UPDATED - 98th Academy Awards: Picks & Reactions
- Jan 22
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 14
Today, the nominees for the 98th Academy Awards were announced in Beverly Hills, and it's both an exciting and historic day as Ryan Coogler's Sinners became the most nominated film of all time, garnering a staggering 16 nominations. It's literally nominated in every single category it qualifies for, except for Best Actress in a Leading Role, only because it didn't have one. The record was previously held by three films: All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016), which each had 14 nominations. Do I think Sinners will sweep come March? No. Will it win some awards? Definitely.
We're still a couple of months away from the ceremony, but below are my early predictions (I haven't seen everything yet, but I've seen most, so these may change later!) and reactions to the nominations, snubs, and surprises.
Snubs
Chase Infiniti for Best Actress in a Leading Role in One Battle After Another
I rewatched One Battle After Another just the other day, and all of my attention was on Infiniti the entire time. She stole the show for me, and how she wasn't recognized at this year's Oscars might be the snub of the year.
Amanda Seyfried for Best Actress in a Leading Role in The Testament of Ann Lee
I have not seen this yet, as it's not available to watch near me, but the Internet is abuzz that Seyfried's performance being bumped for Kate Hudson's in Song Sung Blue is a slap to the face. We all know Seyfried has some serious talent, and I love Kate Hudson (she was perfect in Almost Famous), but you can just tell from the trailers alone that she deserved it more.
Paul Mescal for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Hamnet
Paul Mescal emotionally scarred and made me cry the hardest in theaters last year. He really didn't have to go that hard as William Shakespeare. He deserved some recognition in the category.
Jesse Plemons for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Bugonia
Plemons was at his best in Bugonia, and going toe to toe with Emma Stone is not easy. I would've loved to see him get a nod here, but the category is too strong.
Joel Edgerton Best Actor in a Leading Role in Train Dreams
Kind of crazy that Train Dreams is nominated for Best Picture and the guy who carried the film isn't.
Update: I watched Train Dreams after posting this, and all five spots are well-deserved this year, so I'm not that mad at the Academy.
Guillermo Del Toro for Best Director for Frankenstein
Maybe it's too much of a "gimme," but if Frankenstein had been directed by anyone else, it would not have been as good as it was. Think about that.
Wicked: For Good getting completely SHUT OUT
Possibly the biggest surprise of the day. Not even a nomination for Best Production Design? I thought it would get three nominations, at minimum.
Ariana Grande for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Wicked: For Good
Personally, Grande was much better in For Good than in Part 1, and I thought she had a better shot at actually winning this year than last, but there was no campaign, and everything just fell through.
Update: All five nominees this year were actually more deserving. Sorry, Ari.
"The Girl in the Bubble" for Best Original Song in Wicked: For Good
Speaking of Ariana Grande, the addition of this song enhanced For Good for me, and this entire sequence was brilliant. Diane Warren isn't going to win, so stop wasting nominations on her!
No Other Choice for Best International Feature & Best Picture
One of the best films from last year just ran out of steam and failed to get any recognition this year. The Parasite effect just didn't work out this time.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps & Superman for Best Visual Effects
They probably didn't stand a chance against Avatar: Fire & Ash, but they both looked great, and to give one of those spots to The Lost Bus instead? What are we doing, guys?
Update: I still stand by this, though Jurassic World: Rebirth earned its spot.
Warfare for Best Sound
I will die on the hill that the sound design of Warfare is one of the best of the 2020s. I could riot right now that it wasn't at all nominated.
Sorry, Baby for Best Original Screenplay
Definitely an under-the-radar film of the year, but the script was incredible. Eva Victor wrote something so deeply personal that it translated to the screen almost flawlessly.
Surprises
Delroy Lindo for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Sinners
He was considered a long shot, but I thought he gave a great performance in Sinners. Although he may not win, I'm glad he's at least getting recognized.
Kate Hudson for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Song Sung Blue
Definitely the biggest headscratcher of the day. Not that the movie was terrible by any means, nor was Hudson, but there was virtually no buzz around her or the film. It's Song Sung Blue's sole nomination, so it feels so random and -- no offense -- like a waste of a nomination slot.
Update: I'm actually a big Kate Hudson fan, and she gave a great performance in this film, but I still don't think she should've been nominated here.
F1 for Best Picture
I guess with the success of Top Gun: Maverick, why not give Kosinski another nod for F1? Don't get me wrong, I loved F1, but it just feels like filler. Like they needed a box office hit to take a spot in the top 10, so they went with this one. Sorry, Avatar.
