Hollywood’s biggest night just revealed something remarkable about its changing identity.
While American politics shifts toward isolationism, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is embracing the world like never before.
Thursday’s Oscar nominations shattered records for international inclusion, with non-English films claiming 22 nominations across nearly every category—signaling a seismic shift in who gets recognized and why.
This unprecedented diversity raises a fascinating question: have traditional Oscar predictors become obsolete?
Breaking Every Record in the Book
The numbers tell a stunning story. Films primarily or entirely in languages other than English collected 22 nominations, matching records set in 2023 and 2024.
But distribution matters just as much as quantity. Sentimental Value led with nine nominations, while The Secret Agent captured four, with recognition spread across eight additional international films.
For only the second time in Oscar history, every single category includes at least one non-English-language film. Two foreign-language films—The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value—earned Best Picture nominations, marking the eighth consecutive year international cinema has competed for the top prize.
Acting Categories Make History
Perhaps most remarkably, four of the 20 acting nominations went to performers in non-English roles—an unprecedented 20 percent.
Wagner Moura earned recognition for The Secret Agent, while Sentimental Value swept three acting categories with Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas.
Skarsgård’s nomination carries particular historical weight—it’s the first non-English-language performance ever recognized in the supporting actor category during the Academy’s 98-year existence.
The #OscarsSoWhite Effect
This transformation didn’t happen by accident. Following the #OscarsSoWhite controversy a decade ago, the Academy embarked on an aggressive diversification campaign.
Beyond recruiting more people of color and women, the organization specifically targeted international membership. Today, a full 25 percent of Academy members live outside America—voters who grew up watching subtitled films and don’t consider language barriers dealbreakers.
These international members bring fundamentally different viewing habits and cultural perspectives. While American audiences historically avoided subtitles, voters from Europe, Asia, and Latin America navigate multilingual cinema as standard practice.
Precursor Awards Lost Their Crystal Ball
For decades, industry insiders tracked guild awards and critics’ prizes to predict Oscar outcomes. That playbook just became unreliable.
The disconnect is stark. Consider the major precursor ceremonies:
Guild Awards Miss the Mark
SAG-AFTRA’s Actor Awards nominated zero non-English-language performances in film categories. The Directors Guild excluded every foreign-language film director from its top prize. The Producers Guild included just one—Sentimental Value—among 10 Best Picture contenders.
These guilds remain overwhelmingly American-based, reflecting domestic preferences rather than the Academy’s increasingly global perspective.
BAFTA Faces Different Problems
The British Academy might seem positioned to reflect European Academy voters’ preferences. However, BAFTA employs complex weighting systems designed to ensure diverse nominees—admirable for representation, but inconsistent with how Academy votes actually get counted.
Critics and Globes: Close But No Cigar
Critics Choice Association members are predominantly U.S.-based, creating geographic bias. Golden Globe voters bring international diversity but consist entirely of journalists—virtually none of whom populate Academy membership.
This year, the Golden Globes likely wielded the strongest influence. Their ceremony occurred the night before Oscar voting opened, with wins for Skarsgård, Moura, and Rose Byrne—all receiving subsequent Oscar nominations despite uncertain prospects.
Still, no precursor group shares enough demographic overlap with today’s Academy to function as reliable predictor anymore.
What This Means for Cinema’s Future
The Academy’s transformation reflects broader entertainment industry shifts. Streaming platforms demolished geographic barriers, exposing American audiences to international content at unprecedented scale.
Squid Game, Money Heist, and countless foreign-language series proved subtitles don’t prevent mainstream success. Younger viewers, in particular, navigate global content effortlessly.
For filmmakers worldwide, these nominations signal genuine opportunity. Language no longer determines ceiling for recognition—quality storytelling transcends borders.
The Political Irony
The timing carries symbolic weight. As American political leadership emphasizes nationalism and “America first” rhetoric, Hollywood’s most prestigious institution doubles down on internationalism.
This isn’t political positioning—it’s demographic reality. The Academy evolved because its previous makeup sparked justified criticism about representation and inclusion.
Now, that evolution produces nominations reflecting genuinely global perspectives on cinematic excellence.
Navigating the New Oscar Landscape
For industry professionals and Oscar watchers, recalibrating expectations becomes essential. Traditional handicapping methods—tracking guild awards, monitoring critics’ prizes, following “Oscar buzz”—no longer provide reliable roadmaps.
Key factors to watch instead:
- International festival reception: Cannes, Venice, and Berlin may matter more than domestic awards
- Multilingual buzz: Social media conversation beyond English-language platforms
- Streaming platform support: Global reach matters more than theatrical footprint
- Universal themes: Stories transcending cultural specificity while maintaining authenticity
The Academy’s internationalization doesn’t diminish American filmmaking—it expands what “Oscar-worthy” means. English-language films still dominate overall nominations, but excellence now gets recognized regardless of origin.
This year’s nominations prove the Academy’s decade-long transformation succeeded in fundamentally reshaping who gets celebrated and why. Whether precursor awards adapt to this new reality or lose relevance entirely remains to be seen.
What’s certain: the Oscars just became genuinely global in ways previously unimaginable.