Oscars Outsider Archive

Did Sinners Get Robbed? | 98th Academy Awards Reaction

The 98th Academy Awards are in the books — and we've got thoughts. One Battle After Another holds on for Best Picture, Michael B. Jordan upsets Timothée Chalamet for Best Actor, and Sinners walks away with 4 wins from 16 nominations — the most losses in Oscar history. Did it get robbed? We break it all down.We also get into Conan's hosting, the ceremony's surprise technical issues, the K-pop Demon Hunters getting played off stage, Javier Bardem's Free Palestine moment, Sean Penn's no-show, and the final results of our season-long Oscars fantasy draft.This is the final episode of Oscars Outsider Season 1. Thanks for coming along for the ride.🏆 Final Fantasy Draft Score: Craig 592 – Dylan 548

Can SINNERS Steal Best Picture? | Oscars 2026 Final Predictions

It's the final reckoning. The Oscars Outsider crew is back one last time before Hollywood's biggest night to go through EVERY category and give you our ultimate predictions for the 2026 Academy Awards. The big question: Can Sinners pull off the upset and become the first horror movie to win Best Picture? Or does One Battle After Another hold the line? We break down the Sinners surge, the late-voting wrinkle that could change everything, and why you'd have to go back to Crash 20 years ago to find a precedent for what Sinners is trying to do. Plus: Is Timothée Chalamet actually going to lose Best Actor? Could Ethan Hawke be a spoiler? We get into the dumb scandals (Chalamet vs. ballet, Jesse Buckley vs. cats), the new Best Casting award, who's winning King or Queen of the Dead in the In Memoriam, and much more. Featuring Dylan Ferguson, Craig Midwinter, Sean O'Rourke, and Rory Follis. 🗳️ Drop your predictions in the comments — we'll see who got the closest after Oscar night.

Is Timothée DONE? SAG Just Flipped the Oscar Race

The SAG Awards may have just blown the Best Actor race wide open.Michael B. Jordan wins. Sinners surges. And suddenly Timothée Chalamet doesn’t look so inevitable anymore.In this episode, we break down:What Jordan’s SAG win actually means for the Oscar raceWhether “front-runner fatigue” is realIf Sinners is building unstoppable momentumWhether Best Picture is suddenly back in playAnd as part of our ongoing Best Picture deep dive series, we discuss this week’s nominee: Sentimental Value — does it have a real path to a win, or is it peaking too early?Plus: Craig faces an Oscars trivia quiz you can play along with at home.The race just got interesting.

Why Were the Oscars Started? The Real Story of 1929

In this episode of the Oscars Outsider Podcast, we go back to 1929 to unpack why the Academy Awards were created in the first place.The Oscars weren’t born as a pure celebration of art. They emerged during a moment of labor unrest, censorship pressure, and a rapidly changing Hollywood industry. We break down the real institutional motives behind the founding of the Academy, the first ceremony at the Roosevelt Hotel, and the strange split between Wings and Sunrise at the very first awards.Plus:– The BAFTA controversy and what it says about institutional risk– The transition from silent films to talkies– Whether The Secret Agent could be a Best Picture dark horseIf you enjoy film history, awards strategy, and looking at the Oscars as a cultural institution — this one’s for you.🎙 Subscribe for weekly Oscar race analysis and deep dives.

Was Goodfellas Robbed at the Oscars?

At the 1991 Academy Awards, Dances With Wolves beat Goodfellas for Best Picture — a decision often called one of the biggest Oscar snubs in Academy Awards history. In this episode of Oscars Outsider, we revisit the 63rd Oscars and break down why the Academy made the choice it did, how the Gulf War and early ’90s cultural climate shaped the vote, and whether this was truly an Oscar robbery.We also continue our Best Picture deep dives with a review and discussion of the F1 movie — including how it plays as blockbuster Oscar contender and what makes it work (or not) as a prestige film.If you’re tracking awards season yourself, check out CineRace.com — a web-based app that lets you follow nominations across ceremonies, compete with friends, and track how many nominated films you’ve seen.And don’t forget to visit OscarsOutsider.com to see our fantasy Oscar standings and what the Outsider Supercomputer says about this year’s race.Topics covered:• Goodfellas vs Dances With Wolves• Biggest Oscar snubs ever• 1991 Best Picture controversy• F1 movie review and Oscar chances• How cultural context shapes Academy voting