What The Gotham Awards Say About The State Of The Oscars Race

The 2025 Gotham Awards have been given out, and they hint at the current state of the Oscars’ race. The Gotham Awards may not be able to shift award season narratives on their own, but the awards typically serve as a good barometer of which films are connecting with New York City-based critics and industry voters.

This year, the Gotham Awards were largely dominated by Jafar PaInahi’s It Was Just An Accident, which could cement the film’s place in the overall race outside of just the International Feature Film category. Other films have picked up steam thanks to their wins, along with one win highlighting just how well an underserved genre might fare at the 98th Academy Awards.

One Battle After Another Remains The Frontrunner For Best Picture, But With A Catch

One Battle After Another may have only earned one award at the Gotham Awards, but taking home the Best Feature award bodes well for Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic. Going into the ceremony, the Leonardo DiCaprio-led film was looking strong with six nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and two Best Supporting Performance nods.

While it didn’t win those awards, it did earn the Best Feature award. The Gotham Awards speak to many of the more independent-leaning corners of the industry, and won’t carry the same weight as victories at other precursors like the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, or SAG awards. However, this victory suggests support for the film remains strong with voters.

One Battle After Another is expected to be a favorite to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, especially if other award ceremonies continue to celebrate the film. However, the film’s single win here suggests that the race is still very much alive, with plenty of room for films like Hamnet to pick up more steam and snag the big win.

It Was Just An Accident Is Set To Be A Major Player

It Was Just An Accident, Jafar Panahi’s searing thriller about former Iranian political prisoners who must wrestle with what to do with the man they believe was their torturer, had a great night at the Gotham Awards. The French submission for Best International Feature Film at the upcoming Oscars won 3 of the 4 Gotham Awards it was nominated for.

While One Battle After Another won Best Feature, Jafar Panahi won for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. The film also won Best International Feature. This is a promising development for Panahi’s film, suggesting it’s picking up momentum. While it was certainly a frontrunner for Best International Feature Film, it now seems to be a likely Best Picture nominee.

The success of It Was Just An Accident is great for Jafar Panahi and complicates things for No Other Choice. Another expected nominee in the international category has been seen as a dark-horse contender for other awards. However, it couldn’t snag any wins at the Gotham Awards. This suggests that Park Chan-wook’s great dark comedy is getting overshadowed.

We May Have Been Sleeping On A Strong Best Supporting Actress Contender

The current projections for Best Supporting Actress have suggested that Teyana Taylor and Ariana Grande are effectively in a two-way race for the award. While Elle Fanning and Amy Madigan are also expected to be nominees, Wunmi Mosaku’s win in the Best Supporting Performance category suggests voters haven’t forgotten about Sinners.

Mosaku’s performance in Sinners as Smoke’s former lover and Hoodoo practitioner Annie is one of the most emotional elements of the film, with a performance that works just as well deploying lore exposition as exploring the lingering power of love amid the pain of loss. It’s a terrific performance, and it surprised at the Gotham Awards with a win.

Mosaku had previously been seen as something of an outlier for the category. She may also still not be the frontrunner, given that Ariana Grande has both Wicked films behind her and Teyana Taylor may be able to ride One Battle After Another‘s momentum to victory. However, this win does put Wunmi Mosaku more in contention than other projections suggested.

Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein's Monster — Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein’s Monster

Sinners won two awards at the Gotham Awards, with Mosakau and her co-stars also winning the Ensemble Tribute Award. This suggests that Sinners, which only had one formal nomination at the Gotham Awards, is very much still in the award season conversation. However, that wasn’t the only horror film to earn accolades at the event.

Guillermo del Toro, Oscar Isaac, and Jacob Elordi took home the Vanguard Tribute for Frankenstein. Reserved for filmmakers who push the creative boundaries of the form, Frankenstein‘s victory here could be seen as recognition of the film’s artistic merit in the eyes of voters. This bodes well for the movie’s chances with below-the-line categories like Production Design.

Sinners and Frankenstein are both expected to be strong contenders at the Oscars. With presumed contenders like Smashing Machine, Roofman, and even Wicked: For Good stumbling with critics, there’s also room for acclaimed dark horse contenders like Weapons to sneak back into the conversation. The Gotham Awards bode well for horror’s chances at the Oscars.