2025’s Biggest Anime Movies Could Be Taking Over the Oscars

Anime has already been taking over theaters throughout the world this year, and it has a very strong chance of taking over the Academy Awards following a major update. Anime has been doing very well through the box office this year, and it’s a result of all sorts of progress that the industry has made in the last few years to help expand the reach of any given franchise. Hits like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle have been monsters in theaters, but there’s been a worry that it might not get as great of a critical reception as it has a commercial one.

But these films have taken a major step forward as the Academy Awards have revealed 35 animated films that are eligible for Best Animated Film this year. While that’s far from getting an official nomination for the elusive award, and even further from actually winning the award itself, it’s still a significant move for these anime films to get the chance to break through to that next level. Because while they might be big hits with fans, it’s still very much within a bubble.

Anime Films Eligible for Oscars in 2025

According to the Academy, there are currently 35 animated films in total that currently are eligible for the Best Animated Feature Film category for the 98th Academy Awards. These include five anime films, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, 100 Meters, and Scarlet. But while these are eligible for a potential nomination, there are still some hurdles these anime films would need to get over in order to make it to the actual awards (and narrowing it down to five nominees).

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Members in the Animation Branch will be voting on the potential nominees, but other members of the Academy can vote as well are meeting a minimal viewing requirement. These films can also be submitted to other categories like Best Picture and International Feature Film, so there are multiple chances for any of these anime films to make it to the big time. It’s not entirely impossible, but it’s going to be a tough battle for any of these films to be recognized on that scale. It’s just the way the Academy Awards works, for better or worse, unfortunately.

Does Anime Have a Chance at Winning the Oscar?

Anime feature films have won the Best Animated Film Oscar in the past (with The Boy and The Heron just winning a couple of years ago), so it’s not impossible. It’s just that Shonen films have never really had the chance. Crunchyroll CEO Rahul Purini is hoping to change that for a film like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, however, as the company is hoping to support the film as much as they can to potentially make it happen.

“We think the movie is incredible — the animation, the story, the quality on all fronts,” Purini stated in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year. “So yes, the fans absolutely deserve for the movie to be considered for awards. We’ll do our part to make sure it gets the right level of support to be considered in all of the categories it could be eligible for.” We’ll just have to see whether or not Demon Slayer (or any of these films) is the one to do it.

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