Oscar Seasoning: A Toast to the Oscar Snubs of 2025

On Thursday, the Oscar nominations were revealed, and dreams were made. I mentioned over on my day job at Pajiba that this was an interesting year in that there were no evident awards season villains or movies where I was furious to see them present. Okay, F1 being in Best Picture is dumb, and always and forever f*ck Brad Pitt, but there’s nothing in this slate that is remotely comparable to, say, Emilia Perez or Green Book or Crash. There’s no nomination here where, should it win, I’d be furious and write myself into a misery hole. Dare I say it, but the Academy did an okay job?

But, of course, with nominations come omissions, and there were a lot of big ones. 2025 was a stacked year, and it quickly became clear that a lot of movies would be left by the wayside. There were also titles that everyone was convinced would be big players that disappeared without a trace once people actually saw them. Those tend to fascinate me the most. Awards season is a year-round commitment, and we tend to crown frontrunners months before anyone has viewed a minute of footage. There are reasons for this, of course. The Academy is frightfully predictable and seldom moves from the beaten path, so when we see, say, Hamnet (which I loved) on the horizon, predicting it feels safe. But we’re also in a year where Sinners is the most nominated movie all time, where Amy Madigan is nominated for Weapons, and two non-English language titles are up for Best Picture. None of this was seen as a guarantee when those movies were announced. That’s the fun of the season.

So, I wanted to pour one out for those hype titles that stumbled before they had a chance to run, those hopeful frontrunners the Academy just didn’t notice or care to. Let’s give a moment to those wannabe winners and hustling actors who were so near yet so far. I’m going by This Had Oscar Buzz rules here: zero nominations when at least several were expected (with one exception.)

HONOURARY MENTION: THE SMASHING MACHINE

(Image via A24.)

This one technically doesn’t count because it got a (deserved) Best Hair and Make-Up nod, but we have to include it here, right? Nothing screamed “For Your Consideration” more forcefully in the lead-up to its premiere than The Smashing Machine, Benny Safdie’s biopic of MMA pioneer Mark Kerr that starred Dwayne Johnson in his first “serious” role in years. It was a fighting biopic featuring a major physical transformation by an actor in the midst of a career reinvention. That’s absolute catnip to the Academy. Its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival, and a Best Director win for Safdie, seemed like it would lead to success. But a weak box office run and a slew of reviews that were variations of “it’s good but not great” hindered its chances. Johnson kept hustling but he was small fry in a stacked category where there was an actor directed by the other Safdie who received far greater write-ups.

I hope Johnson doesn’t abandon this stage of his career prematurely to go back to ego-driven action fare. He is very good in The Smashing Machine, especially in scenes where he is forced to conceal his simmering rage under a veneer of professionalism. I want to see him branch out more, like his wrestling contemporary Dave Bautista. But there was little patience for this assumed red carpet pathway to instant Oscar acclaim that I think a lot of people rebelled against. Better luck next time?

NO OTHER CHOICE

(Image via Neon.)

Serious question: Did Park Chan-wook punch an Academy member’s dog? Did he sleep with Oscar’s wife? Because it is truly baffling that one of the most acclaimed and influential directors of his era, the man who almost single-handedly helped Korean cinema break out in the West, has zero nominations. You didn’t give anything to No Other Choice? Decision to Leave? The Handmaiden? Seriously, who hurt you?

Park is probably too good for the Oscars, which decided to acknowledge Korean cinema once with Parasite and then move on. Even at his most mainstream, he is too politically layered and scathing for easy consumption. No Other Choice is a film about how capitalism is rotten and evil and cannot be fixed, after all. But it also got a huge rollout from Neon, the distributor that bought up basically every major international movie this past year, and won some big critics titles. I wonder if Neon’s overloaded roster hurt it, especially since they put more weight behind The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value once they gathered steam. It Was Just an Accident, Jafar Panahi’s drama, also struggled to get momentum in the latter months of the race as Neon prioritised other films. But at least that one still got two nods, even if it deserved far more. Park Chan-wook? He’s being so consistently overlooked that it does feel like a snub. Is it anti-Korean bias? Yes, they were big fans of Parasite, but that movie had to be a genuine phenomenon to get that level of attention.

