by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
The Oscar nominations for the films of 2025 have been released! We have a new record-breaking King of Academy award nominations with Sinners locking down 16 noms. Some surprising and fun nominations like The Ugly Stepsister’s makeup and hairstyling recognition and another complete snubbing of Park Chan-wook and his masterpiece No Other Choice. It’s an exciting time to be a fan of film’s (overlong) awards season. But let’s not look forward too much when there’s so much interesting awards speculation that we can still break down from our past! It’s time to jump into things…
As a reminder, with our Oscars: What If… series we look at categories the Academy Awards should be honoring, but, for one reason or another, they aren’t. So, we’re going to imagine what could’ve been regarding past Oscar seasons. Hopefully someday the Academy will do right by these creative talents, but until then we must do the Academy’s job for them. Let’s look back at the year the Boston Marathon bombing tragically took place, whistleblower Edward Snowden famously leaked information about NSA surveillance, Pope Benedict XVI unexpectedly resigned, Ariana Grande released her first single, “The Way,” Lance Armstrong admitted to doping during all seven of his Tour de France victories, Nicolás Maduro took over as President of Venezuela and Xi Jinping became President of the People’s Republic of China, leading to no future controversy whatsoever. It is time to examine the films of 2013, celebrated at the Oscars in 2014. Let’s see what could have been!
Best Stunts and Choreography
Given to the best achievement in dance, stunts, related performances, and overall choreography for film.
And the nominees are… Fast & Furious 6, The Grandmaster, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Iron Man 3, Rush
And the winner is… Rush!
On the one hand, it’s another car racing movie. On the other hand, it’s a freaking car racing movie! With fast speed adrenaline around hairpin turns, epic crashes, and even people being lit on fire! In many ways, this movie is a stunt person’s dream. I’m sure an argument could be made for Fast & Furious 6, given that franchise is known for its high-speed car sequences as well, but the Formula 1 racing taking place in a Rush is just on an entirely different level. Additionally, while this may not have the hand-to-hand choreography of something like The Grandmaster, the breakneck intensity that these drivers put themselves through feels like it usurps that martial arts finesse, at least in this instance. The control these drivers exhibit as they spin out on a slick asphalt road, or the patience they display as these stunt workers sit in the cockpit of a race car while an inferno rages around them for what seems like an eternity, takes a level of bravery and mastery of the craft that cannot be ignored. It’s time Rush gets the accolades it deserves.
Best Performance by Voiceover or Motion Capture
Given to the best off-screen voice performance, or on-screen motion captured performance, for film.
And the nominees are… Kristen Bell as Anna in Frozen, Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, John Goodman as James P. “Sully” Sullivan in Monsters University, Scarlett Johansson as Samantha in Her, Idina Menzel as Elsa in Frozen
And the winner is… Scarlett Johansson as Samantha in Her!
I imagine a lot of people would give this to Idina Menzel or Benedict Cumberbatch. Menzel, for her incredible vocal performance, not just as the character of Elsa, but for her powerful and iconic rendition of “Let It Go.” Cumberbatch, for his commitment to motion capture performance, in detailed body language and movement as well as a sinister voice performance. But, while those are some great performances worth commending, I do not believe they are more important and successful than what Scarlett Johansson is doing as the A.I. operating system, Samantha, in Her. To be blunt about it, if this performance doesn’t work, this entire movie doesn’t work. It falls apart, crumbling at the foundation. Johansson’s role is imperative to the success of this film, and because she delivered such a nuanced, passionate, and vulnerable performance, this movie is a triumph. Her onset naivete about the world around her, her desire to understand and experience human culture, burgeoning sense of self and feeling, the urge to have a relationship and feel human connection, even down to sexual expression, and the acceptance that artificial intelligence will never be human, because it is something entirely different, leading to a hopeful and optimistic ending versus the more traditional doomsday scenario we get in other A.I. films across pop culture, Johansson knocks it out of the park. Happy to hand her the gold.
Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast
Given to the best overall ensemble cast performance for film.
And the nominees are… 12 Years a Slave, The Hunt, Nebraska, Prisoners, The Wolf of Wall Street
And the winner is… 12 Years a Slave!
Just to get this out of the way, because I’m sure there are some who are curious – No, American Hustle is not nominated. Because the category is for the ‘best’ of this specific thing. Best implies that it’s good, if not even great. American Hustle struggles with even being good. So, you know… it’s not really eligible. Which is just fine because we have five far better ensemble performance nominations here for you to enjoy. This was the toughest category from this year to come to a decision on. I really waffled between all of these choices, particularly The Hunt, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Prisoners. Yeah, that’s right Quentin Tarantino, we respect Paul Dano performances here! Yeah… Where was I? Sorry, too many tangents…
Look, I could have gone with something else, but today I’m feeling Steve McQueen’s masterpiece, 12 Years a Slave. The lead performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor is enough to make your head spin. With its pitch perfect vulnerability generating deeply empathetic emotional energy, the catharsis felt throughout this film due to the journey he explores is powerful, tragic, and sorrowful. You also have Lupita Nyong’o delivering a performance that won her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. The whipping scene from this film might be one of the most difficult scenes to watch in any movie, intentionally so, and it’s Nyong’o’s incredible efforts that make it so painful. Michael Fassbender being one of the most despicable villains in the history of cinema certainly helps in this regard too. It’s not just that these three are good in isolation either, it’s their energy, passion, and vitriol that comes out of them when they’re on screen together that makes everything so compelling. Their chemistry is unreal. Terrific supporting turns from Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti, Brad Pitt, Sarah Paulson, Adepero Oduye, and, yes, Paul Dano certainly help too. Yes, that’s twice nominated, one time winning, Paul Dano in this category. We Stan Dano here. Suck it Tarantino! Wait, where was I?
