Too risky, too small, or too uncomfortable – the movies 2026's awards season is ignoring

We're deep into awards season right now: the Golden Globes has already crowned its winners, the longlists for the BAFTAs have been announced, and there's less than a week to go before we find out which films have received nods from the Academy.

It's certainly shaping up to be a competitive Oscars race, but there are a few films which are very much dominating the conversation so far. Sinners, One Battle After Another and Hamnet have emerged as the big three – with the ultimate Best Picture winner looking very likely to come from that trio – while there's also been plenty of love for the likes of Marty Supreme, Frankenstein and Sentimental Value.

There's a good reason many of those films are cropping up time and time again – and you'll find no shortage of passionate fans happy to argue why any one of them were the strongest film of last year (for my money, and many others besides, Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another takes some beating).

But as with every year, there are also countless equally deserving movies that have somewhat fallen by the wayside. Several brilliant films have picked up stray nominations here or there in certain categories but have otherwise largely been ignored, while others seem to have been almost entirely left out of the conversation.

Of course, there are a number of reasons for this, and it's worth reiterating that a film being left off a nominations list is very rarely an indicator of its actual quality. The awards race often anoints a few chosen favourites early on, from which it then barely deviates, and the process of selecting these can sometimes seem a little arbitrary.

And while there have been some welcome changes regarding what's considered as an "Oscars-friendly" film in recent years – it's thankfully now vanishingly rare to see a list without any foreign-language films, for example, while the Academy has also began to embrace genre films more fully than ever – there are still certain types of movie, including comedy and horror, that seem to have to do more to be worthy of consideration.

It's also worth noting that, if we go by the lists the expert pundits are currently predicting, we're looking at another Oscars field dominated by films directed by men. Indeed, of the movies expected to land a nomination for Best Picture, only Chloe Zhao's Hamnet was helmed by a woman – this despite a wealth of tremendous female-directed films released throughout 2025.

With the nominations almost upon us, we've taken the chance to spotlight some of the films that have largely been ignored by awards ceremonies so far – whether they're too bold, too small, or perhaps just don't fit into the still too narrow parameters of what is considered awards fare. Read on for our picks.

1. The Testament of Ann Lee

This superb film from director Mona Fastvold stars Amanda Seyfried as the titular Ann Lee, the Mancunian woman recognised as the founder of the Shaker movement, which gained a small degree of popularity in the US in the 18th century. Far from telling the story in a straightforward manner, Fastvold stages a spectacular musical, incorporating composer's Daniel Blumberg's sublime reworkings of various Shaker hymns, crafting something completely original in the process.

Despite a welcome Golden Globe nomination for Seyfried's magnificent lead performance, Ann Lee has been otherwise mostly shut out – completely absent from the BAFTA lists and failing to make any appearance in the Oscar long lists for the technical categories. That's despite having some of the most striking cinematography of the year and amongst the best use of music in any film this decade (in addition to its many, many other merits.)

There's a chance this could be a case of a film which is simply too bold and out there for the rather safe tastes of the Academy and other awards bodies. The premise of a period musical about the leader of a fairly obscure 18th century religious movement certainly makes it one of the more niche major film releases of the past 12 months, but the execution is so spectacular – with every aspect from the dance choreography to the production design to the tremendous performances working in harmony – that it's hard to imagine even those immune to its charms failing to note the talent on display.

It's especially bizarre when we consider that the same creative team – Fastvold and her partner Brady Corbert – were behind last year's historical epic The Brutalist, which proved a hit with Oscar voters. It's a real shame Ann Lee hasn't had the same love.

2. Die My Love

Lynne Ramsey's first film in seven years is an electric adaptation of Ariana Harwicz's novel of the same name, about a woman suffering from the effects of postpartum psychosis. The central character is played by an outstanding Jennifer Lawrence – one of the very finest turns of her glittering career – while the role of her useless husband is taken by the always impressive Robert Pattinson.

It's a visceral, almost formless drama that counts as one of the most immersive films of recent years, truly putting you in the frenzied, complex headspace of its lead character and bringing moments of both uncomfortable horror and darkly hilarious humour. Meanwhile, from a technical standpoint it's almost faultless, Ramsey's offbeat music choices superbly accompanying the visually arresting images.

It's almost certainly a case of this film being too abrasive for the Academy: Die My Love is not an especially likeable film, nor one that is particularly easy to digest. But that's what makes it such a powerful piece of cinema. Don't be fooled by the lack of awards – this is an original, uncompromising film that will truly make you feel something.