If there is any upside to the No Other Choice blanking, I am happy that the fifth slot in Best International Feature went to The Voice of Hind Rajab. Palestinian voices will not be drowned out.

THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE

(Image via Searchlight.)

The Academy is getting better at nominating unconventional films, but a historical drama about a religious leader that’s also a musical was still too out there for them. I had issues with Mona Fastvold’s film, largely rooted in its script, but from a purely craft-based perspective, it was unimpeachable. It also had one of the best performances in 2025 in the form of Amanda Seyfried, who had one of the highest difficulty levels of the season and soared over it with ease. But once the longlists for the technical categories showed zero love for Ann Lee, it was clear that they weren’t going to give it any love in other areas. Sorry, Amanda. I would have nominated you over Kate Hudson.

CHRISTY

lol.

Oh Sydney, you really wanted this, didn’t you? This was meant to elevate you to mega-star territory, to be the crowning moment of your ambitious ascent up the Hollywood ladder. How could they overlook you, an ingenue in a boxing biopic with a heart-wrenching true story involving abuse, coming out, and becoming your true self? *cue the Curb Your Enthusiasm music.*

It’d be a mistake to blame the failure of Christy solely on Sweeney’s dunderheadedness or her good jeans. That makes for a more fun story, but the truth is probably more mundane. The film wasn’t great enough to maintain critics’ attention in the long term, and its massive box office failure sank its hopes in one weekend. Sweeney kept promoting it, but the more she tried to shill it, the more it felt like all she had to show was her body. Seriously, that Sports Illustrated cover where she pairs up her old-school boxing kit with a push-up bra? Deeply misjudged. The MAGA losers aren’t going to watch your biopic about a closeted lesbian dealing with a violent husband, and the people who would usually see such a film didn’t want to give you their money. You didn’t do the work, and it showed.

SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE

(Image via Searchlight.)

I wrote a piece a few weeks ago about the fascinating lack of biopics in the 2025 conversation. Usually, a biopic about a hugely famous singer is seen as a guaranteed nominee. Oh wow, look at how that actor perfectly recreated that famous performance I’ve seen so many times! And yet, the 2026 slate of nominees is largely free of biopics. The exceptions are focused on figures without big-name recognition, like Kate Hudson and Ethan Hawke.

Was the Bruce Springsteen movie that bad? Mostly, it’s dull and feels utterly redundant. It never justifies its own existence. It wants to get away from the cliches of the biopic formula, but it has nothing to bolster it once you strip those elements away. Frankly, the Boss didn’t have a very cinematic life, at least not one hefty enough to support an entire movie. Jeremy Allen White is fine, but as I’ve said too many times before, I’m unimpressed by impersonations devoid of real character. Just watch an E-Street Band concert on YouTube instead.

AFTER THE HUNT

(Image via Focus Features.)

A drama about the post-#MeToo world starring Julia Roberts and directed by Luca Guadagnino? It seemed like a sure-fire thing. Alas, After the Hunt was pretty pants, a misjudged attempt at examining campus culture through an intersectional lens that reeked of tabloid hot takes and ‘90s erotic thriller titillation. Julia Roberts was excellent, but Ayo Edebiri was wildly miscast, and the seriousness of the central subject matter was never fully grasped. There’s a way to make a prickly and perceptive story on this difficult issue, but this wasn’t it, not by a long shot.

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JAY KELLY

(Image via Netflix.)

Noah Baumbach soared with Marriage Story and strengthened his power couple status with Greta Gerwig and Barbie, but White Noise was a mess that showed him unable to fully hold onto his grand ambitions. Jay Kelly felt like surer territory, and more Hollywood-friendly fare. It couldn’t have been more catered towards his own industry, actually: a story of celebrity and movie-star malaise that acted as a meta examination of its star, the iconic George Clooney. Reviews were fine, with Adam Sandler briefly picking up steam for what could have been his first nomination. But it didn’t last. Soon, Netflix prioritized Frankenstein and Train Dreams, which I’m not mad about. Speaking of Netflix…

A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE

(Image via Netflix.)

