By: Nora Carroll

March 2, 2025, is the night of the Oscars, the biggest night for all of film. The nominations are out, and everyone is asking one question, “did the Academy get it right this year?”

There are a few categories that get people excited every year: Best Picture, Best Actor/Actress, and Best Director. Variety Magazine predicts “Anora” to take the Oscar for Best Motion Picture and Best Director, Timothée Chalamet in “A Complete Unknown” for Best Leading Actor, and Demi Moore in “The Substance” for Best Leading Actress.

The film, “Emilia Pérez,” made Oscars history this year. It was the first non-English-language film to receive 13 nominations, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

This year has a large number of nominations for not only the classic blockbuster films, but many “indie” style films as well, which is unusual for the Oscars. 

“I think having both blockbusters and indie films for this year’s Oscar nominees is really great! Seeing that the academy is willing to consider indie films is a great way to instill hope into smaller production companies,” Emma Edwards, a student at West Virginia Wesleyan College said. “It really emphasizes that it’s not about big budget entertainment, rather, how well the movie is made, which is how it should be.”

Many people have mixed feelings about the nominations for this year, or lack thereof. Many people expected films like “Challengers” to get nominated for at least one award, but those fans were disappointed. 

“Personally, I believe Challengers was snubbed for best original score,” Edwards said, “Whether you like it or not, it’s hard to not love the music in that movie.”

Not only did people feel disappointed not seeing specific nominations, there were people that felt that specific nominations were “overhyped.” 

“I think that Timothée Chalamet was only successful in A Complete Unknown because of his name,” Julia Territ, a WVWC student, said, “I mean, he has some good work, but people hype him up so much because of his looks and personality outside of movies.”

Though these are just various opinions from college students, there is just one question everyone is waiting to be answered: did the Academy pick the popular picks, or did they go a completely unexpected route?

The world will find out on March 2nd. So tune into ABC to see the live results of the 97th Oscars, hosted by Conan O’Brien, featuring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, Lisa of Blackpink, Queen Latifah, and Raye! 

Photo by Oscars.org