Entertainment
Inside the Oscar Ballot No One Was Supposed to See: A Voter Calls ‘Sentimental Value’ “Nearly Perfect” But Admits She ‘Didn’t Want Jessie Buckley Turned Up to a 10…
An anonymous female member of the Academy’s documentary branch opens up about what truly goes through a voter’s mind — from the films she loved, the ones that bored her, and why Oscar night is never as simple as it looks.
Every year, the Academy Awards produce breathless predictions, spirited debates, and long think-pieces about who should win. But rarely do we get to peek behind the curtain at how a real Academy member actually fills out her ballot — not the polished version she’d give at a cocktail party, but the raw, honest, sometimes contradictory truth.
This year, one anonymous female voter from the Academy’s 719-person documentary branch gave The Hollywood Reporter exactly that — and the results are as refreshing as they are revealing.
She has no personal connection to any of this year’s nominees. No favors to return. No friendships to protect. Just a film lover with a ballot, a conscience, and, thankfully for the rest of us, a willingness to speak plainly.
“Nearly Perfect” — What She Said About Sentimental Value
The film that stopped her cold? Sentimental Value, the deeply personal documentary that has quietly become one of the most talked-about films of this awards season. She described it as “nearly perfect” — high praise from someone who watches documentaries professionally and has seen more than her fair share of bloated, self-congratulatory Oscar bait.
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What moved her, she explained, was the film’s restraint. In a genre that often mistakes volume for emotion, Sentimental Value trusts its audience. It doesn’t announce its feelings. It earns them.
The Jessie Buckley Confession Nobody Expected
But here’s where it gets interesting — and a little uncomfortable, in the best way.
When asked about Jessie Buckley — the brilliantly raw Irish actress who has been building one of the most exciting careers in contemporary cinema — this voter said something that will resonate with anyone who has ever watched a performance and thought: this is extraordinary, but is it right for this moment?
“I didn’t want Jessie Buckley turned up to a 10,” she said.
It’s a remarkably honest admission. Not a dismissal of Buckley’s talent — quite the opposite. It’s the kind of nuanced observation that gets lost in the Oscar conversation, which tends to reward intensity over fit. Sometimes the most powerful choice an actor makes is knowing when not to explode. And sometimes, voters notice when that choice isn’t made.
Buckley, who has earned tremendous critical admiration for her work in films like Men and The Lost Daughter, is a genuinely electric performer. But electricity, as any director will tell you, needs to be channeled — not simply unleashed.
How Documentary Branch Voters Actually Think
What makes this ballot so valuable isn’t just the individual opinions — it’s the window it opens into how documentary voters approach their work differently from, say, the actors’ branch or the directors’ branch.
Documentary voters tend to be deeply invested in the purpose of a film. Is it saying something true? Does it earn its running time? Is it bringing a story to screen that would otherwise go untold?
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has faced years of criticism for its documentary branch being among the least predictable — and perhaps most principled — of all its voting bodies. These aren’t people choosing between star power and box office. They’re choosing between truth and craft.
This voter’s ballot reflects exactly that tension.
What Her Honesty Tells Us About the Oscars
There’s a reason outlets like The Hollywood Reporter run these anonymous ballot pieces every year, and why readers devour them. Because the official Oscars narrative — the speeches, the campaigning, the FYC screenings, the guild dinners — is polished to within an inch of its life.
What gets lost in all that polish is something simple: real people, watching real films, making real judgments that don’t always align with the consensus or the campaign dollars.
This voter liked what she liked. She had reservations she wasn’t afraid to voice. She respected craft even when it didn’t fully land for her personally. And she cast her ballot the way any thoughtful cinephile would — not as a political act, but as an aesthetic one.
In the era of social media pile-ons and industry groupthink, that’s rarer than it should be.
What Happens Next
The 97th Academy Awards are almost upon us, and ballots are locked. Whether Sentimental Value converts its critical warmth into votes, or whether Jessie Buckley overcomes that “turned up to a 10” perception among a portion of the voting body, we’ll know soon enough.
But conversations like this one — messy, honest, and utterly human — remind us why we still care about the Oscars in the first place. Not because they always get it right. But because sometimes, just sometimes, the people deciding actually mean it.
