Barely anyone turned out to see the controversial Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice when it opened in cinemas late last year. But Academy voters clearly loved it enough to reward its two main actors — Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong — with Oscar nominations on Thursday.
Sebastian Stan, who plays a young Trump during his rise to prominence in the late 70s and 80s, scored an Academy Award nomination for lead actor, while Succession star Jeremy Strong was recognized in the supporting actor category for his turn as Roy Cohn.
The two nominations represent a major rebuke to President Donald Trump and the decisive majority of American voters who chose to bring him back to the White House.
While the recent Golden Globes was mostly politics-free, the nods for The Apprentice mean the March 2 Oscars broadcast on ABC could feature some anti-Trump celebrity grandstanding — a potentially alienating factor for tens of millions of possible viewers.
The Apprentice — directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Vanity Fair scribe Gabriel Sherman — has provoked controversy since it debuted in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
U.S. distributors gave the movie the cold shoulder after Trump threatened legal action against the filmmakers for what he alleged was a false portrayal of him.
Ultimately, the indie label Briarcliff Entertainment released the movie domestically, giving it a wide theatrical opening rather than a platform release. The movie bombed badly, earning a per-screen average of about $862 on its opening weekend.
The Apprentice ended up grossing $4 million theatrically in the U.S. despite extensive mainstream media coverage promoting the movie.
The annual Oscars broadcast continues to struggle badly with ratings as more and more American households opt to tune out.
Last year’s Oscars drew just 19.5 million viewers, despite hype around Barbie and Oppenheimer. Just ten years ago, in 2014, the Oscar telecast drew 43.7 million viewers. The year Titanic was nominated in 1998, the show drew 55 million viewers.
