Following two years of delays and Jonathan Majors controversies, the chances of Magazine Dreams entering the Oscars mix for 2026 are not favorable. Magazine Dreams is a bodybuilding drama written and directed by Elijah Bynum. It features Jonathan Majors in the lead role as Killian Maddox, an aspiring bodybuilder loosely inspired by a real person. The movie finally hit theaters on March 21, 2025, after Briarcliff Entertainment picked up the distribution. Its release comes well before the nominations for the Oscars 2026 really take shape.

The release of the 2025 bodybuilding drama is a long time coming for all involved. It was first seen at film festivals in 2023, and the reactions were unanimous in their praise for Jonathan Majors’ lead performance as Killian Maddox. Fast forward to 2025, and Magazine Dreams is a more controversial release. It comes after Jonathan Majors’ ᴀssault charges, additional allegations, and his guilty conviction. That’s significantly changed the film’s Oscars prospects. While the 98th Academy Awards are still nearly a year away, here’s where Magazine Dreams‘ odds stand to get nominations, including for Majors’ performance.

Jonathan Majors Was Positioned As A Best Actor Oscar Frontrunner 2 Years Ago After Magazine Dreams Premiered

Early Reactions Led To Oscar Predictions For Him

The Oscars buzz for Magazine Dreams began two years ago when the movie debuted at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Early reactions praised his powerhouse performance and called it the best of his career. It didn’t take long for early predictions to begin that he could receive a Best Actor nomination for the Oscars 2024. That buzz only continued from there, making Jonathan Majors look like a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination, at the very least, for his performance in Magazine Dreams.

The praise for Majors’ performance also came amid his meteoric rise as a Hollywood star. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania debuted a few weeks later. While reactions were mixed, his performance was viewed as one of the film’s best parts. His character, Kang, was even teed up to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next big bad and be a central antagonist for years to come. A few weeks later, Majors was back delivering a powerful performance in Creed III. He was positioned as Hollywood’s next major star whose best performance was still on the way.

That’s why Searchlight Pictures moved to acquire Magazine Dreams. The studio gave it a December 8, 2023, release date. That would have put Magazine Dreams‘ release in the middle of awards season. Searchlight believed the movie would be an Oscars contender in some fashion. Jonathan Majors was well-positioned for a Best Actor nomination, but additional nominations could have also come the film’s way in other categories.

In retrospect, Jonathan Majors would have radically shaken up the Oscars 2024 if Magazine Dreams made that release date without any controversies. Cillian Murphy won Best Acor for Oppenheimer, but he may not have if Majors maintained a frontrunner status. Even if Murphy did still win, the Magazine Dreams star was poised for a nomination. That would have meant one of Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers), or Colman Domingo (Rustin) would have lost their spot. There’s no telling who Jonathan Majors would have replaced, as awards season campaigning could have been very different.

Jonathan Majors’ Accusations Derailed Magazine Dreams’ Release & Oscar Chances

Everything Changed After His Arrest

Jonathan Majors was arrested on March 26, 2023, for allegedly ᴀssaulting his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. This led to more accusations against Jonathan Majors as other alleged abuse victims began cooperating with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Majors and his attorney repeatedly insisted that he was innocent. The charges went to trial on November 20, 2023. Majors was found guilty on December 18, 2023, of one count of reckless ᴀssault in the 3rd degree and a charge of harᴀssment as a violation. He was then sentenced to 52 weeks of a domestic violence intervention program and probation in April 2024.

There was a lot of fallout from the charges against Majors and his eventual conviction. He was dropped by his management company, Entertainment One, and his PR firm, The Lede Company, weeks after the initial arrest. Several promotional ad campaigns involving him were also halted. Even upcoming movies he was attached to went in different directions. The most notable of the latter came with Marvel Studios. Immediately after his conviction in November 2023, Marvel fired Jonathan Majors as Kang, resulting in revising the cinematic universe plan.

Magazine Dreams & Jonathan Majors ᴀssault Charge Timeline

• January 20, 2023: Magazine Dreams debuts at Sundance Film Festival
• February 14, 2023: Searchlight Pictures acquires the rights to Magazine Dreams
• March 26, 2023: Jonathan Majors is arrested for alleged ᴀssault
• October 27, 2023: Magazine Dreams is pulled from Disney’s release calendar
• November 20, 2023: Jonathan Majors’ trial begins
• December 18, 2023: Jonathan Majors is convicted
• January 16, 2024: Searchlight Pictures gives back the rights to Magazine Dreams
• April 8, 2024: Jonathan Majors is sentenced to 52 weeks on parole
• October 2, 2024: Briarcliff Entertainment acquires the rights to Magazine Dreams
• March 21, 2025: Magazine Dreams releases in theaters

Magazine Dreams was another project caught in the limbo of uncertainty surrounding Jonathan Majors. Prior to the trial beginning, Disney removed the movie from its upcoming release calendar. Once he was found guilty, THR stated that it was “unlikely” Disney and Searchlight would release Magazine Dreams in any capacity, whether that be in theaters or straight to streaming. By January 2024, Disney relinquished the distribution rights so the movie could find another distributor who was willing to release it.

As a result of Jonathan Majors’ ᴀssault charges, Magazine Dreams sat on the shelf for over two years. It was not a factor at the 2024 Oscars as originally intended. By the time Briarcliff Entertainment acquired the film’s distribution rights in October 2024, it was too late for Magazine Dreams to come out that year and possibly enter the mix for Oscars 2025 nominations. Now with the movie getting a wide theatrical release, it has become Oscar-eligible for 2026.

It’s Unlikely Jonathan Majors Will Get An Oscar Nomination For Magazine Dreams Now

But He’s Still Trying To Make A Comeback

With basically a full year to go before the Oscars 2026, there’s no telling what the race for Best Actor will really look like. Timothée Chalamet, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Leonardo DiCaprio are a few actors who are seemingly already angling to get nominations. Majors’ performance is good enough to warrant awards consideration, that much is true. However, the controversy surrounding him is still too fresh. Most of Hollywood will likely be disinterested in recognizing his performance with an Oscar nomination less than two years after he was found guilty.

Still, the actor does have some support. In the lead up to Magazine Dreams‘ release, people like Whoopi Goldberg, Michael B. Jordan, and Matthew McConaughey vouched for Majors (via THR). He’s certainly attempting to change his public image, even as more controversies around the ᴀssaults emerge. The reality is that Jonathan Majors will need a lot more support in Hollywood circles to have a chance to enter the Oscar race. The odds are stacked against him given how fresh his abuse is, so it would be a real surprise if he got an Oscar nomination at this stage.

But Hollywood can also be a forgiving business. Several actors have had abuse charges against them and received Oscar nominations afterward. Mel Gibson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery charges in 2011 and got a Best Director Oscar nomination six years later for Hacksaw Ridge. Josh Brolin was arrested for domestic abuse in 2004, and while the charges were dropped, he received an Oscar nomination five years later. Jonathan Majors getting an Oscar nomination for Magazine Dreams would be far faster. If he ever gets an Oscar nomination, it won’t be for this role.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter [1, 2]