Zac Efron's Sports Movie That Was Snubbed At The Oscars Is Streaming On Netflix

Netflix isn't just terrible Kevin Hart movies and films that make you question whether the AI garbage future we've all been dreading is already here. As you might expect given the streamer's expansive catalog, there are plenty of great films on offer alongside the dross, and the Zac Efron-led sports drama "The Iron Claw" is the latest example. Having been completely ignored by the Academy back in 2024, the movie is currently available to stream on Netflix, allowing the uninitiated to decide for themselves whether Efron's film was unfairly overlooked.

The 2023 film is based on the complicated true story of the Von Erich family, whose patriarch, Jack Barton Adkisson Sr., aka Fritz Von Erich, was an internationally renowned wrestler and owner of the Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling. Von Erich also fathered six sons in his lifetime: Jack Jr., Kevin, David, Kerry, Mike, and Chris. "The Iron Claw" tells the real-life story of this family, which suffered unrelenting tragedy as the Von Erich sons struggled to live up to their father's expectations and become the championship wrestlers he desired.

Written and directed by Sean Durkin, "The Iron Claw" is a Texas-sized tragedy told with blood, sweat, and heart. That proved to be a winning formula with critics, who hailed Efron's performance as the second-oldest son, Kevin Von Erich, as being his greatest yet. Sadly, that didn't quite translate to awards success, as the Academy decided Durkin's film and Efron's performance simply weren't worthy of acknowledgement.

"The Iron Claw" is a pretty gloomy film — one that, by the end, will leave you marveling at just how much tragedy can befall a single family, especially when you learn that several unthinkable real-world calamities were actually left out of the movie. But despite being so dark, "The Iron Claw" managed to earn rave reviews from critics, resulting in an impressive 89% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.

"[Zac] Efron is an underrated actor, and this is a star-making performance," wrote Simran Hans of the New Statesman. "Efron's performance is the one that sticks with you," exclaimed David Fear of Rolling Stone. And the love for Efron's rendition of Kevin Von Erich kept on coming, with the San Jose Mercury News' Randy Myers heaping even more praise on his portrayal of the increasingly beleaguered Von Erich scion. "It's Efron's sensitive performance," he wrote, "and his transformation into an intimidating physical presence that you can't help but gawk at in astonishment, all while it breaks you apart."

On top of the critical response, "The Iron Claw" was a commercial success, making $45.2 million at the global box office on a $15.9 million budget. With critics and audiences being equally impressed, everyone expected the film to at least earn a few nominations at the 96th Academy Awards. Then, to everyone's surprise, it was completely snubbed.

"The Iron Claw" going unrecognized by the Academy is one of many egregious oversights in the history of the awards. Heck, the 2026 Oscars alone involved plenty of snubs, and the dismissal of "The Iron Claw" is far from one of the most controversial Oscar snubs of all time. Yet, the film being denied any nominations prompted significant discourse and even a response from Sean Durkin.

Vulture noted how surprising it was "when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences ignores a movie that seems to check as many of its usual boxes as 'The Iron Claw.'" What's more, it noticed that Durkin's film had also failed to garner "much from the precursor guild awards or other voting groups." As explanation, Vulture offered the fact that the film came out late in the season, its subject matter (wrestling), and Zac Efron himself, who, while demonstrating his considerable acting chops in the movie itself, was still far from the type of performer the Academy was prepared to reward.

Entertainment Weekly similarly wondered out loud why Efron's film had been overlooked, citing the fact that by the time "The Iron Claw" debuted, A24 had "put all their FYC funds and efforts behind campaigns for its other two awards-friendly films that came out earlier in the year, 'The Zone of Interest' and 'Past Lives.'" Meanwhile, when asked about the lack of awards recognition, Durkin told Digital Spy that he was focusing on the positive. "It's clearly affecting people emotionally, and it's meaningful and that's why we do it," he replied. "It's a huge success for me." If you're yet to see the film and want to know what all the fuss is about, it's available to stream on Netflix right now.