Composer - A.R. Rahman
* Nominated: Best Song – "Jai Ho", composed by A. R. Rahman, performed by Sukhwinder Singh, written by Gulzar

2008 Camerimage

* Won: Golden Frog (cinematography) - Anthony Dod Mantle

2008 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

* Won: Best Director - Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy
* Won: Most Promising Performer - Dev Patel
* Nominated: Best Picture
* Nominated: Best Cinematography - Anthony Dod Mantle
* Nominated: Best Original Score - A. R. Rahman

2008 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards

* Won: Best Film
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy

2008 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards

* Won: Best Film
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Nominated: Best Newcomer – Dev Patel

2008 Florida Film Critics Circle Awards

* Won: Best Picture
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy

2008 Houston Film Critics Society Awards

* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
* Runner-up: Best Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle
* Runner-up: Best Original Score - A. R. Rahman
* Runner-up: Best Original Song - "Jai Ho" performed by Sukhwinder Singh, written by Gulzar

2008 London Film Critics' Circle

* Won: The Attenborough Award: British Film Of The Year
* Won: Best Screenwriter Of The Year – Simon Beaufoy
* Won: Best British Director Of The Year – Danny Boyle
* Nominated: Best Director Of The Year – Danny Boyle
* Nominated: Best British Actor Of The Year - Dev Patel
* Nominated: The NSPCC Award: Young British Performer Of The Year - Dev Patel

2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards

* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Music Score – A. R. Rahman
* Runner-up: Best Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle

2008 National Board of Review Awards

* Won: Best Film
* Won: Best Breakthrough Performance, Male – Dev Patel
* Won: Best Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy

2008 National Society of Film Critics Awards

* Won: Best Cinematography - Anthony Dod Mantle

2008 New York Film Critics Circle Awards

* Won: Best Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle

2008 New York Film Critics Online Awards

* Won: Best Picture
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle with Loveleen Tandan
* Won: Best Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle
* Won: Best Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
* Won: Best Music Score – A. R. Rahman

2008 Oklahoma Film Critics Circle

* Won: Best Film
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy

2008 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards

* Won: Best Picture
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Film Editing – Chris Dickens
* Won: Best Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
* Won: Best Music Score – A. R. Rahman
* Won: Break Out On Camera - Dev Patel
* Won: Best Performance By a Youth, Male - Ayush Mahesh Khedekar

2008 San Diego Film Critics Society Award

* Won: Best Film
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
* Won: Best Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle
* Won: Best Film Editing – Chris Dickens
* Won: Best Music Score – A. R. Rahman

2008 Satellite Awards International Press Academy

* Won: Best Motion Picture - Drama
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Original Score - A. R. Rahman
* Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
* Nominated: Best Original Song - "Jai Ho" performed by Sukhwinder Singh, written by Gulzar
* Nominated: Best Film Editing - Chris Dickens

2008 Scripter Award

* Won: Best Adapted Screenplay

2008 Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards

* Won: Runner-up: Best Picture
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy

2008 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards

* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Foreign Language Film
* Nominated: Best Picture
* Nominated: Most Original, Creative or Innovative Film
* Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
* Nominated: Best Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle

2008 Toronto International Film Festival

* Won: People's Choice Award – Danny Boyle

2008 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards

* Nominated: Best Picture
* Nominated: Best Director – Danny Boyle

2008 Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association

* Won: Best Film
* Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
* Won: Best Breakthrough Performance – Dev Patel
* Won: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy