The Studios with Streamers
Universal/Focus Features
Total Nominations: 13 (Universal)/12 (Focus Features)
Star Attraction(s): Wicked (10 nominations) defied the downward gravitational pull of most recent movie musicals, soaring to the top of the box office—and premium VOD—charts. While it’s rare for a pre-designated Part 1 to triumph at the Oscars, the lure of showering awards on a genuine crowd-pleaser can be hard to resist. And not for nothing, but stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will be performing some of their most… uh, popular songs during the show.
Don’t Overlook: Wicked scored big with the youngs, but Universal also got the olds back into theaters to experience the papal politics of Conclave (8 nominations, currently streaming on Peacock), released through its Focus Features label. Although Adrien Brody is expected to repeat as Best Actor for his star turn in The Brutalist, there’s a chance that Ralph Fiennes may score a long-overdue career achievement Oscar. Keep the faith, Fiennes fans.
Disney/Searchlight
Total Nominations: 1 (Disney)/10 (Searchlight)
Star Attraction(s): Joy reigns in the halls of Pixar as Inside Out 2 (currently streaming on Disney+) becomes the odds-on favorite to win the Animated Feature statue. It’ll be the third Pixar-made sequel to win that prize after Toy Story 3 in 2010 and Toy Story 4 in 2019. The only possible source of anxiety is a little Romanian cat movie called Flow that’s been cleaning up in all the pre-Oscars awards ceremonies.
Meanwhile, the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown (8 nominations) and Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain (2 nominations, currently streaming on Hulu) elevated the Disney-owned Searchlight label. Succession star Kieran Culkin is all but certain to win the Supporting Actor statue for the latter film, while Timothée Chalamet’s spot-on Dylan impression may be loud enough to drown out Brody and Fiennes in the Actor race, particularly after his SAG Awards win.
Don’t Overlook: Disney is also competing for Documentary Feature via the National Geographic release Sugarcane (currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu). The emotional non-fiction feature tackles the heavy subject of the abuses committed against Canada’s First Nation population by the country’s residential school system through the eyes of survivors and their descendants.
Warner Bros.
Total Nominations: 5
Star Attraction: In an alternate universe—or a DC Elseworlds comic—Joker: Folie à Deux might have been 2024’s singular musical sensation at the Oscars. Instead, Dune: Part Two (5 nominations) is the studio’s sole awards hopeful, competing in Best Picture as well as below the line categories like Production Design and Visual Effects.