By Jenna Baker, Third Year, Film & English
Earlier this year, Sean Baker’s Anora (2024) swept the Oscars stage, marking a win for independent cinema and A24 in particular. Anora was predictably polarising, and while there have been many criticisms of Baker’s portrayal of sex workers in the film, it is undeniable that this Best Picture win represented a leap in a more liberal direction — unusual, but not unforeseeable, for the Oscars.
A24 and Neon, both independent production companies, are now dominating the expected nominations. While the prospective line-up varies, it is certainly paving the way for a more politicised filmic landscape. One Battle After Another (2025) shattered box office records, grossing $100 million in its first weekend, marking an impactful comeback for Paul Thomas Anderson and signalling that left-leaning cinema is a strong contender. Sean Penn’s chilling and nauseating portrayal of Steven Lockjaw went above and beyond, securing a Best Supporting Actor nomination. However, it’s hard to ignore the irony of ceremonies that showcase some of the planet’s richest people, fuelling many of their egos, while simultaneously implying a capacity for political influence.
It looks like it will be difficult for award shows to avoid films with politicised narratives in this upcoming season. Films such as Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia (2025), starring Emma Stone, who is expected to be up for Best Actress, centres on climate change, highlighting the responsibility of CEOs and large corporations, and could be a contender for Best Picture based on its reception at the Venice Film Festival. In competition with Stone, we could see Jessie Buckley nominated for Hamnet (2025), Jennifer Lawrence for Die My Love (2025), or perhaps even Sydney Sweeney for Christy (2025) — “Not another boxing movie!” I hear you groan. Joachim Trier’s highly anticipated Sentimental Value (2025) also won the Grand Prize at Cannes, though it’s rare for non-Hollywood films to win big.
Another politically charged film soon to hit theatres is Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt (2025), featuring an A-list cast including Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and beloved The Bear (2022) star Ayo Edebiri. Critics have been far from complimentary about the film’s handling of the #MeToo movement and “woke” culture, yet it was warmly received at the Venice Film Festival, earning a six-minute standing ovation, making it impossible to rule out.
Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine (2025) stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson like you’ve never seen him before, he has hair! John Safdie’s Marty Supreme (2025), on the other hand, features Timothée Chalamet as you’ve seen him before: in another biopic, for which he was previously nominated for Best Actor but didn’t win, A Complete Unknown (2024). Apparently, Chalamet has been learning table tennis for the past seven years in preparation for the role.
While many critics are commending Benny Safdie for writing, directing, and editing The Smashing Machine, it hasn’t quite reached the opening weekend box office heights it perhaps deserved, or at least strived to achieve, grossing a mere £4.3 million compared to its £37 million budget. Benny still won Best Director at the Venice Film Festival, and perhaps its box office flop can be overlooked in light of Johnson’s staggering career U-turn performance, with biopics often doing well in categories like Best Actor. Will the Safdie brothers be going head-to-head for a win this awards season?
Of course, it would be difficult to ignore Guillermo Del Toro’s reimagining of Frankenstein (2025), which could see Oscar Isaac winning Best Actor and will almost certainly be nominated for Costume Design. Other honourable mentions looking strong for awards season include A House of Dynamite (2025), Sinners (2025), which would continue The Substance’s (2024) exciting horror legacy, It Was Just an Accident (2025), The Secret Agent (2025), Rental Family (2025), and Park Chan-wook’s new film, No Other Choice (2025).
Stay tuned with Epigram if you want to catch all the hype and build-up!
Which films are you rooting for this awards season?
Featured Image: Unsplash / Mirko Fabian
