As the new year has kicked off, wonders about the annual Academy Awards have begun to surface. What would be nominated? Which movies and actors would win Oscars? Could there be any records broken? The 98th Academy Awards is set for March 15th, and on January 22nd, the well-awaited nominations were announced. Full of many predictable and surprising nominations — and even a broken record — the Oscars have provided a landmine of discussion for movie connoisseurs to debate.
One of the biggest surprises was “Wicked: For Good” getting completely snubbed. Following the release of “Wicked”, which also won 2 Oscars, fans of the musical eagerly awaited the release of its sequel which was expected to live up to the hype of the first movie. While many do not hold “Wicked: For Good” on the same level as the prequel, it still came as a shock that it was not nominated for any titles, nor were any of the actors nominated.
Oppositely, many people were surprised and angry about “F1” being nominated, especially for Best Picture. Fans of the “Wicked” movies have expressed their annoyance of “F1” having multiple nominations while ‘Wicked: For Good” got zero. Additionally, “F1” was nominated for Best Picture over “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Weapons,” which fans argue to have been executed better in every aspect. In general, the nominations of “F1” have brought controversy, with movie watchers understanding it to be merely an F1 promotion, inaccurate of the sport and not deeming it worthy of the nominations it received.
While this year’s nominations have brought controversy and disagreements among movie connoisseurs, there are still lots of predictable yet deserving contenders for Oscars. “Marty Supreme,” which is one of A24’s greatest hits and has surpassed $100 million globally, received 9 nominations. Starring Timothée Chalamet, the movie follows a shoe salesman who schemes his way to the top to achieve his dream of becoming a table tennis champion. His commitment to fulfilling his role of an egotistical and narcissistic New Yorker has also led Chalamet to being nominated for Best Actor. “Hamnet,” the movie adaptation of the novel, also received 8 nominations. Like “Marty Supreme,” many movie watchers are satisfied with the nominations that “Hamnet” received, as it is a historical tragedy executed beautifully with universal success around the globe.
“One Battle After Another” was the runner up for the most nominations this year, as it received 13 in total. Featuring Leonardo DiCaprio who was nominated for Best Actor, and various other stand out actors, the action thriller was able to suck in its audience and deliver a meaningful impression about the complexity of humans in a time of ideological struggle. “One Battle After Another” was tremendously hyped both before and after its release, and movie critics responded with well regarded enthusiasm.
The craziest take away was the record breaking amount of nominations for a singular movie. “Sinners,” directed by Ryan Coogler, is a horror movie about a vampire threat during the Jim Crow era in the 1930s. The movie was instantly popular and widely regarded for its stellar job on depicting the social and political struggles of African Americans during the time period, all while incorporating the original vampire plot. Its success and appreciation was so widely received that it resulted in 16 nominations, breaking the record for the highest number of movie nominations. It managed to beat “La La Land”, which previously held the record with 14 nominations. The lead roles of Smoke and Stack were both performed wonderfully by Micheal B. Jordan, who ended up being nominated for Best Actor, as well as Delroy Lindo who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
From vampire stories to table tennis, the Academy Awards offers a large variety of movies to root for no matter your taste in entertainment. Just like every year when the nominations come out, it reveals a large divide within the movie industry and draws attention to the largely differing opinions that movie watchers have. To put it into perspective, not everyone who watched “F1” or “Wicked: For Good” absolutely despised them. While there are certain aspects of these more controversial films that were not perceived well, they also have many redeeming qualities which were executed spectacularly.
On the day of the Oscars, you can expect even more excitement and debate among movie watchers as predictions get crushed or come true. The full list of nominations can be viewed on the Oscars official website.
