Ariana Grande had hopes of winning an Oscar forWicked, but they are dwindling unless she can secure this upcoming major award. The singer/actress is no stranger to winning awards thanks to her pop star career. Her performance as Glinda inWickedgave her another opportunity to receive more accolades as she was repeatedly recognized by various awards shows. This included a breakthrough Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.Grande’s Oscar nominationfulfilled the hopes many had for her after seeing the pitch-perfect interpretation she did
Getting an Oscar nomination is one thing, but winning an Academy Award is another. Ariana Grande has found herself in a competitive race against her fellow Best Supporting Actress nominees: Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez), Isabella Rossellini (Conclave), Felicity Jones (The Brutalist), and Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown). There is still plenty of appreciation for the work Grande did inWicked, but she has not done as well in the lead-up to the Oscars as expected. The hopes ofGrande’s record-breaking Oscar winnow rest on an upcoming award.
Ariana Grande Has Been Losing Awards To Zoe Saldaña A Lot Recently
The Emilia Pérez Star Has Remained The Favorite
Zoe Saldaña was an early favorite for Best Supporting Actress thanks to her career-best performance inEmilia Pérez. That narrative has propelled her to continue to win at various precursor awards shows before the Oscars. In addition to several critics groups and an early win at Cannes,Saldaña beat Grande early in a pivotal race with the Golden Globes. TheWickedstar has not been able to take momentum away from her, as theEmilia Pérezactress continued to win at BAFTA and Critics Choice.
As a result of Saldaña’s recent wins, she’s increased her lead over Grande to have the most wins this awards season among the Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominees;Saldaña has 17 wins, while Grande has 13. That’s not a small margin in the grand scheme of the awards race, but it’s more notable that the Glinda actress hasn’t been able to take any other major wins. She’s lost to Saldaña at every major Oscar precursor so far. TheEmilia Pérezstar has further established herself as the frontrunner for the Oscar win thanks to these victories.
Ariana Grande Has To Win At SAG To Have A Shot At Winning The Best Supporting Actress Oscar
SAG Is The Final Oscars Precursor
If Ariana Grande wants any realistic chance to be an Oscar winner forWickedand beat Zoe Saldaña, the SAG Awards is where she has to win. The Screen Actors Guild Awards has its ceremony on February 23rd, just one week before the 97th Academy Awards. This makes it the final precursor, and SAG is often quite predictive for the Oscars. Grande and Saldaña are both nominated for Best Supporting Actress, while Barbaro is the only other Oscar nominee among the SAG lineup. TheWickedstar must win the SAG award to keep her in the race.
Ariana Grande Could Be Only The 7th Oscar Winner With This Distinction If She Beats Zoe Saldaña For Supporting Actress
Ariana Grande could win Best Supporting Actress at the 2025 Oscars, and she’ll be only the 7th person with this distinction if it happens.
Another win for Zoe Saldaña at SAG would wrap up the Best Supporting Actress category a week early by all indications.The Oscars and SAG have agreed on the Best Supporting Actress winner all but nine timesin 30 years. There hasn’t been a difference since 2018 when Emily Blunt won SAG forA Quiet Place, but Regina King won the Oscar forIf Beale Street Could Talk. That means a win at SAG would give Grande a fighting chance to still win the Oscar. Otherwise, Saldaña’s wins at SAG, BAFTA, Golden Globes, and Critics Choice become too much.
Ariana Grande Winning At SAG Could Reflect The Current Feelings Of Oscar Voters
Winning the Best Supporting Actress award at SAG might not guarantee an Oscar win for Ariana Grande, but it could help signal how Oscar voters are thinking.The SAG Awards voting period overlaps with the Oscars. The actors branch of the Academy, which is the biggest group, also includes a great number of SAG members. While other precursor awards may have had voting done beforeEmilia Pérez’s controversiesreally developed, SAG’s voting could more accurately represent how much the controversy hurt the film’s overall standing.
Oscars voting ends on June 11, 2025
However, Zoe Saldaña’s performance is not one ofEmilia Pérez’s controversial aspects. If anything, it is the one thing most viewers can agree on: that she’s great in it. That is further reason why a win at SAG would be monumental for Ariana Grande. Oscars voting might be closed by the time that win takes place, but it would indicate that actors are really supportive of her work. She could ride that support to an Oscar win then. Simply put, Ariana Grande has to win Best Supporting Actress forWickedat SAG to make this a race.
