The 2025 Cannes Film Festival wrapped up recently after running from May 13 to May 24. As is typical with the -based cinema event, those 12 days saw the premieres of numerous highly anticipated films both in and out of competition. Some of the in-competition favorites include Lynne Ramsey's star-studded Die, My Love, and Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value, both of which have generated hype. Out of competition but also screening at the festival was Highest 2 Lowest, Spike Lee's anticipated remake of the Akira Kurosawa film High and Low. 1o6l6i

No one can deny that the Oscars are the most prestigious awards someone working in the film industry can win and some winners have stood out as the greatest of all time. Millions of viewers around the world tune into the Academy Awards show every year to watch in anticipation of whether their predictions match or to scoff at the choices the Academy made. From live performances of the Original Song Oscar contenders to listening to acceptance speeches, it's a glitzy occasion worth watching.

Avatar: Fire and Ash will definitely be one of the highest-earning movies of the year, and it's likely that it will also be another critically acclaimed entry in James Cameron's ambitious franchise. Even though 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water took 13 years to be released, Cameron's franchise returned to cinemas like it never left. Throughout its theatrical run, The Way of Water made an astonishing $2.3 billion at the worldwide box office (via Box Office Mojo), becoming the third highest-grossing movie ever. Additionally, just like the first movie, The Way of Water was also nominated for Best Picture.

The movie Die, My Love could earn Jennifer Lawrence her first Oscar nomination in nine years. Since starring in her first movie in 2008, Lawrence has solidified herself as one of the best actors on the planet. Jennifer Lawrence's best movies include Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, Causeway, and The Hunger Games films. In recent years, she hasn't starred in as many movies, and has also taken on some unique roles, such as starring in the 2023 raunchy comedy No Hard Feelings. Because of this, Lawrence hasn't been nominated for an Oscar since 2016.

Months before the 98th Oscars, two of the biggest contenders for Best Actor will be going head-to-head at the box office. Although the summer is often considered the home for big blockbusters and family films on the big screen, early award season events like SXSW and Cannes have already got the ball rolling on the inevitable nominations for the next Academy Awards. There are some big-name films already slated for release that are picking up steam for that race, like Dwayne Johnson's dramatic turn in the sports biopic, The Smashing Machine.

Awards season and the race to the 2026 Oscars may begin in earnest in the fall, but the next two weeks will be pivotal to building a foundation for what films will be major players when all is said and done. The Cannes Film Festival is set to kick off Tuesday and while the event has always been the pinnacle of prestige and glamour, its influence over awards season in the past has waxed and waned.

Any animation fan will know of the historically poor treatment anime has gotten at the Academy Awards. Not only are anime films outside of Studio Ghibli rarely ever nominated for Best Animated Feature, but those few nominations are almost always ignored in favor of Disney, Pixar, and other mainstream Western studios, even if the films they were nominated for are often seen as being weaker than Studio Ghibli’s films.

The Academy Awards have announced several big changes that will take effect in the 2026 ceremony, the most recent of which changes a long-standing rule that could massively impact future winners. This new change comes shortly after several other big announcements concerning changes to the Oscars in coming years. In past weeks, the Academy announced the creation of a new Stunt Design category for 2028. A year before that, a Best Achievement in Casting category was announced which will go into effect for films this year.

Academy Award voters are now required to watch all nominated movies in order to vote. There was significant discourse before and during the most recent Oscars about voters not watching all the nominated movies, especially The Brutalist, which had a three-and-a-half hour runtime. While the 2025 Oscars ended up being generally well-received, there was criticism towards the voters who itted that they did not watch The Brutalist and other nominated movies.

Demi Moore had a feeling that Mikey Madison would win Best Actress at the Oscars. At the 97th Academy Awards, which aired this past March 2, Moore was nominated for her performance in the body horror film, The Substance, as a fading celebrity who takes a black market drug to create a younger, better version of herself, with unexpected side effects. Instead, it was Madison who won the Oscar for her performance in Sean Baker's Anora as the titular stripper who impulsively marries the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, whose parents attempt to have the union annulled.