After a surprisingly delightful, Barbenheimer-themed Oscars in 2024, this year's nominations are a return to form. As per usual, the nominees are a mix of the past year's most tasteful blockbusters, like Wicked: Part 1 and Dune: Part 2; a handful of smaller but buzzy films that the average moviegoer is at least partly familiar with, like Conclave and Anora; and the sort of stereotypical Oscar bait that earns the awards show its "out-of-touch" label, like the year's most nominated film Emilia Pérez.
Compared to last year's ceremony, which honored both populist and surprise indie hits, this current slate of nominees feels like a bit of a digression. It's not that the year's frontrunners don't have their enthusiasts, although mostly on Letterboxd. Rather, this year's Oscars are noticeably lacking in movies that mass audiences can strongly agree are masterpieces. Sure, plenty of contenders have compelling premises, but it's still debatable whether many of these movies, like The Brutalist or Anora, actually succeed in their execution.
Nevertheless, this year's sometimes curious nominations have plenty to tell us about 2024 in cinema. While the opinions of the mostly white, male Academy don't necessarily account for the average moviegoer, they provide an interesting recap of the past year and reveal some trends that could persist over the next few years.
