The same rotation: My post-awards season hot takes
While there were certainly some deserving wins, so many films did not receive the recognition they deserved
Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Sinners, One Battle After Another, and Frankenstein dominated the awards season, even at the expense of other great films. (Warner Bros./A24/Focus Features/Netflix)
The 2026 film award season was one for the books.
With new classics emerging, unfortunate losses sparking debate, and a handful of deserved wins, this year delivered no shortage of controversies and surprises.
From the Critics’ Choice Awards and BAFTAs, all the way to the Golden Globes and Oscars, one thing that was impossible to ignore was how this season felt less like a celebration of cinema and more like months-long déjà vu. There was a repetitive lap of the same celebrities, titles, and narratives being force-fed to audiences so we’d root for certain films and actors.
Like a record player, the same five films — One Battle After Another, Sinners, Hamnet, Frankenstein, and Marty Supreme — kept cycling through the stage like a predetermined rotation. What should have been a showcase of films ended up playing out less like a competition and more like a victory press tour for a select few.
While some of the films are good — and some even great and worthy of the praise — Hollywood’s insistence on supporting the same movies across every major awards ceremony dampens the fun and excitement.
Notably, the long-awaited Avatar: Fire and Ash only picked up one award each at the BAFTAs and Oscars for visual effects. There was a complete absence in addressing the performances of the film’s talented cast in favour of the same rotation of prestigious nominees.
While Michael B. Jordan deserved his awards for his stellar performance in Sinners, alongside Jessie Buckley’s wins for her heart-wrenching portrayal of a grieving mother in Hamnet, we shouldn’t forget the blockbusters that helped define cultural conversation were barely touched by the technical categories. Plus, mid-budget originals simply vanished entirely. The few that did manage to slip through felt more like accidents than intentional recognition.
Best sound was also a category that suffered the same tunnel vision, failing to recognize great works aside from F1. For example, Warfare, directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland, deserved wins for its brutal realism of Mendoza’s experience fighting during the Iraq War. This neglect was a missed opportunity to honour innovation beyond the prestige bubble.
Yes, there were worthy wins this awards season, but there were also so many valuable films that got buried.
Quite frankly, this year’s awards narrative felt constricted and limited in the creativity and diversity that is supposed to define Hollywood.