Fun Facts
One Battle After Another is the second most nominated film this year (13), while Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, and Sentimental Value are tied for third (9).
Never in the history of the Oscars have there been two acting performances from horror films in the same category until now: Amy Madigan (Weapons) and Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners).
This is the first time in 25 years that the Academy has added a new category, Best Casting, which honors casting directors for assembling an ensemble of actors who elevate an already excellent film.
Comedian Tig Notaro is nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film.
If Sinners wins Best Picture, Ryan and Zinzi Coogler would be the third married couple in history to win the big award, but they'd be the first black couple ever to do it.
Speaking of Sinners, both Ruth E. Carter & Ludwig Göransson could become three-time winners in their respective categories come March.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the first Avatar film (so far) not to be nominated for Best Picture.
This is Brad Pitt's second producer-only nomination for Best Picture (F1). His first was for 12 Years a Slave, which he won.
My Picks (in bold)
Best Picture
Bugonia
F1
Frankestein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best Director (new pick!)
Reasoning for a new pick: I'm almost certain that PTA's going to get the Oscar (he's due, and OBAA was masterful), but whenever I think about scenes that stand out from 2025, there are two that come to mind: the car chase scene in OBAA and the "I Lied To You" musical number from Sinners. Both were phenomenal, but the latter has stuck with me for nearly a year now.
Chloé Zhao
Hamnet
Josh Safdie
Marty Supreme
Paul Thomas Anderson
One Battle After Another
Joachim Trier
Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler
Sinners
Best Actor in a Leading Role (new pick!)
Reasoning for a new pick: The momentum Jordan has from winning the Actor Award could help him here. Also, after a rewatch of Sinners, he essentially had to do double the amount of work than any of his fellow nominees, and he did it effortlessly.
Timothée Chalamet
Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio
One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke
Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan
Sinners
Wagner Moura
The Secret Agent
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Jessie Buckley
Hamnet
Rose Byrne
If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Kate Hudson
Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve
Sentimental Value
Emma Stone
Bugonia
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (new pick!)
Reasoning for a new pick: At one point, I was actually leaning toward Skarsgård, but Penn had one of the most memorable characters of the year. Both hilarious and terrifying, he left the biggest impression on me more than any of the nominees in this category.
Benicio Del Toro
One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi
Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo
Sinners
Sean Penn
One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård
Sentimental Value
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (new pick!)
Reasoning for a new pick: With the momentum shift leaning toward Madigan as she's been picking up awards here and there, I'm all in for her Oscar win. The sole nomination for Weapons, and for a horror villain, a win here would be iconic.
Elle Fanning
Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas
Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan
Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku
Sinners
Teyana Taylor
One Battle After Another
Best Original Screenplay
Blue Moon, Robert Kaplow
It Was Just An Accident, Jafar Panahi in collaboration with Shadmehr Rastin, Nader Saïvar and Mehdi Mahmoudian
Marty Supreme, Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
Sentimental Value, Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier
Sinners, Ryan Coogler
Best Adapted Screenplay
Bugonia, Will Tracy; based on the film Save the Green Planet! by Jang Joon-hwan
Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro; based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Hamnet, Chloé Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell; based on the novel Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson; based on the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
Train Dreams, Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar; based on the novella Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
Best Animated Feature
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
Best Casting
Hamnet, Nina Gold
Marty Supreme, Jennifer Venditti
One Battle After Another, Cassandra Kulukundis
The Secret Agent, Gabriel Domingues
Sinners, Francine Maisler
Best Cinematography (new pick!)
Reasoning for a new pick: I actually didn't see Train Dreams before making this original post, but now that I have, I'm really rooting for it to win at least this category. The odds are saying that OBAA is going to pick this one up, but Train Dreams was truly beautiful to look at. Veloso is a visionary like no other.
Frankenstein, Dan Laustsen
Marty Supreme, Darius Khondji
One Battle After Another, Michael Bauman
Sinners, Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Train Dreams, Adolpho Veloso
Best Costume Design
Avatar: Fire and Ash, Deborah L. Scott
Frankenstein, Kate Hawley
Hamnet, Malgosia Turzanska
Marty Supreme, Miyako Bellizzi
Sinners, Ruth E. Carter
Best Film Editing (new pick!)
Reasoning for a new pick: Anyone who can make a nearly three-hour film feel like it's much less than that deserves a win. Great execution and pacing of storytelling via editing.
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