We now know there are officially 35 films in contention for Best Animated Feature Film. And there was one notable omission in Ne Zha 2, aka the highest-grossing animated film of all time. From all accounts, the film’s North American distributor, CMC Pictures, did not submit the film for consideration. Why? We’ll never know for sure, but an Oscar nomination for a film practically unknown outside of China was always going to be a tough task, so perhaps they saw the writing on the wall and preferred to avoid embarrassment.
After performing at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and earning five Grammy Award nominations, including Song of the Year for “Golden” this month, KPop Demon Hunters continues to go from strength to strength. And we had word at the start of November that the inevitable sequel is now in the works. Can anything stop it?
Well, don’t count out Zootopia 2 just yet. After sensational reviews and a staggering opening weekend box office take, it’s now all but assured it will become the very first Disney sequel to earn an Oscar nomination in this category. It’s shaping up to be an interesting race when you have two genuine pop culture juggernauts doing battle.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE PREDICTIONS:
1. KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
2. Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Studios)
3. Arco (NEON)
4. Elio (Pixar)
5. Little Amélie or the Character of the Rain (GKIDS)
IN CONTENTION
The Bad Guys 2 (Universal Pictures)
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle (Anaplex of America)
In Your Dreams (Netflix)
A Magnificent Life (Sony Pictures Classics)
Scarlet (Sony Pictures Classics)
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (Paramount Pictures)
