The big stars of Kodak Theatre are just a movie ticket away in the final countdown to Monday morning’s Oscar extravaganza with big nominees The Artist and Moneyball hitting screens on Friday.

And while for most movie-goers in town A stands for Agneepath not Artist, the die-hard Hollywood loyalist is trickling in for a slice of Oscar magic on Oscar weekend.

“The response has been quite encouraging, with a steady stream walking in for both the films on Friday,” said an official of Fame Cinemas.

Clearly, there is a buzz about The Artist, a silent film in black-and-white that has won 10 Oscar nods. “I have heard so much about The Artist and the fact that it is a silent film, my first ever, makes it a must-watch,” said IT professional Satyaki Ghosh who had queued up at Fame (South City) for the Friday afternoon show of the Michel Hazanavicius film.

If B spelt black-and-white for Satyaki, B meant Brad Pitt for Sunaina Vohra. “I don’t miss a single Brad Pitt film and Moneyball is yet another winner from him,” said the college student at INOX (Forum).

The baseball saga that has bagged six Oscar nominations — including a nod for Pitt in the Best Actor category — was hailed by viewers for its “interesting plot” and “arresting performances”.

Plexes had even lined up preview shows on Wednesday and Thursday, “owing to the Oscar buzz”, said Debashish Dey of Aum Moviez, the distributors of Moneyball.

This is a rare year when Oscar favourites have made it to city screens before the awards. Last year, big winners like Black Swan and The King’s Speech showed up here after the Oscars. “It’s a healthy sign that Calcutta is getting to see these films with the rest of the country. We hope that the trend continues,” said Subhasis Ganguli of INOX.

The Oscar run-up this time has already seen The Descendants starring George Clooney and Steven Spielberg’s War Horse come and go. My Week with Marilyn and J Edgar are lined up for next Friday.