Award Season Series: “Bugonia” A 2026 Best Picture Oscar Nominee

As my award season series begins to wind down, I will be taking a look at a couple films that have been recently nominated for a Best Picture Oscar (one of which I already checked out for the Examiner last year). I also will be checking out a couple Winter Fest selections that have also garnered some award recognition.

This review is for a film that was released last year to an extremely positive critical reception. Yet, it struggled to attract an audience during its theatrical run. The film I’m talking about is the latest from Yorgos Lanthimos - “Bugonia.”

In “Bugonia,” two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

I’ll admit I’ve only seen a couple films from director Yorgos Lanthimos and I did have a tough time really getting into them - “Poor Things” and “Kinds of Kindness." After seeing the trailer for “Bugonia,” I did get a little intrigued and once I saw that the film had been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, I figured it was definitely time to give this film a chance.

Honestly, “Bugonia” is, without a doubt, one of the weirdest films I have recently seen and it’s easily one of those films that will easily split audience opinions. And, even though the film can get on the rather weird and bizarre side, I was hooked.

“Bugonia” delivers extraordinary performances (primarily from Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons), a sharp social commentary and has the ability to blend unsettling psychological tension with a good amount of dark humor.

The film easily resonates as a “demented mirror” of sorts of today’s world, effectively satirizing internet rabbit holes and the modern communication gap. A lot of the paranoia moments in this film can get really intense, especially when we see Jesse Plemons’ erratic, conspiracy-driven behavior gets worse as the events of the film go on.

Speaking of Jesse Plemons, this guy can really act. His ability to embody an extremely

complex mix of terror, desperation, and misguided innocence is what helps keep this film going. Now, while Plemons does such an incredible job anchoring the film’s weird, tense atmosphere, he can still manage to make you connect emotionally with the tragedy of his character.

Now, usually I talk about a few moments in a film that I feel are really memorable and can easily stand out. But, for “Bugonia,” it’s definitely one of those films where not knowing too much about the film or any particular moment would make it a better viewing experience. The only thing that I will say is that the last ten to fifteen minutes will really catch you off guard!

“Bugonia” is a dark, surreal film that explores themes of alienation, class and conspiracy theories through a paranoid, comedic lens. While this is easily one of the most ambitious films I have recently seen, it can also easily be categorized as being “ahead of its time.”

This film has recently been nominated for four Oscars: Best Picture; Best Actress (Emma Stone); Best Adapted Screenplay (Will Tracy); Best Original Score (Jerskin Fendrix).

Streaming service: Peacock/various PVOD services

https://youtu.be/bd_5HcTujfc?si=SMvFF2MOvtiUplC4

• Aidan Delbis, who had never acted professionally before, was cast as Don after Yorgos Lanthimos decided to find a non-professional neurodivergent actor to provide a different dynamic alongside Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons.

• According to cinematographer Robbie Ryan, the hardest "actors" to work with were the bees. The crew installed a beehive on location weeks in advance and shot on a scorching day with around 30 crew members in full beekeeper suits - only for the bees to refuse to pollinate on camera. The final close-ups of bees on flowers were instead grabbed spontaneously at a completely different location near a security kiosk when the team happened upon a more cooperative hive.

• Emma Stone had her head shaved on camera, and just minutes after the scene was shot, she shaved the head of her friend, director Yorgos Lanthimos.

• Yorgos Lanthimos asked composer Jerskin Fendrix to create the scores for Poor Things (2023) & Kinds of Kindness (2024), by reading the scripts without seeing any footage of the films. For Bugonia (2025), Lanthimos did not provide the script, giving Fendrix only four key words to work with: "Bees. Basement. Spaceship. Emily-bald."

• In Bugonia (2025)'s kidnapping scene, kidnappers wear Jennifer Aniston masks, an idea from Yorgos Lanthimos, a huge Friends (1994) fan. They obtained enthusiastic consent from Aniston, who is of half-Greek descent.

• Bugonia (2025) is an adaptation inspired by the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet! (2003). Initially, the original director, Jang Joon-hwan, was set to helm the project, working with American screenwriter Will Tracy on the screenplay. Due to health-related delays that prevented Jang Joon-hwan's continued involvement, CJ Entertainment, drawn to Yorgos Lanthimos' distinctive directorial vision, appointed him to lead the project forward instead.

• Oscar-winning production designer James Price built the house and basement, where most of Bugonia (2025) scenes take place, from scratch.

• Paul Thomas Anderson called this one of his favorite films of 2025.