Why Oscar Nominations Hurt Movie Ratings by Prof. Michelangelo Rossi

Today the 98th Academy Awards nominations will be announced — with a record 10,136 Academy members eligible to vote. But new research shows nominations can make audiences harsher, not kinder. HEC Associate Professor of Marketing Michelangelo Rossi has measured what he calls a “disappointment effect”. His study reveals that after a film is nominated, viewers with similar tastes tend to rate it significantly lower than comparable viewers who watched before the nominations. This is strongest among less experienced raters, not because the film suddenly got worse, but because the bar just got raised. #OscarNominations #Oscars2026 #AcademyAwards #AwardsSeason #FilmIndustry