Did you know that Wicked: For Good didn’t receive a single nomination at the Oscars this year? This was extremely surprising to fans considering the first movie received a total of ten Academy awards last year, and even won two of them. Although the reason behind this could just be that the second movie wasn’t as popular, generating only $523 million worldwide compared to $758 million, sequels being shut out of the Oscars has been an ongoing pattern. Throughout the history of the Oscars, only ten sequels have ever been nominated for the Best Picture award, and only two of them actually won: The Godfather Part II in 1974 and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003. What is the reason behind this significant difference between original movies and sequels?
Many critics and movie reviewers commented on Wicked 2’s shut out at the 2026 Oscars. While the first movie presented an original and lighthearted plot, focusing on Glinda and Elphaba’s friendship at the university, Wicked: For Good had consistently darker themes, with Nessa Rose’s complete character change, the continuous propaganda spread by the Wizard and Madame Morrible, and Elphaba and Glinda being separated for a majority of the movie. In addition, many believed that the movie was too long, and didn’t want to waste their time watching a movie with overstretched material, a lack of originality, and no memorable songs.
Students at Monte Vista also agree with this. Madeline Ott, sophomore in Choir, says, “Unlike the first Wicked movie which had Defying Gravity, the second movie didn’t have any good songs and just wasn’t as good as the original.”
Other sequels coming out recently have also reflected these themes. Released in December of 2025, Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third Avatar movie, has received mixed reactions from critics. While the visual effects were as breathtaking as the previous two movies, many felt the plot was too repetitive, with the characters being chased, captured, and escaping over and over again. Amazingly, the movie was also significantly longer than even the Wicked sequel, streaming for a total of three hours and seventeen minutes. The original Avatar movie was only two hours and fourteen minutes long. However, despite its disappointing plot, Avatar: Fire and Ash received two nominations for Best Visual Effects as well as Best Costume Design this year. But compared to the first, which received nine nominations, winning three of them, this sequel simply can’t compare.
However, there have been good sequels that the Oscars snubbed at the academy awards. The long-awaited Gladiator 2, released November of 2024, received only one nomination at last year’s Oscars, with the original racking up twelve total nominations. Many critics were also surprised by Denzel Washington’s exclusion for the award of Best Supporting Actor. However, Gladiator 2 received many reviews commenting on a rehashed plot of the original, and the only perceived goal of the movie being to satisfy fans of the original.
Overall, the Oscars aren’t the only critics of sequels. Although many sequels attract a lot of attention, their audience base primarily consists of fans of the original movie who aren’t looking for the most attention-grabbing plot, or compelling characters. They simply enjoy the familiarity or seek a resolution of the first movie. It’s not that sequels aren’t good anymore, it’s just that they serve a different purpose.
