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A Season of Shifts and Surprises: How the 2025 Oscars Reflect a Rapidly Changing Hollywood

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Updated: 2 days ago

For decades, the annual Oscar race has served as an inexact barometer of Hollywood’s tastes, tensions, and transitions. This year, it is even more so. From Netflix’s muscular push into streaming — the platform leads all studios with 16 nominations, including 13 for its Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez — to thorny debates over artificial intelligence, trans representation, and controversial real-life portrayals, the 2025 Academy Awards have become a showcase not only of cinematic artistry but also of a rapidly transforming business landscape.





For Netflix, Emilia Pérez represents a pivotal triumph. Despite spending the past decade chasing the industry’s biggest prize — and earning several near misses (Roma, The Power of the Dog) — the streaming giant has yet to secure a Best Picture win. Now, Emilia Pérez, directed by veteran French filmmaker Jacques Audiard, has vaulted to frontrunner status with 13 Oscar nominations, making it the most-nominated Netflix film in history.


Netflix’s newly announced milestone of 300 million subscribers underscores just how influential the streaming service has become in global content. Yet Emilia Pérez, which traces the musical odyssey of a Mexican cartel boss who secretly transitions, was far from an obvious hit: The film faced accusations of cultural insensitivity in Mexico and drew ire from some segments of the LGBT+ community over perceived stereotypes. Audiard ultimately apologized to viewers who felt “shocked” by the story.


Financial analysts, however, see Emilia Pérez as a validation of Netflix’s strategy to acquire and champion original, risk-taking cinema. Though not a commercial juggernaut by mainstream standards, the film resonates with niche arthouse audiences and reinforces Netflix’s willingness to court controversy in pursuit of industry accolades.


Netflix is not the only disruptive force this season. Two comparatively small but influential studios, A24 and Mubi, have also propelled films to the top of the Oscar conversation. A24’s The Brutalist garnered 10 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director (Brady Corbet). This stark, three-and-a-half-hour portrait of a Hungarian-Jewish émigré architect has ignited debate in Hollywood for its slow-burn storytelling and its partial reliance on AI-assisted production processes. As labor negotiations continue, the film’s approach has stoked both intrigue and anxiety about artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry.


Mubi, meanwhile, has turned The Substance — a gore-laced, feminist satire by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat — into a critical darling and surprise Oscar contender. The movie stars Demi Moore, who earned her first-ever Oscar nod for Best Actress, capping a remarkable late-career comeback. Conventional wisdom suggests the Academy rarely rewards horror, yet The Substance broke through with five nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Observers credit Mubi’s curated approach, modest overhead costs, and loyal subscriber base for enabling riskier projects that more traditional studios might reject.


Several other contenders illustrate Hollywood’s ongoing appetite for provocation. One example is The Apprentice, an independent production chronicling Donald Trump’s early business career in the 1970s and 1980s. Threatened legal action from Trump’s team nearly derailed the film’s release, but a consortium of international distributors ultimately brought it to theaters. That gamble paid off when Sebastian Stan secured a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of Trump as a brash young dealmaker, and Jeremy Strong earned a Best Supporting Actor nod as fixer Roy Cohn.


In contrast, the Brazilian drama I’m Still Here overcame modest box-office results and minimal U.S. marketing to snag a Best Picture nomination and a Best Actress nod for Fernanda Torres. Her surprise Golden Globe win shortly before Oscar voting demonstrated that the revived awards show can still exert substantial influence.


Though the Oscars often toggle between smaller prestige fare and blockbuster sensations, the 2025 slate underscores a notably broad field. Wicked, Universal’s lavish adaptation of the Broadway smash, earned 10 nominations, effectively vindicating the studio’s decision to split the musical into two grand installments. The film’s themes of authoritarian overreach and resistance resonated with audiences, and star power from Cynthia Erivo (Best Actress) and Ariana Grande (Best Supporting Actress) propelled Wicked to box-office success.


Nevertheless, the Academy bypassed Wicked in both the directing and screenplay categories, reflecting its tendency to honor spectacle while remaining cautious about crowning big-budget franchises in creative fields. Dune: Part Two experienced a similar pattern, scoring nominations in major categories like Best Picture and in multiple technical races.


One of the season’s most transformative stories is that of Karla Sofía Gascón, who made history as the first openly trans actress to receive an Academy Award nomination. Her lead turn in Emilia Pérez exemplifies an evolving Academy, whose membership has broadened over the last decade to include more women, international voices, and other underrepresented groups. The expanded voter base has also produced a wider array of nominees, such as Coralie Fargeat (The Substance), now the 10th woman nominated for Best Director in the Academy’s 97-year history.


No Oscar race would be complete without noting who was left out. Daniel Craig’s portrayal of a lovesick drug addict in the surreal British drama Queer failed to land a nomination, prompting questions about whether explicit sexual content and challenging themes alienated older voters. Marianne Jean-Baptiste, heralded by critics for her fierce performance in Hard Truths, was also snubbed, illustrating how abrasive characters can struggle with Academy members.


Meanwhile, the Best Picture lineup features no shortage of smaller films with lofty ambitions. Sean Baker’s Anora, a comedic romance set in immigrant Brooklyn, defied its spring-release date to earn six nominations, highlighting how savvy marketing and critical support can help niche titles break out.


Real-world events loom large this awards season. Destructive wildfires in Los Angeles County delayed the nominations announcement and prompted questions about whether the ceremony should pivot toward fundraising or be postponed altogether. In the end, Academy officials chose to proceed on schedule, albeit with a more subdued tone. Live musical performances will be scaled back in favor of tributes to emergency responders, and Conan O’Brien will helm hosting duties, bringing a measured yet familiar comedic presence.


Still, the Academy Awards remain a powerful promotional platform, commanding some 20 million U.S. viewers and now streaming globally on ABC and Hulu. For studios, production financiers, and distributors, the ceremony can be a decisive factor in shaping box-office prospects and international licensing deals.


By most indicators, the 2025 Oscars encapsulate Hollywood’s ongoing shift toward broader, riskier storytelling, spurred by diverse creative talents, evolving distribution models, and new market entrants. For financiers and corporate stakeholders — from Netflix with its global reach to the independents gambling on controversial subjects — the payoff is bigger than any single statuette. It is a potent reminder that, in an era of streaming abundance, bold projects and strong visions can still deliver the most substantial returns.


Whether Emilia Pérez triumphs or The Brutalist pulls off an upset, and regardless of the fate of high-profile contenders such as Wicked, this year’s Oscars underscore what shrewd producers have long known: Risk-takers and envelope-pushers remain Hollywood’s most compelling storytellers — and occasionally its most profitable ones.






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