Entertainment
How ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Returned to Cinemas and Reclaimed Box Office Glory
Renewed ticket sales send Marvel’s 2019 finale past ‘Avatar’ to lead the all-time global chart again.
Seven years after its original release, Avengers: Endgame has unfinished business at the box office.
The Marvel Studios blockbuster has overtaken James Cameron’s Avatar to become the highest-grossing film worldwide once again. According to The Walt Disney Company’s October 4 announcement, Endgame now holds an estimated $2.9255 billion, narrowly ahead of Avatar’s $2.9237 billion. That puts just $1.8 million between two of cinema’s biggest hits.
The lead is small. The comeback, however, is substantial: a film released in 2019 has drawn enough fresh ticket sales to rewrite the all-time chart.
The ‘Encore’ release that tipped the balance
The latest theatrical run, titled Avengers Endgame: Encore, has earned $126 million worldwide, according to TheWrap. That includes $36.2 million in North America and $89.8 million from international markets—the extra business that pushed the film back into first place.
Audiences also had a reason to return beyond revisiting a familiar blockbuster. TheWrap reports that the reissue features a modified ending and three new scenes during and after the credits, connected to Avengers: Doomsday. The release therefore serves two purposes: bringing an established favourite back to cinemas and giving viewers a bridge to the next Avengers story.
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A rivalry with a history of reversals
This is another change of leadership in a box office contest that has lasted for years.
Endgame first displaced Avatar in 2019. Cameron’s science-fiction epic regained the crown following its Chinese re-release in 2021. Now, another theatrical return has swung the result in Marvel’s favour. Re-releases have become a decisive part of the competition, extending both films’ earning lives well beyond their original runs.
The distinction matters: this is the record for worldwide theatrical revenue without adjustment for inflation, including re-release earnings. It measures money collected rather than the number of tickets sold.
Why ‘Endgame’ matters to ‘Doomsday’
The timing gives Marvel’s comeback an added significance. Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to reach cinemas on December 18, 2026, and Disney has positioned Endgame as an important foundation for that next chapter.
Explaining the connection, Anthony Russo said: “You really need to pick the story up from where you left it in Endgame.”
That makes this return more than a victory lap. A film remembered for closing a major chapter of Marvel’s story is now helping introduce the next one—and, along the way, has taken back Hollywood’s most closely watched box office title.
Entertainment
Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Faces a Tough Opening: Could ‘Verity’ Take the Lead?
Cruise’s star power meets a fresh box office challenge as the Colleen Hoover adaptation emerges as a formidable rival.
Tom Cruise has spent years persuading audiences to watch him attempt the impossible. With Digger, the challenge is different: convincing moviegoers to embrace an eccentric, darkly comic character who bears little resemblance to his familiar action heroes.
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the film arrives in US cinemas on October 2, 2026, carrying considerable expectations. Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an oil tycoon confronting a catastrophe connected to his company’s actions. It is a conspicuous departure for an actor whose recent screen identity has been shaped by spectacular stunts and blockbuster franchises.
Yet the conversation before release has increasingly turned from Cruise’s transformation to a more uncomfortable question: how many people will buy a ticket?
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A costly film facing a modest opening
According to Koimoi’s September 30 report, Digger was tracking for a North American opening below $15 million, against a reported production cost of approximately $125 million. These are reported estimates, rather than confirmed earnings or a final accounting of the film’s costs.
That gap explains the concern surrounding Warner Bros.. An expensive production needs sustained attendance, and a subdued debut would place greater pressure on subsequent weekends and overseas markets.
An opening forecast cannot establish a film’s eventual profit or loss. It can, however, reveal how much work remains for the campaign.
Reviews have complicated the pitch
The critical response has been sharply divided. People reported reactions ranging from admiration for the film’s audacity and Cruise’s commitment to criticism of its scale, coherence and tone.
For potential ticket buyers, that creates an uncertain proposition. Cruise’s presence attracts attention, but attention does not automatically translate into enthusiasm for an unfamiliar kind of film.
The promotional campaign has leaned into that disagreement. The Guardian described advertising that places harsh reactions alongside praise, using the controversy itself to generate interest. Whether that approach encourages curiosity or deepens hesitation remains an open question.
Why ‘Verity’ makes the weekend more intriguing
The Hollywood Reporter expects Digger to open substantially behind Verity, the Amazon MGM Studios adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel. hollywoodreporter.com
Starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett, Verity is also scheduled to open on October 2. Its psychological-thriller premise centres on a writer who discovers a disturbing manuscript while completing another author’s book series.
