A CEO, two believers, and a wild accusation
Bugonia centres on Teddy, played by Jesse Plemons, and Don, played by Aidan Delbis, two conspiracy-obsessed young men who abduct Michelle, played by Emma Stone, a high-profile corporate CEO whom they believe is an alien intent on destroying Earth. That premise, absurd on paper, becomes terrifying on screen, because Lanthimos plays it straight, with deadpan humour, cold visuals, and a tension that never lets up.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos earned a Best Director nomination in BAFTA and Oscar conversations for Bugonia, which earned four Oscar nominations in total, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Stone, according to Oscar guides. That awards showing, for a film about alien conspiracy and abduction, shows how far Lanthimos has brought his strange, distinctive cinema into the mainstream.
The film is a remake of the South Korean film Save the Green Planet, but Lanthimos makes it his own, with American corporate satire, conspiracy culture, and a central performance from Stone that is both funny and frightening. Michelle is not a victim waiting to be saved. She is a CEO who fights back with intellect, humour, and sheer will, which makes her abduction a battle of wits, not just a crime.
Stone, Plemons, and a battle of beliefs
Stone plays Michelle as a woman used to control, suddenly stripped of it, and her performance earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination, and a BAFTA Leading Actress nomination, alongside Jessie Buckley, Renate Reinsve, Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, and Chase Infiniti. Stone's Michelle is sharp, funny, and desperate, often in the same scene, which is why the film works, because you believe she could talk her way out, or fight her way out, or both.
Plemons plays Teddy as a true believer, not as a cartoon villain, which makes him scarier. Teddy genuinely believes Michelle is an alien, and Plemons plays that belief with sincerity, not with winking comedy, which forces viewers to take conspiracy thinking seriously, as a human tragedy, not just as a joke. Delbis as Don, Teddy's younger accomplice, adds a sadder, more impressionable layer, a young man following a leader he trusts, into a crime he barely understands.
Lanthimos directs with his usual style, symmetrical frames, awkward pauses, and dialogue that feels both formal and absurd, which creates a world that is recognisably ours, but slightly off, like a dream you cannot wake from. That style divides audiences, with some finding it hilarious and others finding it cold, but it is unmistakably Lanthimos, and Bugonia is one of his most accessible films, despite its strange premise.
Conspiracy culture, on screen, without preaching
Bugonia works as satire because it does not preach about conspiracy theories, it shows how they feel from inside. Teddy and Don are not stupid, they are lonely, angry, and looking for an explanation for a world that feels rigged against them. Michelle, as a powerful CEO, becomes an easy target for that anger, because she represents the system they blame, whether she deserves it or not.
The film also satirises corporate power, because Michelle's company, and her public image, are part of why Teddy targets her. She is not an innocent bystander, she is a powerful woman in a powerful job, and the film lets viewers debate whether she is a victim, a villain, or both, without giving a simple answer. That moral ambiguity is Lanthimos at his best, refusing to tell you who to root for, and letting you sit with discomfort.
In a year of conspiracy-fuelled politics, Bugonia feels timely, without being a message film. It does not say conspiracy believers are evil, or that CEOs are aliens, or that truth is simple. It says belief is powerful, dangerous, and human, and that a story about an alien abduction can be a story about loneliness, power, and the need to be believed.
Awards, audiences, and the Lanthimos effect
Bugonia earned four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress, and BAFTA nominations for Best Film, Director for Lanthimos, Leading Actress for Stone, and Supporting Actor for Plemons, according to awards listings. That showing, for a film this strange, confirms Lanthimos as one of cinema's most awards-friendly auteurs, after Poor Things, The Favourite, and Kinds of Kindness.
Audiences split on Bugonia, as they do on most Lanthimos films, with some loving its dark comedy, and others finding it too cold, too long, or too weird. That split is not a failure, it is the film's design, because Lanthimos does not make films for everyone, he makes films for viewers who enjoy being unsettled, and Bugonia unsettles in the best way, by making you laugh, then making you feel guilty for laughing.
The film is available on Peacock, according to streaming guides, after its cinema run, which makes it easy to watch at home, where its claustrophobic abduction scenes feel even more intense. Watch it with friends, because Bugonia demands debate, about Teddy, about Michelle, and about whether you would believe an alien story, if you were lonely enough.
Should you watch Bugonia, and what to expect
Watch Bugonia if you like dark comedies that are also thrillers, with strong performances and a director who trusts you to handle ambiguity. Do not expect a straightforward alien film, with spaceships and laser guns, because Bugonia's aliens are a belief, not a special effect, and its horror is human, not extraterrestrial.
Expect to argue afterwards, about who was right, who was wrong, and whether Michelle is telling the truth. That argument is the film's gift, because it mirrors the film's own debate, about truth, power, and belief, in a world where everyone thinks they know the real story, and no one quite does.
Sources and reporting
- People — 2026 · Verifies Bugonia Oscar nominations for Picture and Actress, and Stone, Plemons and Delbis roles
- People — 2026 · Verifies Bugonia BAFTA nominations for Film, Director, Leading Actress and Supporting Actor
- Trends Glance — 2026 · Verifies Bugonia among Best Picture contenders and Stone among Best Actress nominees
