The 2026 Academy Awards are typically considered the top honour for any film star, as the moment they accept the coveted honour becomes etched in movie history.
However, it seems that the so-called experts who choose the winners of the famous statue may be less equipped than once though, as one voter has confessed they haven’t watched half of the films nominated for this year’s ceremony.
The star-studded ceremony is set to take place this Sunday, with One Battle After Another, Hamnet and Sinners among the favourites to win big.
Typically the winners of each Oscar are chosen by members of The Academy, an organisation of over 8,000 film industry professionals, who individually choose which films and stars they believe should receive an award.
New guidelines were also introduced this year for members, where they had to attest that they have seen the films that they are voting on, either in a cinema, through the Academy’s digital screening room, or through some other means.
However, one voter has anonymously admitted they ‘didn’t care’ to watch the full list of films that feature on this year’s Oscars shortlist, and said those that they did watch they found to be ‘mediocre.’
The Oscars have come under fire after a voter confessed they’ve only watched half of the films nominated this year, despite strict new guidelines (2025 winner Mikey Madison pictured)
This further fuels complaints from film fans that the Oscars have become out-of-touch, with accusations some voters simply ‘coattail’ by picking films that have already won big this awards season.
The awards have also faced claims the ceremony has become ‘woke’ due to a focus on smaller movies over box office hits.
In an email published by Deadline, the voter said: ‘I thought you might be interested to hear a take from an Academy member about this year’s rules.
‘I haven’t seen even half of the nominated films, nor do I care to, because my time is far too valuable to spend watching movies I know I’d never vote for (much less be able to sit through).
‘I found most of the films I did see to be mediocre, and nothing that I nominated made the final cut. Therefore, since I don’t want to lie, I decided I simply would not vote at all this year. Yes, I’d like to vote for K-Pop Demon Hunters, but not at the price of watching four other movies I know won’t be as good.
‘But really, the Oscars have become pretty irrelevant. Anora? CODA? Everything Everywhere All At Once? vs The Godfather, Lawrence of Arabia, Patton? Which three movies will people still be watching five years from now?
‘It’s all about the film, not the award. Rather than watch the Awards, I’ll probably watch Singin’ In The Rain or North By Northwest or The Searchers – REAL best pictures which weren’t even nominated.’
Following last year’s ceremony, the Academy announced a string of new guidelines for voters, including that they would have to attest to having seen all of the films under Oscars consideration.
The rules, which were first announced back in April, combined digital tracking through the Academy Screening Room with member-reported viewings of films that make up the shortlist.
Across all 24 competitive categories, voters were told that the online ballots could only be access if members themselves verified they’d seen all of the films nominated in a given category.
Another new rule regarding Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital tools states that ‘the tools neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination.’
It comes following controversy around last year’s nominee The Brutalist, which used AI to enhance the Hungarian dialogue of stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. Adrien went on to win his second Best Actor award for the performance.
New rules stated that voters had to attest they’d seen all of the films on this year’s shortlist, following backlash that the awards had become ‘out-of-touch’
‘The academy and each branch will judge the achievement, taking into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship when choosing which movie to award,’ the Academy said in a statement.
The Oscars have increasingly come under fire in recent years for failing to recognise widely-watched films, despite ratings for the ceremony continuing to dwindle.
It’s thought that the Academy’s ‘representation and inclusion standards’, first introduced at last year’s ceremony, have had an impact as well.
The academy now requires that for films to be considered for best picture, they have to meet two out of four possible categories, which focus on underrepresented groups, including racial and ethnic groups, women, people with disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community.
This has led to claims that some voters have refused to vote, with one expert sharing last year it could spell ‘the end’ of the awards show.
The Academy passed its Aperture 2025 initiative in 2020, five years after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy in order to promote more diversity in the industry, but the move has been under fire ever since.
The initiative was spearheaded by black filmmaker Ava DuVernay and developed by the academy to set criteria – which included diversifying nearly every aspect of a movie, from cast and crew to production, marketing, financing, distribution and even internships by 30 percent.
Last year’s ceremony was also blasted by viewers for its ‘woke’ tones, with jokes delivered with far less conviction and fanfare than past spectacles and drawing little response from critics or fans.
Host Conan O’Brien noticeably steered clear of politics during his opening monologue but couldn’t resist a jab at Trump later in the evening.
He told the audience: ‘Anora is having a good night. Two wins already. I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian.’
‘That was the most boring Oscars I have ever watched,’ one critic said in a sentiment echoed repeatedly on X.
‘The Oscars are the most boring award show. Only time they were lit was when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock,’ another said.
‘Same old boring Oscars. Too long(almost four hours). Too political(Middle East banter and Putin bulls**t). Too many phony smiles from the losers. Too many phony Hollywood dorks who voted for Harris. BTW, funny how these actors can memorize movie scripts but need notes on stage.’
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