The Oscars Academy Awards Ceremony will be held March 2. While people might not take awards ceremonies like the Oscars and the Grammys very seriously, it’s definitely worth paying attention to the Oscars this year. The nominations, which were announced Jan. 23, reflect trends in the film industry that will likely affect movies and television for years to come. After all, we’re only one year past the historic writer and actor strikes regarding AI usage in film, and the effects of this technology are starting to become clear in the content we watch and the movies that the Academy has recognized this year. Also, as movie theaters become a more and more obscure form of watching movies, non-blockbuster films have become bolder and more artistically-driven as they appeal to a niche but devoted audience.

The Brutalist

“The Brutalist” nabbed 10 nominations this year, including Best Picture, Best Cinematography and Best Actor. In the film, Adrien Brody plays a Hungarian-Jewish architect who emigrated to the U.S. after World War II and tries to achieve the American dream. Brody’s last Oscar nomination, and win, was in 2003 for “The Pianist.” He remains the youngest to ever win the best actor award, and is finally in the limelight again for his performance in “The Brutalist.”

Despite these accolades, the film has come under fire for some AI usage. Dávid Jancsó, who was nominated for Best Editing for “The Brutalist,” revealed that AI was used in the film in order to enhance the Hungarian accents of actors Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. Janscó, a native Hungarian speaker, fed his voice into an AI model which made the actors’ Hungarian pronunciations authentic, supposedly without altering their performances.

More consequentially, the film used generative AI to render partially generated images of blueprints and buildings. Seeing as “The Brutalist” was nominated for Best Editing and Best Cinematography, the news of AI usage in the film’s visual and audio aspects has been very controversial. Despite this, the film is in a good position at the awards season. It’s still a big contender to win major Academy Awards, even at the chagrin of some audiences and critics.

Emilia Perez

Perhaps the most controversial thing about the Oscar nominations this year is “Emilia Pérez,” but not for the reasons that might be expected. “Emilia Pérez” has garnered a whopping 13 nominations, including for Best Picture, Best International Feature, and Best Actress. This makes it the non-English language film with the most Oscar nominations ever, and it has the most nominations out of all films this year.

The movie is a musical about a cartel leader who hires a lawyer to help them transition into a woman and disappear. While the movie has been moderately successful with critics, it has a 16% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the least popular Oscar nominated films on the website. People have not only criticized “Emilia Pérez” for its plot and musical sequences, but the film has been slammed for the representation of transgender and Mexican communities which many consider laughably bad. This was only made worse when controversial tweets resurfaced by Karla Sofia Gascon, the titular actor. It’s certainly not a good look when the first transgender woman to be nominated for an Academy Award has to be distanced from promotional campaigns.

Anora

Nominated for 6 Academy Awards, “Anora”  hasn’t exactly dominated the spotlight, but the film has been creeping its way up in this awards season. The film, about a New York stripper who gets a chance at her Cinderella story with a young Russian oligarch, won the Palme D’or at the Cannes film festival this past May. Cannes is one of the most competitive and prestigious festivals, debuting films from around the world. “Anora” certainly started with a bang, winning the most prestigious award at the festival, but it was still a sleeper pick before now.

Sean Baker, the writer, director and editor, has become one of the most respected independent filmmakers. He tends to cast unknown actors so the audience can truly see them as the characters, and this is definitely true for Mikey Madison, who plays Anora. This is her breakthrough film as an actress, and she has been a favorite pick to win the Best Actress award as her performance has reached many unsuspecting viewers in the industry. She has already won a BAFTA and Independent Spirit Award for her performance. “Anora” is also in the running for awards such as Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, but in competition with other contenders such as “The Brutalist” and “Emilia Pérez,” it’s less likely to win.

Wicked

“Wicked” is also dominating the awards season, as it is nominated for 10 Oscars. It’s by far the most popular and commercially successful film to permeate this awards season, and it is also the only major franchise adaptation. The film is an ambitious, nearly three-hour adaptation of the “Wicked” musical, which is a story based on the characters from the iconic “The Wizard of Oz.” Off the back of one of the most successful Broadway musicals, the movie grossed over $700 million worldwide, in an era where movie theater attendance is in a steep decline. Earlier this year, “Wicked” won the Golden Globe for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement.

The Academy regularly recognizes commercially successful films with big nominations, but “Wicked’s” nominations for Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, are more of an honorable mention than anything. What the film is more likely to win are awards such as Best Production Design, Best Visual Design, Best Costume Design or Best Music. Blockbusters such as “Wicked” always have impressive visual landscapes and soundtracks, and the Academy is always happy to give these kinds of awards to those films.

Conclusion

Overall, the major contenders this year for the Oscars fit into some of the Academy’s usual tastes, but at the same time they reflect a major shift in the film industry. AI controversies have defined a lot of the awards season, with major films using the technology in ways that might become more apparent in the future. Also, throughout this decade, the films the industry has highlighted the most have become bolder and more diverse in the stories they tell and the way they are told. No matter where this coming Oscars ceremony goes, it might be a premonition for the film industry in the years to come.