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One Surprise after Another? Oscars Night Set to Be Unpredictable

An Oscars ceremony hosted by Conan O'Brien will feature several nail-biting reveals, culminating in the announcement of the year's best film, which remains anyone's guess. Frederic J. Brown / AFP
An Oscars ceremony hosted by Conan O'Brien will feature several nail-biting reveals, culminating in the announcement of the year's best film, which remains anyone's guess. Frederic J. Brown / AFP
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One Surprise after Another? Oscars Night Set to Be Unpredictable

An Oscars ceremony hosted by Conan O'Brien will feature several nail-biting reveals, culminating in the announcement of the year's best film, which remains anyone's guess. Frederic J. Brown / AFP
An Oscars ceremony hosted by Conan O'Brien will feature several nail-biting reveals, culminating in the announcement of the year's best film, which remains anyone's guess. Frederic J. Brown / AFP

With "Sinners" and "One Battle After Another" neck-and-neck for best picture and several acting races far too close to call, this Sunday's Oscars gala is shaping up to be the most unpredictable in years.

A Hollywood ceremony set to feature music from "KPop Demon Hunters" and Conan O'Brien as host will feature several nail-biting reveals, culminating in the announcement of the year's best film, which remains anyone's guess.

Until "the final envelope is opened for best picture, we're not going to know who's going to win," said Variety's awards columnist Clayton Davis.

"Both have a huge opportunity in order to break multiple Oscar records," he told AFP.

"Sinners," a smash-hit vampire period horror film from director Ryan Coogler, has already made Academy Awards history with its whopping 16 nominations.

The blues-inflected race allegory has a chance to chase down the most Oscar wins by a single movie, shared at 11 between "Ben-Hur,Titanic" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."

Coogler, previously best known for "Black Panther," could become the first ever Black person to win best director, in the 98 years of Oscars history.

"He's only the seventh ever nominated," noted Davis, who spoke to many Oscars voters and says "the love for Coogler is undeniable."

But the frontrunner of this awards season has long been "One Battle," a zany thriller about a retired revolutionary looking for his teen daughter.

Set against a wild backdrop of radical violence, immigration raids and white supremacists, it earned 13 nods and could also break the overall wins record.

Its director Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the greatest auteurs of 21st century US cinema, but has never won any of his 11 previous nominations for films including "There Will Be Blood" and "Boogie Nights."

Though "Sinners" was the bigger commercial hit, the exciting race between two "popular movies that people will know at home" should be good for ratings, Davis predicted.

'Steamroller'

While suspense about best picture doesn't happen every year, what is truly unusual this time is the amount of uncertainty surrounding the acting prizes.

A year after narrowly losing best actor honors with his uncanny Bob Dylan portrayal in "A Complete Unknown," Timothee Chalamet had long appeared a lock for his pushy ping-pong player "Marty Supreme."

But a series of ill-advised comments, most recently dismissing ballet and opera as art forms that "no one cares about," have seen the 30-year-old golden boy's chances plummet.

"Sinners" star Michael B Jordan, who plays two roles as twin brothers, won the important Screen Actors Guild's Actor Award this month, just before Oscars voting closed.

"This is a movie star performance that we don't get very often... he's really two steps away from the finish line," said Davis, who also does not rule out Leonardo DiCaprio ("One Battle") or Ethan Hawke ("Blue Moon").

The supporting acting prizes are also up for grabs.

Sean Penn could win a third acting Oscar for his comic yet terrifying soldier in "One Battle."

But he is up against international arthouse favorite Stellan Skarsgard ("Sentimental Value") and veteran Delroy Lindo, earning his first Oscar nod at 73 for "Sinners."

Supporting actress could see a rare horror villain role rewarded for Amy Madigan in "Weapons," or go to "One Battle" revolutionary Teyana Taylor or "Sinners" Hoodoo healer Wunmi Mosaku.

The only sure thing appears to be Jessie Buckley, who plays William Shakespeare's wife in "Hamnet."

"It's been the steamroller all season. That's the one thing you could take to the bank," said Davis

KPop, Redford tributes

Best international film is arguably the hardest to call of all, with Norwegian family drama "Sentimental Value" up against Brazil's surreal political thriller "The Secret Agent."

O'Brien returns to host the Oscars for a second year running, while Barbra Streisand is rumored to be singing a tribute to her "The Way We Were" co-star Robert Redford, who died in September.

Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the singing voices behind "KPop Demon Hunters" fictional girl group HUNTR/X, will perform the Netflix smash film's Oscar-nominated song "Golden."