Best Directorial Debut
Given to the best achievement in direction by a debut directing talent for film.
And the nominees are… Fede Álvarez for Evil Dead, Ryan Coogler for Fruitvale Station, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash for The Way, Way Back, Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Don Jon, Dan Scanlon for Monsters University
And the winner is… Ryan Coogler for Fruitvale Station!
Yep, this one wasn’t close. Ryan Coogler came to play fully formed with his directorial debut. Unwilling to pull punches or play lightly in a sandbox, Coogler has had things on his mind that he needed to speak about from very beginning and he’s never shied away from that fact. It’s that passion, that determination, and that unwillingness to compromise that makes him so magnetic. There is a grit to him that you can see in his filmmaking. Yes, he is lighting the world on fire this year with Sinners, but all of that realized passion and ambition started right here with Fruitvale Station. As well, this was the beginning of his long-time filmmaking partnership with Michael B. Jordan, who is absolutely crushing it as our lead, Oscar Grant (say his name!), in this tragic, true story. With an articulated sense of pacing to deliver a tension-filled film that’s just as much about the inhuman loss of life in a racist America as it is about the pain and suffering of one family. There’s competent camera work, distinct framing, and a powerful demeanor behind the camera that gets the best performances possible from this cast to produce one of the best debut films you could ever see. I’m very happy to see Ryan Cooper take home this much deserved Oscar.
Best Popular Film
Given to the best audience supported motion picture that earned a spot as one of the top 25 box office films of the year.
And the nominees are… Frozen, Gravity, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Monsters University
And the winner is… Frozen!
I hate myself for doing this, but it had to be done. I’m so, so sorry.
To say that Frozen was a phenomenon would almost be an understatement. This movie was everywhere. Like Elsa’s snowstorm, it covered the land, a blight to parents everywhere. Acknowledging the fact that this was a weak year for blockbusters, not in terms of box office production, but in terms of quality films, it would almost be disingenuous to award this to any film other than Frozen. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of this movie. Even before my daughters made me listen to “Let It Go” on repeat for the better part of a decade, I still didn’t feel that this was impeccable filmmaking, but I’m in a minority in that regard. This film was so beloved that it cemented Disney’s transition into what is now commonly referred to as the Revival Era of the Walt Disney Animation Studios. Starting with the Princess and the Frog and Tangled, Frozen solidified the studio’s return to critically and commercially successful films. While I would personally rather see something like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, or even Iron Man 3 here, I recognize I’m in the minority and that most people vastly prefer Frozen. But let’s break it down so you know I’m not just talking out of my ass.
In terms of popularity, box office draw, Frozen was the third highest domestic grossing film of the year, bringing in a whopping $400.7 million. That same amount of money that would actually have been the number one box office film if it had come out this past year in 2025, that’s how much money that is. It was also the number one film in worldwide gross that year bringing in $1.28 billion. This is insane, comical, Scrooge McDuck levels of money. Frozen is also noteworthy because it became the highest grossing animated film ever made upon its release, a record that has since been broken, but a really impressive record, nonetheless. While other films certainly brought in a lot of money, particularly Catching Fire, Frozen still easily has the most impressive box office performance.
The only real competition and only real argument, you could make against Frozen is with Gravity. If you take a second to look at critics reviews of these films they actually are almost equal. Both films earned certified fresh Rotten Tomatoes ratings and scored in the mid-7s on IMDb and the mid-3s on Letterboxed. It’s, specifically, the awards accolades where these two films differ. While Frozen had two Oscar nominations, and impressively won 100% of those nominations, bringing home two gold trophies for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song with “Let It Go,” Gravity had a whopping 10 nominations, which tied for the most nominations out of any film at the Oscars that year, and it won seven little gold men. This easily made Gravity the biggest winner of the night seeing as the next highest winning films on the night only took home three. Additionally, one of those seven wins was also for Best Director in Alfonso Cuarón. In fact, you could easily claim Gravity was most likely in second place for Best Picture behind 12 Years a Slave given how well it performed in virtually every other category it was nominated for that Oscar season. Even beyond the Oscars, Gravity garnered 98 wins against 174 nominations over the entirety of that year’s awards season, including ceremonies like the BAFTAs, Critics’ Choice Awards, and more. That’s not to say Frozen did poorly by any stretch, bringing home 49 wins on 86 nominations, which is quite impressive for an animated film as they’re usually just not nominated for as many categories, but obviously it pales in comparison to Gravity‘s earnings.
An argument could be made that Gravity is the better film due to its awards prowess. However, this is my article, and I actually don’t like either of these films, so… Really, it comes down to vibes. I look at the fact that Frozen made about 50% more than Gravity at the domestic box office, and about $450 million more worldwide and I ask myself, when people think back on 2013, how many people would say this was the year of Frozen versus it being the year of Gravity. If I took a poll of random people on the street, contemporarily the year that these movies were released, and especially now over a decade removed, I don’t think it would be close. Gravity was a technical and visual experience that came and went, one that most people don’t even talk about anymore. Frozen was a worldwide phenomenon, for better or worse. So, since they were both critically lauded, both performed well at award ceremonies in their own respects, but Frozen was vastly more popular, I’m reluctant to give this to anything but Frozen. I don’t like it, and I hate myself for doing it, but it just feels right.
I’M SO SORRY.
That’s gonna do it for the 86th Academy Awards! Thanks for joining me on another trip down memory lane to see what could’ve been! We got to talk about the debut of one of our great modern American filmmakers, the prophetic vision of A.I. relationships, and the worldwide phenomenon that was “Let It Go.” Be sure to come back next time when we look at films like Interstellar, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Whiplash as we’ll examine the Oscars of 2015, celebrating the films of 2014!
You can read more from Heath Lynch, and follow him on Letterboxd