It’s officially Oscars season!
The Academy Awards nominations announcement took place on January 22, and it’s clear that Sinners and One Battle After Another are this year’s heavyweights, with the former earning a historical 16 nominations and the latter with 13.
However, like every year, the announcement brought with it a swarm of snubs, surprises, and burning questions. As we draw ever closer to this year’s Academy Awards ceremony on March 16, here are our top five questions about this year’s list of nominees.
What, No Love for ‘Wicked: For Good’?
In contrast to its predecessor, which scored 10 nominations at last year’s Oscars, Wicked: For Good earned zero nods from the Academy this time around. Unfortunately, this was to be expected; even if Ariana Grande had been predicted as an Oscar frontrunner this year for her performance as Glinda, the Broadway musical Wicked: For Good is based on has always had a problem with its second act. The songs of of this sequel weren’t all too memorable (come on, “No Good Deed” over “Popular”?), the critics barely had anything nice to say (to quote The New Yorker: “‘Wicked: For Good’ is Very, Very Bad”), and its global box office numbers of $523 million seem small compared to Wicked‘s $758 million.
Could ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Bag Two Oscars?
The Netflix surprise hit is about to get even more golden now that it’s up for two Oscars: one for Best Animated Feature and another for Music (Original Song) for its track, “Golden.” In the latter category, it looks like a clear win (but maybe Sinners’ “I Lied to You” will surprise us). However, KPop Demon Hunters is up against a few formidable contenders for Best Animated Feature, especially since two Disney films, Elio and Zootopia 2, are also in the running. Although it already has the Best Animated Film awards of two Oscar precursors: the Golden Globe Awards and the Critics’ Choice so the chances of it bagging the Oscar statue for the same award might be strong.
Will ‘Sinners’ or ‘One Battle After Another’ Take Home Best Picture?
While there are 10 films up for Best Picture, this year’s Oscar race is shaping up to be a major showdown between two of them: Sinners and One Battle After Another. Ryan Coogler’s Southern Gothic horror snagged a record-breaking 16 nominations, but Paul Thomas Anderson’s action epic isn’t too far behind with 13. We’ll just have to see how the Academy Awards play out in March, but hopefully the Oscars’ horror curse doesn’t rear its ugly head this year.
Where’s Chase Infiniti?
What a snub! The young actress started off the awards season strong, having earned both Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe nominations for her breakout role as Willa in One Battle After Another. But the Academy’s given her the cold shoulder for Best Actress. Surprisingly, Kate Hudson made it into the category for Song Sung Blue. One Battle After Another is Infiniti’s first film, though, and she will have many chances to win an Oscar in the future.
Could Wagner Moura Win Best Actor?
The lead star of the Brazilian thriller The Secret Agent has been on a history-making winning streak since last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where he became the first Brazilian to win the award for Best Actor. He’s also nabbed the same historic win at this year’s Golden Globes, and he’s made history once again by becoming the first Brazilian Oscar nominee. But it’s difficult to say if luck will favor him once again at the Academy Awards, mainly because he’s up against Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan, Ethan Hawke, and Timothée Chalamet.