The Oscars will air live on ABC and Hulu from 4:00 pm in Los Angeles (2300 GMT).

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Entertainment

Spotify Reaches 761 Mn Active Users

The Spotify logo is pictured at the 77th Frankfurt book fair, the world's biggest trade fair for books, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany on October 17, 2025. (AFP)
The Spotify logo is pictured at the 77th Frankfurt book fair, the world's biggest trade fair for books, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany on October 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Spotify Reaches 761 Mn Active Users

The Spotify logo is pictured at the 77th Frankfurt book fair, the world's biggest trade fair for books, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany on October 17, 2025. (AFP)
The Spotify logo is pictured at the 77th Frankfurt book fair, the world's biggest trade fair for books, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany on October 17, 2025. (AFP)

Music streaming giant Spotify said Tuesday that first-quarter revenue rose as its number of monthly active users reached 761 million at the end of the quarter, with the number of paying subscribers hitting 293 million.

The result was just above the company's guidance of 759 million monthly active users (MAU), while the number of paying subscribers was in line with its guidance.

"We surpassed 760 million MAU, delivered on the subscriber growth we aimed to achieve, and saw healthy engagement from existing users, reactivations and new users alike," co-chief executive Alex Norstrom said in a statement.

Spotify founder Daniel Ek left the role as CEO at the start of 2026, handing over the reins to co-CEOs Norstrom and Gustav Soderstrom.

But Ek retains an active role as executive chairman.

Revenue for the first quarter came in at 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), up eight percent from a year earlier.

Operating income meanwhile rose 40 percent to 715 million euros.

Looking forward, the company said it expected to reach 778 million MAUs and 299 paying subscribers by the end of April.

Entertainment

Kimmel Says His Joke Was Misconstrued, Trump Says ABC Should Fire Late-Night Host

US television host Jimmy Kimmel arrives for "An Evening With Jimmy Kimmel" at the Roosevelt hotel in Hollywood on August 7, 2019. (AFP)
US television host Jimmy Kimmel arrives for "An Evening With Jimmy Kimmel" at the Roosevelt hotel in Hollywood on August 7, 2019. (AFP)
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Kimmel Says His Joke Was Misconstrued, Trump Says ABC Should Fire Late-Night Host

US television host Jimmy Kimmel arrives for "An Evening With Jimmy Kimmel" at the Roosevelt hotel in Hollywood on August 7, 2019. (AFP)
US television host Jimmy Kimmel arrives for "An Evening With Jimmy Kimmel" at the Roosevelt hotel in Hollywood on August 7, 2019. (AFP)

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said on Monday his joke about US first lady Melania Trump had been misconstrued and was not a "call to assassination."

Kimmel used the opening monologue of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to address comments made last Thursday in a parody segment on the White House correspondents' dinner.

He said his quip that Melania Trump had "a glow like an expectant widow," referred to the difference is ages of the first lady and her husband, President Donald Trump.

"It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am," Kimmel said. "It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination."

Earlier in the day, Trump said Kimmel should immediately be fired by ABC and parent company Walt Disney, joining his wife in calling out Kimmel for remarks made prior to a shooting near a weekend gathering of journalists and politicians.

The Trumps were rushed out of Saturday's dinner ‌after the shooting in the ‌lobby of the Washington Hilton. A suspect identified as Cole Allen charged through a checkpoint and ‌fired ⁠at Secret Service ⁠agents, wounding one, before he was subdued and arrested.

Trump has repeatedly urged broadcasters to drop comedy or news programs he dislikes or which have been critical of him, pressing regulators to revoke licenses of broadcasters he says are unfair to him.

Broadcasters have broad First Amendment rights to make jokes, however, even those that are distasteful, experts say.

Melania Trump called Kimmel's remarks "corrosive" and a symptom of what she described as a political sickness in the United States.

"I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject," Kimmel said. "I do, and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it."

The comedian played a clip of a ⁠CBS News' "60 Minutes" Sunday interview in which Trump called senior correspondent Norah O'Donnell "a disgrace" for reading ‌an excerpt from the alleged gunman's writings and seeking a response.

The issue poses an ‌early test for Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro, who took the reins last month.

"Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. ‌How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community," Melania Trump said in a post ‌on X. "People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate."

Donald Trump, who previously called for Kimmel to be removed from the air, said the comedian's joke was "something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC."

Kimmel expressed sympathy for Melania Trump, and those who attended Saturday's event, for enduring the traumatic incident. But he rejected the notion that a joke, delivered three days earlier, "had ‌any effect on anything that happened."

Reaction elsewhere to the remarks was mixed.

