Golden Globes Snub Ne Zha 2, Rubber-Stamp Avatar: Fire and Ash Sight Unseen

Here is a good reminder that awards season sometimes runs more on vibes than math: the Golden Globes just nominated an unreleased Avatar sequel for its box office category, and left out the animated movie that actually crushed the global box office in 2025. Make it make sense.

The Globes boosted Avatar early and benched Ne Zha 2

The Globes have a category called Cinematic & Box Office Achievement. The idea is to highlight movies that made serious money and actually moved culture. On paper, that sounds like a layup for Ne Zha 2, which steamrolled the world this year. Instead, it was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, Avatar: Fire and Ash made the cut even though regular audiences have not seen it yet. The film had its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on December 1, 2025, but it does not open wide until December 19, 2025. Still got a nomination. Ne Zha 2, the year’s biggest animated success, did not.

So who did get in?

• Avatar: Fire and Ash - Cinematic & Box Office Achievement nominee - IMDb: N/A (unreleased) - Global box office: N/A (unreleased)
• F1: The Movie - Cinematic & Box Office Achievement nominee - IMDb: 7.7/10 - Global: $631.5M
• KPop Demon Hunters - Cinematic & Box Office Achievement nominee - IMDb: 7.5/10 - Global: $24.6M
• Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning - Cinematic & Box Office Achievement nominee - IMDb: 7.2/10 - Global: $598.7M
• Sinners - Cinematic & Box Office Achievement nominee - IMDb: 7.6/10 - Global: $367.8M
• Weapons - Cinematic & Box Office Achievement nominee - IMDb: 7.5/10 - Global: $268.6M
• Wicked: For Good - Cinematic & Box Office Achievement nominee - IMDb: 7.0/10 - Global: $440.9M
• Zootopia 2 - Cinematic & Box Office Achievement nominee - IMDb: 7.7/10 - Global: $917.9M
• Ne Zha 2 - Not nominated in Cinematic & Box Office Achievement - IMDb: 8.0/10 - Global: $2.15B

Seeing it laid out like that, the omission looks even stranger. A $2.15B phenomenon skipped, an unreleased franchise sequel waved through. That is not just an oops; it reads like a choice.

Why Avatar qualifies anyway

This is where the Globes rulebook comes in. For Best Cinematic & Box Office Achievement, films releasing after November 22 can be judged on projected performance. Translation: if the movie is about to open late in the year, the Globes can still nominate it based on forecasts. And when the director is James Cameron, the projection machine hums.

Industry chatter already pegs Fire and Ash for a domestic debut north of $100M, with worldwide totals expected to chase the billion-dollar line. The first two Avatar films both went over $2B, and analysts are treating the third like a favorite to repeat.

The animation race is stacked this year

Even beyond the Ne Zha 2 snub, animated films are having a year.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is up for Best Motion Picture - Animated and looks like the anime heavyweight, thanks to a wave of fan support and box office muscle. It is sitting at 8.5/10 on IMDb and $768.9M worldwide.

Disney’s Zootopia 2 is doing exactly what you want from a legacy sequel: big crowd appeal, solid reviews, and serious cash. It is also nominated for Best Motion Picture - Animated, with a 7.7/10 IMDb score and $917.9M globally. It doubles up as a nominee in the Globes’ box office category, too.

Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters got a Best Motion Picture - Animated nod as well, riding social buzz and flashy supernatural action. It holds a 7.5/10 on IMDb and $24.6M worldwide, and it also popped up in the box office category.

On the artier side, Little Amélie or The Character of Rain and Arco both scored Best Motion Picture - Animated nominations. Each currently sits at 7.6/10 on IMDb, but their theatrical runs are tiny: $1.5M for Little Amélie and $3.1M for Arco.

Pixar’s Elio is in the animated lineup too, with a 6.7/10 IMDb score and $154.2M global box office.

Back to the snub

Ne Zha 2 did not just win; it lapped the field. Highest-grossing animated film of the year, full stop. And yet it is absent from the Globes category that is literally designed to celebrate box office dominance and broad impact. You can call it favoritism, a Hollywood bubble, or just awards-season chaos. Honestly, it feels like a bit of all three.

If a movie can bulldoze past $2B and still get sidelined in a box office award, what exactly are we rewarding?

The Avatar release plan

Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in U.S. theaters on December 19, 2025, after its Los Angeles world premiere at the Dolby Theatre on December 1.