Oscar season brings many traditions—red carpet fashion, acceptance speech tears, and the inevitable debate over which film deserves top honors.
But there’s another annual ritual that reveals something deeper about our collective psyche: ranking the Best Picture nominees by how soul-crushing they are.
This year’s lineup at the 98th Academy Awards tells a surprisingly hopeful story, reflecting perhaps what audiences craved after navigating recent turbulent times.
Unlike previous years heavy with genocide and despair, 2025’s nominees lean toward inspiration—with one unexpected theme threading through nearly every film.
Art As Medicine: The Unifying Theme
Across this year’s nominees, creative expression emerges as healing force. Whether it’s Globe Theatre groundlings, father-daughter collaboration on set, or dancers packed into juke joints, these films celebrate spaces where art connects humanity.
The collection balances sunshine with sadness—a welcome shift from exclusively dark narratives. Fair warning: discussing these rankings inherently reveals tonal information about endings, so spoiler-sensitive readers should proceed carefully.
Number 10: Pure Adrenaline Without Anguish
F1 claims the least depressing spot, proving that Brad Pitt blockbusters still deliver exactly what audiences expect. Joseph Kosinski’s racing spectacle ends on a contemplative note—Sonny’s story focuses on what lies ahead rather than triumphant victory.
Still, positive vibes dominate this loud, fast celebration of motorsport. Big summer entertainment rarely apologizes for optimism, and this film embraces that tradition wholeheartedly.
Number 9: Dreams, Chaos, and Ping Pong
Timothée Chalamet’s Marty Supreme delivers stress through its blend of sex, crime, and competitive table tennis. Marty doesn’t achieve everything he desires, but finds genuine satisfaction—an earned conclusion after considerable mayhem.
This ranking comes with asterisks, though. Viewers charmed by Marty’s rapscallion energy will embrace the ending’s warmth.
Those hoping karma catches this polarizing protagonist? They’ll likely place this film several spots lower on their personal depression scale.
Number 8: Revolution Continues
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another surprises with its upbeat conclusion. The Christmas Adventurers remain threatening, but the main antagonist receives wonderfully humiliating defeat.
Heroes persist in their struggle, passing revolutionary spirit to younger generations. Anderson’s timely opus suggests struggle continues—but so does hope.
The revolution won’t be televised, yet it will endure through commitment and community.
Number 7: Family, Film, and Transcendence
Joachim Trier tackles heavy material in Sentimental Value—mental health, suicide, and creative struggle through an aging filmmaker’s lens. Despite weighty themes, the film centers on familial reconnection.
Nora (Renate Reinsve) and father Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård) finally collaborate on deeply personal cinema that transcends time itself. This meta examination of filmmaking becomes ultimately about bridging generational divides through shared artistic vision.
What could feel depressing instead transforms into celebration of creative legacy.
What These Rankings Reveal
Annual depression rankings function as cultural barometer, reflecting both cinematic trends and societal mood. Previous years leaned heavily into darkness—genocide, despair, and human cruelty dominated nominations.
This year’s shift toward hope suggests collective exhaustion with unrelenting bleakness. Audiences craved—and filmmakers delivered—stories where creativity heals, connections matter, and endings don’t crush souls.
Even films exploring difficult subject matter ultimately land on notes of continuation rather than devastation.
Why Art-as-Healing Resonates Now
That unifying theme—creative spaces fostering human connection—feels particularly significant. After years of isolation, division, and digital disconnection, celebrating physical gathering places where art happens strikes emotional chords.
Theatres, film sets, dance halls: These locations represent more than backdrops. They’re spaces where humanity remembers shared experience, collective joy, and communal healing through expression.
The Academy’s recognition of films emphasizing these themes suggests industry awareness of what audiences need—not just spectacular visuals or technical achievements, but stories reminding us why art matters beyond entertainment.
Balanced Storytelling Wins
None of these top-ranked films ignore reality’s darkness completely. Struggles exist, villains threaten, mental health challenges persist, and characters face genuine obstacles.
What distinguishes 2025’s lineup: balance. Sunshine accompanies sadness rather than getting eclipsed entirely. Filmmakers trust audiences can handle complexity—acknowledging difficulty while still offering hope, continuation, or hard-won satisfaction.
This sophisticated approach respects viewer intelligence while providing emotional sustenance missing from exclusively bleak narratives.
Whether intentional industry shift or happy coincidence, this year’s Best Picture slate offers something increasingly rare: permission to feel hopeful without being naive.