3. The Mastermind

Despite a constant stream of arthouse acclaim, the minimalist cinema of American filmmaker Kelly Reichardt has never played especially well with major awards bodies, and that has proved the case again with her latest concoction, a lowkey, offbeat art-heist film headlined by a fantastic Josh O'Connor performance.

At almost every turn, the film rejects the conventions of the heist genre and instead serves for the most part as a portrait of O'Connor's protagonist James Mooney, a middle class man with a fragile ego whose life slowly unravels as a result of his own hubris.

From a technical perspective, it's first rate, and special mention has to go to both Rob Mazurek's jazzy score and the production design from Anthony Gasparro, the latter of which recreates the film's '70s milieu with such accuracy that you almost feel like you're watching a film from that decade.

Alas, despite all those merits, it's likely that Reichardt's work will always be considered a little too lowkey for Oscars voters, who tend to favour more overtly dramatic works to this sort of subtle filmmaking.

4. Sorry, Baby

Arguably the best debut film from last year, Eva Victor's Sorry, Baby is a sensitive, melancholic but ultimately life-affirming film that finds a delicate balance between pain and humour in the aftermath of a deeply traumatic incident. Victor stars in the lead role as Agnes, a high-achieving academic whose life is upended when she is sexually assaulted by her supervisor – with the film unfolding in various chapters as she slowly attempts to rebuild her life.

The film emerged as something of a festival favourite after premiering at last year's Sundance and going on to play at a number of other festivals on the circuit – notably including Cannes – and has performed very well with critics almost everywhere it's played.

It's not true to say this one has been entirely ignored by Awards bodies: Victor got a Critics' Choice nomination for their screenplay in addition to a Best Actress nod at the Globes, while it's also up for several categories at the Independent Spirit Awards. But it still seems relatively unlikely to crop up in many categories at the Oscars, and it seems that its status as a more outsider indie film has seen it suffer in comparison to some of the biggest titles.

5. Left-Handed Girl

As it does every year, Netflix is throwing its weight behind several of its original features this awards season – with Frankenstein having emerged as its biggest priority. But this tender family drama from Taiwanese-American filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou is perhaps the finest of the streamer's 2025 slate, and seems deserving of a greater push than it's received (although it's worth noting that it's still got an outside shot of a nomination in the Best International Feature category).

The film explores the lives of a single mother and her two daughters as they face various upheavals after relocating to Taipei and opening a night market noodle stand. The drama patiently unfolds as we get to know and care for each of these remarkably well-drawn characters, while the vivid, lively atmosphere of Taipei brought to life with real skill by Tsou's first-rate direction

What's especially interesting is that Left-Handed Girl was co-written by Anora's Sean Baker, who famously won four Oscars at last year's ceremony, so it's a shame this effort couldn't get the same momentum behind it as his previous film. It's definitely not a case of the film lacking in quality, but it could again be a victim of it's more low-key approach.

6. Horror films

As mentioned above, genre films have been getting much more love from the Oscars in recent years – perhaps best exemplified by the fact that body horror The Substance secured a well-deserved Best Picture nod last year, something which would have been almost unthinkable just a few short years ago.

That's continued into this year, with several horror – or at least horror inflected – films becoming a major part of the awards conversation, especially Sinners but also Weapons and Frankenstein.

But even then, there are several great horror flicks from last year that haven't had much of a look in, including Danny and Michael Philippou's Bring Her Back and Danny Boyle's well-received sequel 28 Years Later. Meanwhile, there's also Francis Lawrence's The Long Walk, an adaptation of Stephen King's dystopian novel of the same name which proved a huge hit with both critics and viewers.

And so while horror has been embraced by the Academy, it's so far only a partial embrace: of the many terrific horror films released every year, it seems only a handful are considered worthy of Oscar consideration.

7. Comedy films

It's often been a bugbear of many comedians that outright comedy films, as opposed to dramas with a comedic edge, have never been treated, well. especially seriously by awards voters. And while the comedy film genre has arguably suffered in recent years – with the output of genuinely laugh out loud movies dwindling year on year – this year has seen some brilliantly funny new releases.

The Naked Gun reboot starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson proved better than just about anyone was expecting, while for those after something a little more offbeat, the unique comedic presence of Tim Robinson was out in full force in Friendship. Meanwhile, 2025, also saw the best new British comedy film in quite some time in the shape of The Ballad of Wallis Island, starring Tim Key, Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan, which admittedly has fared well with both BAFTA voters and at last year's British Independent Film Awards.

In truth, none of the above films ever looked like having even an outside shot at proper Oscars consideration, but perhaps that's an issue in itself – does it not take just as much cinematic skill to make us laugh uproariously as to make us cry, for example? Here's to more comedy films getting Oscar buzz in the future!

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