Dr. Tom Hemingway, Teaching Fellow in Film and Television Studies at The University of Warwick gives his view on this year’s Oscar nominations.

“There seems to be a general consensus that every few years or so, the Oscars will have an ‘off’ year, producing a string of nominations for films which people either feel dispassionate about or, at best, ambivalent towards. It appears 2025 might be that year. All of which isn’t to say the past 12 months have been bad for cinema. But last year’s ‘Barbenheimer’ double-act seems to be an unrepeatable phenomenon and apart from a fresh host, in the form of Conan O’Brien, the ceremony promises to be a smooth, run-of-the-mill affair.

Front runners such as Emilia Perez have been consistently successful on the awards circuit so far but the film has generated a range of polarised responses with regards to its misjudged representation of both the trans and Latino communities. Nevertheless, given its subject matter, it would be unsurprising if voters picked this as their choice for Best Picture as a type of moral vote, especially following the inflammatory remarks made towards trans and immigrant communities by President Donald Trump following his inauguration earlier this week.

The Brutalist is another frontrunner for the Best Picture award but the film’s runtime, just shy of four hours with an intermission, could result in some voters struggling to sit all the way through the awards screener sent to their homes. There has also been minor controversy surrounding the film this week following the revelation that AI was used in one instance to enhance the Hungarian accent of its lead actor, previous Oscar-winner, Adrian Brody.

Brody’s main competition in the Best Actor category is Timothee Chalamet, who has been widely acclaimed for his portrayal of musician, Bob Dylan, in A Complete Unknown. Whilst A Complete Unknown hasn’t been praised quite as highly as contenders like The Brutalist, Anora, and Conclave, the film is also relatively uncontroversial and both the sustained interest in the film and acclaim for Chalamet’s portrayal of Dylan could lead to surprise wins in a number of categories. It also picked up a surprise nomination for Direction which suggests its popularity amongst the academy.

In the Best Actress category, it’s wonderful to see Mikey Madison recognised for her star turn in Anora. However, it now appears that Demi Moore is the odds-on favourite for her lead role in the bonkers and fantastically icky horror, The Substance. The Substance’s recognition in both the Picture and Director categories also signals a slight shift in the way genre cinema, particularly horror, might come to be viewed by the academy. In fact, The Substance’s Best Picture nomination arguably makes it the highest-profile horror film recognised by the academy since 2017’s Get Out.

The Academy Awards are always an interesting indicator of the current political and social climate - think back to Tom Cruise’s opening ode to New York City in the wake of the 9/11 attacks or documentarian Michael Moore’s onstage criticism of then-president George W. Bush following the invasion of Iraq (met with both cheers and boos from the audience). Sometimes, all it reflects is how out-of-touch the glitz and glamour of the West Coast ceremony can be. Even in a year of middling nominations, the ongoing drama of the tragic wildfires and the recent re-election of Donald Trump (openly disliked by many within Hollywood), suggest this will still be a ceremony worth watching when it is broadcast live on Sunday 2nd March.”