So, Challengers wasn’t able to score a single Oscar nomination

Luca Guadagnino wasn’t the only snub this morning, but it still stings.

By Emma Keates  |  January 23, 2025 | 10:26am
Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures
Film News Challengers
So, Challengers wasn’t able to score a single Oscar nomination

There are so many things that don’t make sense in the world right now, and one of them is Challengers getting zero nods at the Oscars. Zero! Never mind the fact that it was a tightly written story, great performances from all three leads (Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist) and some of the coolest shots of the year. At one point, the audience becomes the tennis ball—is that not enough? Apparently, not. The Academy preferred to keep the film on the sidelines.

The real snub here is Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor’s blood-pumping score, which anecdotally has made this writer’s household chores and little walks around the neighborhood feel like a life-or-death battle for gold or the girl. (Or both!) At least “Yeah x10” will likely live on in edits of real tennis matches forever. No love for Ross and Reznor’s Queer score either—or the entire Luca Guadagnino-directed movie, for that matter. The lucky nominees for score are The Brutalist, Conclave, Emilia Pérez, The Wild Robot, and Wicked. Best picture will be decided among Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance, and Wicked. Of course, it wasn’t just Challengers that was snubbed; some other notable absences from today’s list include All We Imagine As Light, Hard Truths, and The Last Showgirl. 

So that’s love for Challengers, but unfortunately the tennis kind. At least you can find the film at the top of The A.V. Club‘s podium for best films of the year.

 
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