ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The nominees for the 98th Academy Awards were presented Thursday morning by Danielle Brooks and Warren Wilson College alum Lewis Pullman, kicking off the race to Oscar gold this March.
10 films were nominated for Best Picture, including:
- “Bugonia” – Read our review
- “F1” – Read our review
- “Frankenstein” – Read our review
- “Hamnet”
- “Marty Supreme” – Read our review
- “One Battle After Another” – Read our review
- “The Secret Agent” – Read our review
- “Sentimental Value” – Read our review
- “Sinners” – Read our review
- “Train Dreams”
The biggest news from the announcement was the unprecedented showing for “Sinners.” Ryan Coogler’s blockbuster vampire hit was nominated in 16 different categories, the most nominations in the history of the Academy Awards, eclipsing Oscar titans like “Titanic,” “La La Land” and “All About Eve.” The recognition included nominations for Coogler in Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture, Michael B. Jordan for Best Actor, Wunmi Mosaku for Best Supporting Actress and Delroy Lindo for Best Supporting Actor.
The most surprising inclusions in the morning’s announcements, however, were “F1” in Best Picture and Kate Hudson in Best Actress for her turn in “Song Sung Blue.” Though recent Best Picture slates have rarely missed a blockbuster – “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Barbie” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” were all recognized in recent years, as well as Coogler’s “Black Panther” in 2019 – “F1” was widely considered a dark horse in the race compared to “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Wicked: For Good,” the latter of which blanked entirely on Thursday morning.
Hudson, meanwhile, was nominated over Chase Infiniti, the “One Battle After Another” actress who made her explosive film debut in Paul Thomas Anderson’s revolutionary epic. However, considering the actor was already in contention for an Oscar statue a single film into her career, there is every possibility of an infinity of Infiniti nominations in the future.
The most disappointing snubs of the morning were for admittedly small fare. “Sorry, Baby,” which we declared our favorite film of 2025, was in the running for Best Original Screenplay, while “It Was Just an Accident,” Jafar Panahi’s searing, increasingly relevant Iranian thriller, missed in Best Picture.
The most exciting category at this year’s Oscars, however, has to be Best Actor. In addition to Jordan, the nominees include Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke and Wagner Moura, each of whom give incredible performances in five fantastic movies. While my heart is with Hawke for his turn in “Blue Moon,” any of the five would be a worthy winner.
While the 98th Academy Awards are scheduled for Sunday, March 15, just a little under two months away, local movie theaters have already announced opportunities to catch up with the Best Picture nominees. In the week leading up to the ceremony, Regal Biltmore Grande will show one of the films a day for $7.99 a ticket. The Carolina Asheville will do something similar, bundling the Oscar-nominated shorts with the nominated films in a $40 Movie Week festival pass.
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