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Every year come Oscars time, I hear two things:<\/p>\n
\u201cWho the hell cares?!\u201d or \u201cThat movie f\u2014ing sucked!\u201d<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s just my mom.<\/p>\n True, the Academy Awards don\u2019t get the ratings they used to. A massive 55 million Americans (about 20% of the country) watched in 1998 when \u201cTitanic\u201d won best picture.<\/p>\n Last year in the US, a comparably wimpy 20.2 million tuned in to learn what \u201cAnora\u201d is.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, that was enough to make the event the 17th highest-rated telecast of 2025 \u2014 on par with most Sunday Night Football games.\u00a0<\/p>\n And even considering the almost-century-old ceremony\u2019s diminished stature, the Academy Awards still inspire passion all over the globe, both angry and euphoric.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last March, when Brazil\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m Still Here\u201d won best international feature film, revelers in Rio de Janeiro reportedly danced in the streets.<\/p>\n And after Netflix\u2019s excruciating \u201cEmilia Perez\u201d scored a leading 13 nods, and viewers at home bravely pressed play, the bizarre French Spanish-language musical became one of social media\u2019s biggest punchlines.<\/p>\n The Oscars, for many, still matter.<\/p>\n Voting for the 98th Academy Award nominations closed on Thursday night, and the contenders will be announced Jan. 22.\u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s going to infuriate the masses or send \u2018em Samba-ing?\u00a0<\/p>\n The big kahuna this time is \u201cOne Battle After Another<\/a>,\u201d starring Leonardo DiCaprio.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yes, \u201cSinners<\/a>,\u201d the Southern vampire flick with Michael B. Jordan, could wind up with the most mentions because, beyond being an admired success, it has songs and effects.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s a no-brainer best picture nominee.<\/p>\n But don\u2019t be misled by its high tally, even a potentially record-breaking one. \u201cEmilia Perez\u201d got 13 in 2025 and won a measly two.<\/p>\n \u201cOne Battle,\u201d directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, has been steamrolling through award season even though it flopped, and there is no indication that its tour de triumph will end.\u00a0<\/p>\n Anderson \u2014 the 55-year-old director of \u201cBoogie Nights, \u201cMagnolia\u201d and \u201cThere Will Be Blood\u201d \u2014 has never nabbed best picture or director before, and there\u2019s a widely felt sense that his time has come.\u00a0<\/p>\n The smart money is that it will.<\/p>\n DiCaprio and co-stars Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro will all probably be listed off Thursday, and so could newcomer Chase Infiniti in best actress.<\/p>\n Does \u201cOne Battle\u201d have any competition in best picture at all?<\/p>\n Sorta. The same night Anderson\u2019s action-packed satire won the comedy Golden Globe, \u201cHamnet<\/a>\u201d (a better movie, actually), seized the drama prize.\u00a0<\/p>\n The tragedy about Shakespeare\u2019s wife, with its half-timbered houses and \u201cto be or not to be\u201ds, is also poised to perform well at the BAFTAs, the British Oscars.\u00a0<\/p>\n But I\u2019d be surprised if the intimate, intense story pulled a \u201cShakespeare in Love\u201d shocker, despite industry adoration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Chances are the gold it gets on Oscars night goes to its incandescent star Jessie Buckley for best actress.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yeah, yeah, Rose Byrne has been scooping up accolades for \u201cIf I Had Legs I\u2019d Kick You<\/a>.\u201d She\u2019ll get nominated, but that indie is too weird for the Oscars.\u00a0<\/p>\n