"Disney and ABC are extremely lucky that Trump wasn't assassinated on Saturday two days after Jimmy Kimmel made ⁠the joke about an 'expectant widow,'" said Todd ⁠Doten, 57, a street vendor on Hollywood Boulevard.

"If that had happened, there would be a backlash against them the likes (of which) they've never seen before."

Dee Thompson, a 64-year-old from North Carolina, worried about the free speech risks if Kimmel should lose his job. "They're going to take away freedom of speech for a lot of comedians, you know," Thompson added.

FCC PRESSURE ON BROADCASTERS

In September of last year, the head of the Federal Communications Commission pressured broadcasters to take Kimmel off the air. ABC briefly suspended Kimmel's show that month over comments he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Hours before the suspension, FCC head Brendan Carr warned that local broadcasters who aired Kimmel could face fines or loss of licenses and said, "it's time for them to step up."

His comments drew pushback from the entertainment industry and politicians on both stripes, including Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who likened Carr's threats to those of an organized-crime boss.

Trump, the subject of two prior assassination attempts, has repeatedly attacked the media and threatened broadcast licenses. Trump had praised Kimmel's suspension in September.

Entertainment

Summer Movie Preview: Nolan, Spider-Man and ‘Toy Story’ Light Up the Cinemas

This image released by Universal Pictures shows, from left, Jimmy Gonzales ia Cepheus, Matt Damon as Odysseus and Himesh Patel as Eurylochus in a scene from "The Odyssey." (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows, from left, Jimmy Gonzales ia Cepheus, Matt Damon as Odysseus and Himesh Patel as Eurylochus in a scene from "The Odyssey." (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures via AP)
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Summer Movie Preview: Nolan, Spider-Man and ‘Toy Story’ Light Up the Cinemas

This image released by Universal Pictures shows, from left, Jimmy Gonzales ia Cepheus, Matt Damon as Odysseus and Himesh Patel as Eurylochus in a scene from "The Odyssey." (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows, from left, Jimmy Gonzales ia Cepheus, Matt Damon as Odysseus and Himesh Patel as Eurylochus in a scene from "The Odyssey." (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures via AP)

The movies always feel bigger in the summer. The budgets. The ambition. The names. The stakes. This summer, Hollywood has many of the regulars on the lineup: “Spider-Man,” “Minions,” “Star Wars” and “Toy Story.” But the most eagerly anticipated is not a superhero, toy, or franchise: It’s a 3,000-year-old epic poem.

For filmmaker Christopher Nolan, “The Odyssey,” out July 17, isn't just a story. It's the story: A foundational piece that deserved to be done on the biggest possible scale, with all the resources modern Hollywood had to offer.

“There’s a massive amount of pressure,” Nolan told The Associated Press. “Anyone taking on ‘The Odyssey’ is taking on the hopes and dreams of people for epic movies everywhere and that comes with a huge responsibility.”

It's a familiar feeling, though. He did three Batman films after all.

“What I learned from that experience is that what people want from a movie about a beloved story, a beloved set of characters, is they want a strong and sincere interpretation,” Nolan said. “They want to know that a filmmaker has gone to the mat for it. I really tried to make the best film possible.”

Three summers ago, “Oppenheimer” made nearly a billion dollars. “The Odyssey” has battles, creatures and an army of movie stars — Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya and Tom Holland included. It's also the first movie shot entirely on IMAX film. Tickets for some IMAX 70 mm showings sold out in under an hour a full year in advance.

“The Odyssey” will be shorter than “Oppenheimer”; Three hours is the longest they’ve been able to get onto an IMAX film projector, after all.

“It’s an epic film, as the subject matter demands,” Nolan said. “But it is shorter.”

Summer movie season's fashionable kickoff

Hollywood may not save all its blockbusters for the hottest months anymore, but the 18-week corridor running from the first weekend in May through Labor Day remains the industry’s most important, accounting for around 40% of the year’s box office. And it's only surpassed $4 billion once since the pandemic, in 2023.

Marvel movies often kick off the season, but last year filmmaker David Frankel got a call from Disney: “Avengers: Doomsday” wasn’t going to be ready by the first weekend in May; Could “The Devil Wears Prada 2” step up?

May 1 is just days before the Met Gala and it would give the movie a long runway to play, he figured. It would also require a bit of a sprint — they finished the film just weeks ago. But the enthusiasm was motivating, from fans snapping photos of Hathaway and Meryl Streep on the New York streets, to support from Anna Wintour.

Love for “Prada” isn’t the only thing that’s changed in 20 years; Magazines have also become an endangered species.

