“Wicked: For Good” had a large bucket of water poured on her witch-like head on Thursday.
At the 2026 Oscar nominations announcement held in Beverly Hills, it was revealed that the big-budget musical sequel would be canceled, prompting viewers to scream, “It’s melting! It’s melting!”
Oops. Last year’s famous first part garnered a whopping 10 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. “Forever”? Good God.
The endorsers had pure disgust for Universal’s huge loser.
“Avatar: Fire and Ashes,” like its predecessor, did not win Best Picture. But at least director James Cameron’s third blue alien epic pulled off some craft nods. The Academy murmured, “I could see it” nonetheless, although it was far less energetic than before.
While Boffo’s series has garnered attention, Thursday’s list wasn’t entirely filled with black-ball blockbusters.
Warner Bros.’ original horror film, “Sinners,” which grossed $368 million worldwide, made history with a record 16 nominations. That’s two more than All About Eve, Titanic, and (lol) La La Land.
And Apple’s popular racing movie “F1” ($631 million), starring Brad Pitt, won four awards, including Best Picture.
Online moviegoers were fed up with how such a glamorous movie ruined their prestige party. Popcorn entertainment in English?! Get over it, nerds.
And anyway, a movie directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) has no chance. Heck, I think all seven Best Picture nominees (Frankenstein, Train Dreams, Sentimental Value, F1, The Secret Agent, Marty Supreme, and Bugonia) are the Marianne Williamsons of cinema.
However, if you are a “sinner,” there is a possibility that you can pull it off. Ryan Coogler’s film was losing ground due to competition from Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and the somewhat subdued but shocking Hamnet.
But breaking the nomination record should inject some life into vampire movies at a critical time. The coronation ceremony of “One Battle”, which was going smoothly, turns into a match.
“Sinners” is an action-packed satire with 13 not-too-shabby nods that get you in the ring with the big boys of the PTA. Although it was a box office flop, it won enough awards to fill the survivalist bunkers.
But some small cracks were exposed Thursday. For example, lead actress Chase Infinity did not appear.
Coogler is also largely responsible for the great movie Creed. Maybe he’s got Rocky Balboa. It remains to be seen whether “One Battle” is Ivan Drago or Apollo Creed.
Other actors besides Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were also left out. It’s worth noting that Paul Mescal, who starred in “Hamnet,” was absent from the Best Supporting Actor award. Of course, that movie belongs to Jesse Buckley, who stars in it.
George Clooney and Adam Sandler, stars of Netflix’s fantastical showbiz comedy “Jay Kelly,” slipped into the Golden Globes category in January but were face-filled at the Oscars.
Sandler, by the way, has been rejected by the Academy for years after doing great work in Punch-Drunk Love and Uncut Gems. At this point, “I can do it!” becomes a cruel lie.
Smashing Machine’s Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is nowhere to be seen, but we’re sure he’ll make eight more Jumanji movies in the future.
Most of the award season heavy hitters were in attendance and occupied. Buckley and Rose Byrne (“I’d Kick You If I Had Legs”) are both competing for Best Actress. Same goes for Kate Hudson – her first since Almost Famous a quarter of a century ago. In “Son Son Bleu,” Hudson’s Wisconsin accent is so thick it sounds like he’s made of cheese curds. Emma Stone (“Bugonia”) appears to have a reservation slot.
Still, Ireland’s Buckley, who was so charming at the Golden Globes, wins.
The race for Best Actor has traditionally been a battle between dreamer Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme) and stoner DiCaprio, but an interesting complication has arisen.
Ethan Hawke appears as a drunkard. The “Blue Moon” star gives one of the best performances of his career as the dim-witted, alcoholic Broadway composer Lorenz Hart.
His physical and vocal changes in the role are exactly what voters are excited about. Think Gary Oldman, who played Winston Churchill and Brendan Fraser in The Whale. And now, at age 55, he has never won, despite four nods. Blue Moon is a small movie, but Hawke’s presence may be a factor in that.
Chalamet, 30, still has a good chance of winning with a supernova turn. However, the overall momentum could change between now and the endless night of March 15th.
How Shakespearean.
Perhaps Timmy, on top of the world, should be wary of Ides of March.
