The Academy has just released their nominations for the 98th Academy Awards. I’d argue that the nominations themselves are more important than the wins; does anyone really remember the Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor from three years ago? When you’re honored with an Oscar nomination, your name spikes in popularity and is known from then on just for the recognition.
This year’s nominations have caused a bit of commotion on social media, both good and bad. There are a handful of films that should’ve been nominated and weren’t… glass half-full, this is a sign that 2025 was a year with too many good movies that couldn’t all be included! There are also films that probably didn’t need a nomination but got one anyways, potentially stealing a spot from other contenders.
As someone who studies film, I’m excited by how much we’ll be seeing One Battle After Another, Hamnet, Guillermo del Toro, and Michael B. Jordan. And as a cinephile who simply loves movies, I’m equally thrilled about Marty Supreme, Timothée Chalamet, and Ryan Coogler. Ultimately, the achievements and overall quality of this year’s selections may outweigh the number of snubs.
BREAKING RECORDS
Sinners, the movie that wins every category in my heart, racked up an impressive 16 total nominations. This set a new record for the most nominations for a single film in the history of the Oscars, and anyone who’s seen the film would agree that it deserves nothing less.
Michael B. Jordan put in the work in Sinners with his role as a pair of twins, which earned him his first ever Oscar nomination. This meant he hasn’t been recognized for his past roles in Creed, Black Panther, Fruitvale Station… so, it’s about time.
Not only did the on-screen talent make history, the off-screen costume designer did as well. Ruth E. Carter, who’s worked on Sinners, Black Panther, and Malcolm X, became the most nominated black woman in the history of the Academy Awards with 5 total nominations.
The Academy is hesitant to change anything about the Oscars, so any new category is always exciting to hear about. After lots of nagging over the years, we finally got a category for best casting. Casting directors make up one of the smallest branches of the Academy, and 2025 finally gave them a shot at recognition.
SNUBS
So, I get that the Academy can’t make everyone happy, but it’s in my nature to complain. Especially when I get to complain about male domination in the film industry, which I feel valid in bringing up, considering only 1/10 of the Best Picture nominees had a woman director.
The fact that the film Sorry, Baby, starring and directed by Eva Victor, got not a glance of recognition, is a shame. Eva made a film that unapologetically shows the unseen effects of assault, while also being visually beautiful and tonally comforting. I’ve actually never rolled my eyes harder than when I saw that F1 with Brad Pitt was chosen for Best Picture over Sorry, Baby (no offense Brad).
The internet’s beloved Paul Mescal put on a heartwrenching performance in Hamnet, so not seeing his name under Best Supporting Actor was a bit of a shock and a snub to some. Yet, in return, we got Delroy Lindo nominated for his role as Delta Slim in Sinners. This is his first ever nomination at 73 years old, so I’d argue that in this age of rampant ageism in Hollywood, the Mescal snub may have been worth it.
On the topic of actors, everyone was expecting to see Jesse Plemons’ name in the Best Actor category for his role in Bugonia alongside Emma Stone. His Bugonia co-star, Stavros Halkias, even took to social media and posted a meme of a gun pointed to the camera with the caption, “Me to everyone who didn’t nominate Jesse Plemons for best actor tho.” Kirsten Dunst, who I love and who’s married to Plemons, has been under some fire for agreeing with Halkias’ post.
SURPRISES
While there were plenty of snubs for this year’s nominations, there are also a good number of plot twists. The standout for me was zero nominations for Wicked: For Good; considering the 2024 Wicked wasn’t just nominated but actually won two categories last year, the lack of nominations was a little unexpected. Not so popular now! Sequels pretty much never do well in terms of awards, but I still didn’t anticipate this.
I would’ve guessed a million films before guessing Avatar: Fire and Ash for a nomination for Best Costume Design. My first thought was that, don’t get me wrong, the outfits and colors are stunning but… isn’t it like, all CGI? After some reading and some behind-the-scenes videos, I learned that they apparently crafted the costumes IRL in addition to digitally. There’s another film in the costuming category that I think ruins Avatar’s chance at a win, but it’s a cool nomination anyways.
As I mentioned before, F1 for Best Picture was definitely a curveball, especially to people in the world of film. Blockbusters doesn’t usually come to mind for the most impressive and immersive cinema experience. Although not very artistically gifted, F1 was a fun watch with Brad Pitt looking great on screen, as usual.
I’m no expert on racing, but the technical aspects – the Formula 1 cars, racetracks, and the cinematography of them – are super impressive. I do agree with its nomination for Best Visual effects, and I much would’ve preferred to see the movie up for Best Cinematography, rather than Best Picture. It just drowns next to movies like One Battle After Another and Frankenstein.
Speaking of One Battle After Another, Chase Infiniti totally held her own next to esteemed actors like Leonardo Dicaprio, Teyana Taylor, and Benecio Del Toro. For the role of Willa Ferguson (Leonardo’s on-screen daughter) being one of her first projects, she played it perfectly. I definitely did a double take looking for her name under Best Supporting Actress.
SPECULATIONS
Time to share my very unprofessional opinions and predictions.
The Best Original Song nominees really only have two contenders, “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters and “I Lied to You” from Sinners. I’m about to be very vulnerable; the Sinners song was in my top 5 on Spotify wrapped for 2025. That fact makes it really hard for me to say that there is, unfortunately, no world in which “Golden” doesn’t win. It’s at 1.3 BILLION streams on Spotify.
The way I see it, Best Picture is split between One Battle After Another, Sinners, and Marty Supreme. As strong as my bias towards Sinners is, I’m mentally prepped for it to lose Best Picture and take home wins from plenty of its other 15 nominations. If I had to guess a month ago, I would’ve said One Battle After Another with no hesitation. In light of some recent social media controversy around Paul Thomas Anderson’s portrayal of women, I’d say Marty Supreme with Timothée Chalamet is back on the playing field.
Returning to my costume design confusion, I’m confident in saying that Frankenstein is the film that’ll take home Best Costume Design. I mean, making Jacob Elordi look bad is truly impressive. Not to mention the beautiful late 18th century gowns and hairstyles they gave Mia Goth‘s character.
There’s been some debate online concerning Timothée Chalamet v.s. Michael B. Jordan. Timothée had apparently been learning ping pong, solely for the preparation of this film, for years… he even practiced on other movie sets. Michael, however, had to play, physically differentiate, and shoot two completely different characters. Neither of them have won an Oscar yet, but if I have to make a shot in the dark, I’ll put my money on Timothée.
The past year has been one of my favorites for film. I even logged a new record-high amount of five star films on Letterboxd. I urge you to watch the films ASAP before the award ceremony on March 15th so you can feel included in the celebration and frustration the Oscars never fails to bring!