A Reel Opinion: The 98th Oscar Nominations - The Good, The Bad, & The Glorious

The nominations for the 98^th Academy Awards were announced this morning at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater, delivered by hosts Danielle Brooks (THE COLOR PURPLE), and Lewis Pullman (THUNDERBOLTS), bringing a fair share of surprises and letdowns. 

 

The most nominations went to Ryan Coogler’s one-half musical, one-half horror flick SINNERS, with a record 16 nominations. It earned a nod in every category it was eligible for, including the brand-new Best Casting (which gave it the record). Right behind SINNERS was Paul Thomas Anderson’s ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER with 13, followed by MARTY SUPREME, SENTIMENTAL VALUE, and FRANKENSTEIN with nine. Here is how the rest played out in The Good, The Bad, and The Glorious: 

 

THE GOOD

-This year’s Best Picture nominees (10 in total), included four films that have earned over $100 million at the box office, including Joseph Kosinski’s racing flick, F1. A good sign that the Academy is not afraid to nominate popular films. 

 

-James Cameron’s AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH earned a Best Visual Effects nomination (expected), but surprisingly got a nod for Best Costume Design. And why not? It may be digital, but the costume still has to be designed. And the name of the award is Best Design, not best weaving or sewing. 

 

-The Academy announced that Conan O’Brien would be returning as host. 

 

THE BAD

-Zero nominations for WICKED: FOR GOOD. 

 

-No acting nomination for Jeremy Allen White, for his portrayal of Bruce Springsteen in DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE.

 

-Guillermo del Toro’s FRANKENSTEIN earned nine nominations, but he oddly missed out on Best Director. 

 

THE GLORIOUS

-ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER earned the respect of the Acting Branch of the Academy, pulling in four total acting nominations: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Teyana Taylor.

 

-SINNERS Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman of color to be nominated in that category. 

 

-It is a magnificent year for the horror genre, with SINNERS and FRANKENSTEIN pulling in 25 total nominations. A great film can be found anywhere, and the Academy knows it. 

 

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The 98^th Academy Awards are March 15^th. 

A Reel Opinion: King of the Box Office World

James Cameron has done it again. 

 

Last week, Cameron’s newest film, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, crossed the $1 billion mark at the international box office. That makes Cameron the first director in history to have four consecutive films reach that $1 billion mark. Although he is still behind Steven Spielberg as the second-highest grossing director of all time, right now it seems Cameron is the king of the box office. 

 

How did he get there? 

 

The writing was on the wall in 1991, when his sci-fi thriller TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY wowed audiences and critics on its way to becoming the third-highest grossing film of its time. Audiences loved his sense of spectacle, action, and emotional hook. He would capitalize on that five years later, when his beloved epic TITANIC became the highest-grossing film of all time while earning a boatload of awards. TITANIC would be the first film in history to hit $1 billion. 

 

Despite rising ticket prices, TITANIC would hold on to that top spot for an impressive twelve years. And it turned out that the only director who could topple a James Cameron film would be…James Cameron. His own sci-fi epic AVATAR would take that spot in 2009. The sequel, THE WAY OF WATER would hit that billion mark in 2022, and now FIRE AND ASH has done it. TITANIC and the three AVATAR films would give him that special, and impressive four film run of $1 billion each. 

 

It's a feat that can’t be praised enough. Directors such as Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, and Peter Jackson haven’t done it, and in age where movie theatres struggle, any box office hit has to be considered a significant win. 

 

And how does it do it? It’s a question that has perplexed many movie fans. Cameron blends spectacle, emotion, and technological ambition better than anyone, and he pushes new filmmaking tools so well that audiences know they will always see something new. But it is not all spectacle. His visuals serve simple, universal stories about love, survival, and moral choices that translate across cultures and are timeless. He also builds immersive worlds that reward repeat viewing and belong on larger IMAX screens. His films have become global events, and the world will be ready when the king returns for a fifth try at the billion.