Oscar 2025: The Snubs, The Wins And The Controversies

Now that awards season has officially wrapped up with the Oscars last Sunday, it’s time to break down the biggest wins, the most glaring snubs, and those performances that deserved more recognition. This is just my opinion, so if you disagree…great! Let me know in the comments, and let’s discuss.

How Do Films Get Nominated for an Oscar?

Before diving in, let’s briefly break down how a film even gets nominated. Just because a movie makes it to the Oscars—or the Golden Globes, Spirit Awards, SAG, or BAFTAs—doesn’t necessarily mean it’s one of the best films of the year. Plenty of great movies never even make the cut.

For eligibility, a film must meet several requirements, including a theatrical release of at least one week in one of six qualifying U.S. metro areas (LA County, New York City, the Bay Area, Chicago, Miami, or Atlanta) and a minimum runtime of 40 minutes for feature-length consideration. Clearly, there’s no upper limit ( looking at you, The Brutalist and your three-and-a-half-hour runtime). 

But beyond these technicalities, it’s all about strategy. A film needs to premiere at major festivals (Sundance, Cannes, Venice, TIFF) to generate early awards buzz. From there, it’s essentially a political campaign—millions are spent on promotion, screenings, and publicity to secure a nomination. Once a film makes it into contention, its fate is in the hands of roughly 10,000 Academy members, with at least 5% of first-place votes needed to land a nomination.

The Highlights, the Controversies, and the Standout Performances

After this small digression, let’s get to this years Awards. I try to watch every nominated picture by the time the Oscars come around so that I can form a fully rounded opinion on these movies. This year had its share of highlights and controversies, none bigger than the drama surrounding Emilia Perez. Once considered an awards frontrunner, the film lost all support after old racial tweets from lead actress Karla Sofia Gascón resurfaced. Beyond that, it faced significant backlash from the trans and Mexican communities, who criticised its representation of both trans identity and Mexico City’s connection to crime.

The only star who remained untarnished through it all was Zoe Saldana, who dominated the Best Supporting Actress category all season, culminating in an emotional Oscar win. Her portrayal of Rita was phenomenal, arguably more of a lead role given her screen time and narrative weight. While Felicity Jones (The Brutalist) was also an incredibly strong contender, Saldana was the backbone of Emilia Perez.

Biggest Snubs of the Year

Once Emilia Perez fell from grace, the competition narrowed to Anora and The Brutalist, with Conclave and A Complete Unknown trailing behind. But while these films received their due recognition, some incredible films were completely overlooked. My biggest snubs?

• Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu and Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers failing to make the Best Picture cut.

• Denis Villeneuve being left out of the Best Director category, a shocking omission considering Dune: Part Two was a visual and storytelling masterpiece. Yes, I know sci-fi rarely wins Best Picture, especially so soon after Everything Everywhere All at Once in 2023, I would think Hollywood imploded, but it still deserved better ( Best Picture to be precise).

  
  

My Most Controversial Take: Did Kieran Culkin Deserve to Win?

Alright, are you already shaking your head at me? This is likely my most controversial opinion, especially since I haven't encountered much disagreement about this victory. I don’t think Kieran Culkin should have won Best Supporting Actor, or dominated the entire category throughout awards season.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved A Real Pain. Jesse Eisenberg crafted a clever, original script, and Culkin gave a great performance. But how much of it was acting, and how much was just… Kieran Culkin being Kieran Culkin? His natural humour and personality shone through, making me wonder if he was really stretching as a performer.

But here’s who I think should have won, and no it wasn’t his Succession screen brother Jeremy Strong for his role in The Apprentice, although big shoutout to him as well for a stellar performance. My vote goes to another massive snub, Denzel Washington in Gladiator II. I am mildly outraged that he wasn’t even nominated. His portrayal of Macrinus, a Machiavellian, double-faced, witty manipulator was one of the year’s best performances. Was it too controversial for Academy voters? Who knows. But it was a massive snub.

Also overlooked? Austin Butler in Dune: Part Two. That black-and-white arena scene was a cinematic masterpiece, and Butler was downright terrifying. Again, big, big snub.

THE CONTROVERSY OF AI

Taking a detour from the snubs and diving into controversy, let’s talk about Adrien Brody winning Best Actor over Timothée Chalamet. Brody seemed like a lock for the award, until Chalamet won the SAG, injecting some last-minute uncertainty into the race. I loved Timmy’s speech at the SAGs; his sportsmanship and honesty felt refreshing, embodying a new generation of bold, fearless actors. His strive for greatness is admirable. His five-year deep dive into Bob Dylan was commendable, and he vanished into the role. But despite his dedication, Brody still took the win. His performance in The Brutalist hit like a freight train, flooring, heartbreaking, and surely Oscar worthy. And, in keeping with the movie’s marathon runtime, he delivered the longest Oscar acceptance speech in history. A bit cringe though, cutting the music off with “This is not my first Rodeo”, oh Adrien, read the room. 

But here’s where things get murky: the editor admitted to using AI to perfect Brody and Jones’ Hungarian accents. One could argue that the scenes where they speak fully in Hungarian are few, and director Brady Corbet clarified that it was merely a minimal adjustment to vowel pronunciation. Another instance where AI was supposedly used was in the blueprint designs at the end of the movie, rumoured to have been AI-generated, though Corbet denied this. But the real issue isn’t whether AI was used; the controversy arose because we are entering a new era where AI is becoming an integral part of daily life. Its role in filmmaking is inevitable, but the question remains: how much is acceptable?

Big snub in this category: Daniel Craig in Queer!

Best Actress: A Surprise Twist

The Best Actress race played out differently. Demi Moore (The Substance) seemed poised to win after sweeping the Golden Globes, SAG, and Critics Choice Awards, while Mickey Madison (Anora) took the BAFTA and Spirit Award.

When it came down to it, Madison won the Oscar. Performance-wise, both were phenomenal, but I personally leaned toward Moore, not just for her fearless performance but for what it meant for her career. It would have been a defining moment. But that should not influence the single performance for which they are nominated for and Mickey Madison was just outstanding in Anora.

The fact however that nobody is talking about Fernanda Torres in I’m Still Here has me reeling, her performance was just pure tears streaming down my face. Nominated, but big snub!

Final Thoughts: A Safe Oscars in a Controversial Season

While I had my fair share of disagreements (Nosferatu, Dune: Part Two, and Challengers deserved more nominations), overall, the 2025 Oscars felt safe. Anora taking home Best Picture and other major awards was a nod to independent filmmaking, which is great, but it also felt like the Academy’s way of staying neutral in a year filled with controversy.

But beyond the snubs, wins, and controversies, one thing is clear: Hollywood isn’t what it used to be. Once upon a time, the Oscars were a grand spectacle that encouraged audiences to flock to theatres, celebrating cinema at its best. Now? The prestige has faded and the ceremony feels out of touch, The magic is gone, and the question remains: do the Oscars even really matter anymore?