“Thelma” and “Hit Man” for the first time in the Academy’s screening room

And so it begins.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has kicked off the race for the 97th Academy Awards, which will take place on Sunday, March 2, 2025.

The Academy Screening Room made its first titles available to members on Friday. Thelma by Magnolia Pictures; Shirley, HitMan and the animated Ultraman: On the rise everything from Netflix; plus Wildcat by Oscilloscope Laboratories on the platform. This list will certainly get much longer over the course of the new season. The cost since last season is $20,000 for studio films and $8,000 for films from the indie sector.

Thelma is a comedy starring 94-year-old June Squibb as a grandmother who falls victim to an internet money scam that preys on the elderly and decides to take matters into her own hands. Magnolia hopes to attract the attention of Oscar voters for Squibb’s performance, as well as in the Comedy/Musical category of the Golden Globes and from critics groups.

Netflix draws attention to the versatile performance of Glen Powell, who wears several disguises in Richard Linklater’s comedy HitMana film based on true events. It premiered last September at the Venice Film Festival, where the streamer picked it up.

Conversely, Netflix has the suddenly very topical Shirley with Oscar winner Regina King as Shirley Chisholm, who in 1972 was the first black woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Oscar winner John Ridley wrote and directed the biopic about this historic political election campaign. Just yesterday he was seen on MSNBC’s “The 40 Years of the Year”. The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell to talk about its importance and relevance in light of the recent rise of Kamala Harris, the first black woman to win the Democratic presidential nomination. That alone could probably fuel a campaign for Shirleywhose streaming service on Netflix began in March.

Wildcat premiered in Telluride last year and garnered much praise for director and co-writer Ethan Hawke and his daughter Maya, the latter playing the lead role of American novelist Flannery O’Connor. Ultraman: On the rise is one of the numerous Netflix animated films that are trying to attract the attention of the Academy, which honored the streamer Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio in 2022 with an Oscar in the animated film category.

In a note to members, the Academy said the Screening Room, its members-only streaming platform, will offer screening opportunities throughout the season, in addition to in-person opportunities. The film is available to stream on multiple platforms, including Apple TV, Roku and Android TV, online through the member site, and the mobile member app with AirPlay and Chromecast support. It will also be available for the first time on Amazon Fire TV starting next week. Other content available includes Academy Museum programming, the Academy Member Unconscious Bias Session and Academy-In-Brief, a series for members highlighting the Academy’s initiatives, awards processes and more.

The Academy promises its members that it will continue to add films as distributors make them available.

In just three weeks the season continues when the fall festivals begin in Venice and Telluride, closely followed by Toronto.

Fasten your seat belt.