#6: Bugonia
Ranking of the 10 Best Picture Nominees for 2026 Oscars

I’m Trevor with the Sasquatch Movie Minute and we are running down my ranking of the 10 nominees for Oscars BEST PICTURE 2025.

#6 is BUGONIA, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemmons

A bleak yet fascinating film about two conspiracy-minded men who kidnap a biotech CEO, played by Emma Stone, accusing her of secretly being an alien. Your mileage may vary with Yorgos films, I loved these two, hated these two. I love when his movies get more dirty and realistically human, and this film delivers! It is an uncomfortable film, but dives deep into commentary of our modern times and critiques of human harm on the world. There are twists and questions and I had NO idea where any of this was going. I relish that kind of plot uncertainty. A special shoutout for the production design of the second half. It made me laugh, and that was a gift in such a dark tale.

Best Scene. The dinner scene with Plemmons and Stone is fantastic. 2 world-class actors lobbing political and ecological arguments against each other, the tension escalating, never certain who is right or wrong. Even though its conversation, the scene plays like a thriller.

Best Performance. While Plemmons has the harder role, I could not take my eyes off Emma Stone. She plays 180 degrees opposite all her supposed strengths as an actor; her playfulness, her warmth. She eats this role alive, making this cold-hearted, hyper-intelligent CEO actually understandable. She somehow makes the work ‘Yay’ sound utterly terrifying.

A tough movie, but a fascinating exploration of humanity.