From a marketing perspective, an established novel and a recognisable thriller setup could offer a more immediate hook. Digger, by comparison, asks audiences to take a greater leap into unfamiliar territory.
The audience verdict is still ahead
Cruise has clearly committed to that leap. At the London premiere, Reuters reported that his transformation involved prosthetics and a padded bodysuit, alongside a demanding performance.
The commercial outcome remains unresolved. Strong audience recommendations could give Digger momentum beyond its initial forecasts. A weak response would make its financial challenge harder.
For now, the film’s biggest suspense lies beyond the screen: whether curiosity about Cruise’s unusual gamble becomes an opening-weekend ticket purchase.
Entertainment
‘Verity’ Could Outopen ‘Digger’: Why Tom Cruise Faces a Tough Contest
The competing releases raise a compelling question: which film will persuade more audiences to buy a ticket?
Tom Cruise has spent years persuading audiences to watch him attempt the impossible. With Digger, the challenge is different: convincing moviegoers to embrace an eccentric, darkly comic character who bears little resemblance to his familiar action heroes.
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the film arrives in US cinemas on October 2, 2026, carrying considerable expectations. Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an oil tycoon confronting a catastrophe connected to his company’s actions. It is a conspicuous departure for an actor whose recent screen identity has been shaped by spectacular stunts and blockbuster franchises.
Yet the conversation before release has increasingly turned from Cruise’s transformation to a more uncomfortable question: how many people will buy a ticket?
ALSO READ : Emmy Nominations Announcement Gets a Star Twist… Liza Colón-Zayas & Jeff Hiller Set to Reveal 2026 TV Nominees
A costly film facing a modest opening
According to Koimoi’s September 30 report, Digger was tracking for a North American opening below $15 million, against a reported production cost of approximately $125 million. These are reported estimates, rather than confirmed earnings or a final accounting of the film’s costs.
That gap explains the concern surrounding Warner Bros.. An expensive production needs sustained attendance, and a subdued debut would place greater pressure on subsequent weekends and overseas markets.
An opening forecast cannot establish a film’s eventual profit or loss. It can, however, reveal how much work remains for the campaign.
Reviews have complicated the pitch
The critical response has been sharply divided. People reported reactions ranging from admiration for the film’s audacity and Cruise’s commitment to criticism of its scale, coherence and tone.
For potential ticket buyers, that creates an uncertain proposition. Cruise’s presence attracts attention, but attention does not automatically translate into enthusiasm for an unfamiliar kind of film.
The promotional campaign has leaned into that disagreement. The Guardian described advertising that places harsh reactions alongside praise, using the controversy itself to generate interest. Whether that approach encourages curiosity or deepens hesitation remains an open question.
Why ‘Verity’ makes the weekend more intriguing
The Hollywood Reporter expects Digger to open substantially behind Verity, the Amazon MGM Studios adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel. hollywoodreporter.com
Starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett, Verity is also scheduled to open on October 2. Its psychological-thriller premise centres on a writer who discovers a disturbing manuscript while completing another author’s book series.
From a marketing perspective, an established novel and a recognisable thriller setup could offer a more immediate hook. Digger, by comparison, asks audiences to take a greater leap into unfamiliar territory.
The audience verdict is still ahead
Cruise has clearly committed to that leap. At the London premiere, Reuters reported that his transformation involved prosthetics and a padded bodysuit, alongside a demanding performance.
The commercial outcome remains unresolved. Strong audience recommendations could give Digger momentum beyond its initial forecasts. A weak response would make its financial challenge harder.
For now, the film’s biggest suspense lies beyond the screen: whether curiosity about Cruise’s unusual gamble becomes an opening-weekend ticket purchase.
How ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Returned to Cinemas and Reclaimed Box Office Glory
Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Faces a Tough Opening: Could ‘Verity’ Take the Lead?
‘Verity’ Could Outopen ‘Digger’: Why Tom Cruise Faces a Tough Contest
‘Endgame’ Returns to No. 1 ‘Avatar’ Loses Its Box Office Throne
Mark Zuckerberg Faces a New Hollywood Reckoning Why Aaron Sorkin’s Film Hits Closer to Home
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