You know, all those movies that few watched
Close to a third of Oscar-nominated movies this year referenced climate change
Climate change may be one of the greatest existential crises facing humanity, but to what degree does it permeate movie storytelling?
A new study by consultancy Good Energy has sought to find out, by exploring the level to which climate change appears in this year’s Oscar nominations.
According to the group’s study, 31% of the eligible nominees this year acknowledged climate change – either depicting climate change to some degree, or having one of the characters reference it.
Climate change references were most pronounced in Arco, Bugonia, Jurassic World Rebirth, The Lost Bus and Sirat, the study found, with Good Energy describing 2026 as ‘a defining year for climate at the Oscars’.
Elsewhere, environmental messages are evident in Avatar: Fire and Ash, Hamnet and Train Dreams.
Previous research by Good Energy has shown that climate change is rarely addressed in mainstream cinema. A study of 250 popular films released between 2013 and 2022 found that only 9.6% met its criteria, dubbed the ‘climate reality check’.
Oh, good, another reason to avoid all the terrible movies.
This year marks ten years since actor Leonardo DiCaprio used his acceptance speech for Best Actor (for The Revenant) to talk about the urgency of tackling climate change.
“Climate change is real, it is happening right now,” he said. “It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people out there who would be most affected by this. For our children’s children, and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed.” Read more here and here.
Meanwhile, Leo runs around the world on private jets, mega-yachts, and fossil fueled limos. How much energy and fossil fuels was used to make his box office flop One Battle After Another (lost about $100 million), as well as all the other movies?
