Why Jennifer Lopez Won’t Play the Oscar Game for Kiss of the Spider Woman

Jennifer Lopez is back on the big screen with awards chatter already buzzing, and she is very deliberately not taking the bait. She is doing the press, doing the work, and not pinning her hopes on a statue this time.

"I don't put those expectations anywhere. I learned my lesson last time. But also, the joy, for me, is in doing it. Every single moment. It's great to be in the conversation... you're doing work that people recognize and that they love. That's enough."

- Jennifer Lopez on CBS Sunday Morning

The movie (and the very meta role)

In Kiss of the Spider Woman, Lopez plays Ingrid Luna, a glamorous Hollywood diva who exists in the fantasy world of a prisoner. It is one of those roles that asks for vocals, dance, and movie-star presence. Check, check, and check. It is also an intriguingly inside-baseball part for her: a larger-than-life screen goddess conjured in someone else’s imagination.

• Title: Kiss of the Spider Woman (2025)
• Genre: Musical drama
• Director and screenwriter: Bill Condon
• Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Diego Luna, Tonatiuh, Tony Dovolani, Josefina Scaglione, Bruno Bichir
• Rotten Tomatoes: 83% critics, audience score not yet available
• US release: October 10, 2025 (theatrical)

Why JLo is keeping her Oscar expectations on ice

If this sounds familiar, it is because she has been here before. Hustlers (2019) came with early awards hype and big nominations from the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice, and then the Oscars shut the door. That kind of whiplash will make anyone cautious.

There’s also the image hurdle: a lot of the industry still thinks of Lopez first as a performer and entertainer. That bias can creep into how people frame her acting work, no matter how polished the performance is. Add in the musical factor, which unfairly gets tagged as less 'serious' unless your title is La La Land or West Side Story, and you can see why she is not spiking the football in September for a February game.

So, does she have a shot?

Short answer: she is in the mix. Early buzz has singled out her turn as one of her most ambitious, and the supporting lane feels like the smartest awards path for her. Will she win? The field is crowded already, and predicting Academy moods is a fool’s errand. A nomination in Best Supporting Actress is absolutely plausible; a win is possible but far from guaranteed.

What is clear is that her headspace is in the right place: enjoy the role, do the work, let the noise be noise. Awards season will do what it does.

Kiss of the Spider Woman opens in US theaters on October 10, 2025. Place your bets — or don’t, if you are taking JLo’s approach.