“How does Miranda Priestly deal with this changing world and what’s her future?” Frankel said. “The same with Andy Sachs: If all your ambition has been funneled in this one direction, what happens when you have to pivot and how do you adapt?”

The $4 billion question

The movie industry is also adjusting to a new paradigm. Box office is down over 20% from pre-COVID levels. The rise in streaming, the pandemic and shifting theatrical windows altered people’s moviegoing habits, perhaps permanently. And there may be one less major studio if Paramount acquires Warner Bros.

But, as James Cameron said, “hope springs eternal.

“We still have a very robust theatrical industry at a time when it was kind of almost pronounced dead,” Cameron said.

The gap is not widening. Studios are committing to longer exclusive theatrical windows. Original movies and premium formats are drawing crowds. And the market continues to expand globally.

Cameron is behind one of those only-in-a-theater experiences with the 3D Billie Eilish concert film (May 8). Using new technology, they used 17 camera systems to capture four nights of her Manchester shows last year.

“Seeing it in 3D is astonishing,” Cameron said. “You really feel an intimacy with her and yet you feel the scale of the spectacle.”

A summer for heavyweights

Nolan isn’t Universal’s only giant of cinema on its summer roster: Steven Spielberg is also returning to one of his most beloved genres with “Disclosure Day” (June 12). There are superhero movies as well, with “Supergirl” (June 26), which DC Studios co-head Peter Safran said is “is something cool and original and we haven’t seen before,” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” (July 31). The last Spidey film, which made over $1.9 billion, ended with Holland’s Peter Parker erasing himself from everyone’s memory.

“This is a blockbuster action movie with all the humor and emotion we love about Spider-Man,” director Destin Daniel Cretton said. “But at its heart, it’s a story about learning how to reconnect with the ones you love.”

A lot of power recently has shifted to PG-rated offerings. This summer has “Toy Story 5” (June 19), “Minions & Monsters” (July 1) and a live action “Moana” (July 10), which could all very well hit a billion dollars each.

One non-franchise family friendly film is “The Sheep Detectives” (May 8), in which the animals (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston) investigate the death of their beloved owner (Hugh Jackman). Writer Craig Mazin understands the hurdle: There have been a lot of stupid talking animal movies. But this one is different, he said, it's not just silly sheep doing silly things.

“There are some really beautiful moments and themes and things that parents can talk about with their kids,” Mazin said. “And most importantly, it is legitimately a movie that is meant for everyone.”

Then there's “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” (May 22), which is rated PG-13 but has an impossibly cute alien going for it. It’s also one of several made for IMAX.

“People have got great TVs at home,” said director Jon Favreau. “You’ve got to give them a reason to go out.”

The scary movies

Movie studios also continue to lean into horror and this summer has both franchises, like “Evil Dead Burn”(July 10) and “Insidious: Out of the Further” (Aug. 21) and unnerving indies, including the “conversion therapy” horror “Leviticus,” “Rose of Nevada” (both June 19), and “Backrooms” (May 29).

And then there is “Scary Movie 6" (June 5), which sees the return of Regina Hall and Anna Faris, as well as Marlon and Shawn Wayans, who haven't been involved in the franchise they helped create since the 2001 sequel. And there were so many movies ripe for parody, like “M3GAN,” “Get Out,” “Weapons,” the just-released “Michael,” and “Sinners,” which Marlon Wayans was most excited about.

“Mockery is the greatest form of flattery,” Wayans said. “Sending up their movie was definitely tipping our hat to them.”

The festival darlings and other gems

Audiences want more than brands and blockbusters though. This year moviegoers have already proven they’ll turn out when the buzz is right, whether it’s for a big crowd pleaser like “Project Hail Mary” or for something more challenging like “The Drama.”

One that has the potential to break through is Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite” (June 26), a chamber dramedy about two very different couples (Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton) over one night that sparked a bidding war at the Sundance Film Festival. Wilde was heartened that most studios were offering theatrical releases, and ultimately chose A24. They’ve even made a 35 mm print.

“The whole project for me is really tipping my hat to Mike Nichols,” Wilde said. “We thought of the audiences that have always loved those films.”

There are plenty of indies and originals to choose from throughout the summer, including Daniel Roher’s “Tuner,” about a piano prodigy turned safecracker, Boots Riley’s colorful shoplifting movie “I Love Boosters,” (both May 22) and a John Carney musical with Paul Rudd (“Power Ballad,” June 5).

As Wilde said, there’s room for both originals and franchises.

“The audience really likes to recognize risk,” she said. “There’s something exciting about that.”