Disney sets a new Oscars record, but it does not call for celebrations

Oscars without Disney dominating the animation category was previously unimaginable. The studio had won four times for Best Animated Feature and was nominated 13 times in the category. But in recent years, this trend has shifted. This year's Oscar award ceremony marked the third consecutive year that Disney animations were ignored.

At one time, Disney was the most decorated Oscar winner of all time. But recently, with other studios entering the field of animation, the competition has been tough for them, and it does not seem to be faring well.

This year, only the box office hit Disney movie Inside Out 2, which is a joint development of Disney and Pixar, was shortlisted. However, the studio's own project, Moana 2, was not nominated for any Academy Award.

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This year marks the third year that Walt Disney was ignored at the Oscars

The absence of the animation giant at the Academy Awards has not gone unnoticed. Previously, before the Academy Awards created a regular award category for animated features, it occasionally bestowed special Oscars for exceptional productions for Walt Disney Pictures. Movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1938, Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1989, Toy Story in 1996, and Beauty and the Beast in 1991 were honored by the Academy.

It was only in 2002 that the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature was first given out, and since then, Disney studios have largely dominated the category. But this trend is declining now with the arrival of a more diverse range of contenders who have given Disney tough competition.

Last year, Studio Ghibli's The Boy and the Heron took away the coveted award, and the year before, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio won Best Animation. Many are largely of the opinion that the problem with Disney projects is their unoriginality. The studio has mostly been releasing sequels and spinoffs, and for that reason, it is losing out on awards.

However, even if the studio was snubbed at the most prestigious award show of the award season, Disney has become the first (and only) studio to earn more than $5 billion in 2024, with animation projects accounting for a significant portion of the revenue.

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Anora breaks Disney's record for the most wins at the Oscars 2025

Sean Baker's Anora is tied with Walt Disney for the record for most Oscar wins in one night. Baker, who is the director, editor, and screenwriter of the movie, won four Oscars at the 97th Academy Awards. This is a feat only achieved by one other person, Walt Disney. Disney won four Oscars for four separate films in 1953, and Baker won four Oscars for one film, setting a new record.

In 1953, Disney won for best documentary (feature), best documentary (short), best short subject (cartoon), and best short subject (two-reel) for Water Birds, The Living Desert, Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Bloom, and Bear Country, respectively. That year, the studio had six nominations.

Anora was nominated for six awards: best picture, best original screenplay, best director, best editing, best actress, and best supporting actor. The film won five Oscars, losing out only on the best supporting actor award to Kieran Culkin for A Real Pain.

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See here for the list of Oscar winners of 2025.