The 2020s begin with plagued box office and grim Oscars on AVA

In the year of 2020, a global heath crisis shut down the film industry, and the Academy chose to meet the moment by extending deadlines and loosening rules on theatrical release in order to find eight joyless festival darlings to nominate for Best Picture. Nomadland, Chloe Zhao and Frances McDormand's examination of those who respond to trauma and tragedy by roaming the roads, took the top prize. Ruling the box office, however, was even easier: you just needed to be released either before March, or in Asia. And thus do Erin, Claire, Dan, and returning guest Munsi Parker-Munroe examine the return of Michael Bay's Bad Boys, and try to unpack Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, a feature release from an anime none of our team has seen. Plus Dan and Munsi ponder a more entertaining world, where the Academy only nominated movies that managed theatrical release, asking who would triumph: Sonic the Hedgehog, Harley Quinn, Bill and Ted, or Jaja Ding Dong? Listen and learn!

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