Oscars Spotlight Growing Korean Presence in Hollywood, With Netflix and a Korean-origin Remake
The 98th Academy Awards are set to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, with Korea time scheduled for 8:00 a.m. on the 16th. The ceremony will highlight a mix of heavy contenders and global titles, reflecting the Oscars’ growing international footprint.
Among the strongest candidates for the top prize are Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, Ryan Coogler’s Cynus: Sinners, Norway’s Sentimental Value, and Jesse Berkeley’s Hamnet. Korean participation as a contender is absent this year in the best-picture lineup, but Netflix’s K-Pop Demon Hunters and the Korea-origin remake Bugonia are drawing attention as notable non-contenders with strong interest.
One Battle After Another is nominated across 13 categories, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing, in addition to Best Picture and Best Director. The film follows a father who once dreamed of revolution as he pursues his kidnapped daughter, forcing him to confront repeated political and moral choices along the way.
Cynus: Sinners leads with 16 nominations across major categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, among others. It has set a record for the most nominations at the ceremony, underscoring the film’s broad recognition within the industry.
Sentimental Value is up for nine awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and acting categories. The film centers on a film director father and his two daughters as they reconnect through cinema, a premise that earned it recognition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize.
Other notable nominees include Mati Supreme, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, and Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet. These titles illustrate the broad slate of competition and the continued international reach of the Oscars, even as some regions see fewer official Korean entries this year.
Netflix’s K-Pop Demon Hunters is competing for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. The film previously won the Golden Globe for Animated Feature and, earlier this year, a Grammy in the Best Song category for the K-pop-inspired track. The film’s soundtrack features the fictional group Huntrix, with credited performers Lee Jae, Audrey Nuna, and Rae Ami slated to perform the winning theme on the show.
The Hollywood remake Bugonia, directed by Chang Jun-hwan, is also competing in four categories, including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score. It is notable for being the first film adapted from a Korean original to receive a nomination in the Adapted Screenplay category.
In Korea, the ceremony will be broadcast on the film-focused channel OCN, reflecting the ongoing U.S.-Korea cultural exchange and the global reach of the Oscars. For U.S. audiences, the lineup underscores the growing prominence of Korean-origin IP in Hollywood, the expanding role of streaming platforms like Netflix in shaping award-season narratives, and the potential for Korean talent and stories to influence future American film and television projects, distribution, and collaboration across markets.