Kathryn Bigelow made her comeback with a splashy Venice premiere and a tense thriller about the U.S. government’s response as a missile heads towards Chicago. The cast was enviable - Rebecca Ferguson, Greta Lee, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Idris Elba, Jason Clarke - and reviews were generally positive. I wonder if this one was maybe just too on the nose for the current political climate. It’s a film about how America is painfully unprepared for real threats, and the bureaucratic nightmare of government will not be able to save its citizens. I can’t say I blame anyone for wanting to put their heads in the sand over that, even if that’s kind of the point of the film. And, again, Netflix had other priorities. Speaking, once more, of Netflix...

THE BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER

(Image via Netflix.)

It’s fascinating to get a first-hand experience of Oscar buzz deflation in real time. At TIFF last year, I didn’t have Ballad of a Small Player on my schedule because my colleague was reviewing it, but I landed a public screening ticket and thought I’d see how it went. The previous year, I’d seen Edward Berger gain Oscar buzz with Conclave, and in that press screening, I knew almost instantly that it’d be a hit. With this one, it was the opposite experience. This was not going to secure Berger another Best Picture nod.

Colin Farrell starred as a conman whose gambling addiction had hit an unlucky streak in the glitzy casinos of Macau. While our lead was reliably good, the film around him was confused. Berger seemingly couldn’t decide whether he wanted to make an introspective Paul Schrader drama or Moulin Rouge, and the jarring blend didn’t work in the slightest. The novel it’s based on seemed too layered for a journeyman like Berger, who was successful with a potboiler like Conclave but struggled with something this existential. Even at an in-person screening, with the director present (no Colin, alas), the response was tepid.

WICKED: FOR GOOD

(Image via Universal.)

The Academy has stopped holding space for Wicked. I promise this’ll be the last time I use that joke. Maybe back-to-back sequels were too much for voters. Perhaps the limp reviews didn’t help. But mostly, it’s because the second half of the musical isn’t good, and turning it into an overlong movie with new (rubbish) songs just made it easier to ignore. I am somewhat surprised to see it totally blanked even in tech categories, but when you have Sinners and Frankenstein, why settle for less?

RENTAL FAMILY

(Image via Searchlight.)

Oh man, this one stings. There’s a surprisingly common phenomenon in Oscar world where an actor wins the award, but then they give a way better performance in their next movie. I’ll never be mad at Brendan Fraser for having a Best Actor trophy, even if The Whale is garbage, but he really is SO much better in the ever-so-sweet Rental Family. Hikari’s moving drama let Fraser be warm, charming, and moving, and do most of it in Japanese, and sadly, very few people seemed to care. Searchlight put the film in a bad release slot, and it sank without a trace. It also didn’t help that Best Actor was so crowded this year, and I don’t think Fraser was in 6^th place when his competition included Jesse Plemons, Joel Edgerton, and many others. I hope this one finds its audience because it really is delightful and made me tear up.

IS THIS THING ON?

(Image via Searchlight.)

Bradley Cooper’s thirst for Oscar recognition is both endearing and kind of exhausting. He wanted to be immediately crowned a beloved auteur with A Star is Born, and Maestro was the epitome of flop-sweat prestige desperation. So, it’s probably better for him that his third directorial effort, Is This Thing On?, was a minor effort. Hey, we want you to loosen up, Brad, so enjoy this! The movie was well received, but the story of a sad-sack who finds himself through stand-up comedy (inspired by John Bishop?!) never caught on. I think Cooper will one day make a truly brilliant film once he gets away from his own expectations. Maybe this film, which people liked but didn’t need to herald as the second coming, will help him make that step forward. Personally, I’m not ready to forgive him for Maestro.

Which one-time contenders turned snubs were you the most fascinated by or stung by? Let us know in the comments!