Oscar Nominations for 2025: “Emilia Pérez” Takes the Lead with 13,
In a year when the best picture race was wide open, “The Brutalist” and “Wicked” each received ten nominations. Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Cynthia Erivo, and Demi Moore are among the acting candidates.
On Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented the 97th Academy Awards with nominees for underappreciated films with progressive political undertones.
With nominations in most of the major categories, including best picture and best director, “Emilia Pérez,” a musical examination of trans identity, and “The Brutalist,” a three-and-a-half-hour investigation of immigrant trauma and antisemitism, were the movies to beat. The Netflix film “Emilia Pérez” garnered the most nominations of any movie with a total of 13.
Ten nominations were given to A24’s low-budget film “The Brutalist,” which opens in theaters around the country on Friday. Voters responded favorably to one blockbuster, “Wicked,” which conveyed lessons about the perils of tyranny and the strength of resistance. Despite receiving ten nominations, it was unable to win the crucial directing and screenplay awards.
Over the past month, the acting races have become more distinct, but the best picture contest is still incredibly open. This year, several films are still vying for Hollywood’s top award, unlike last year, when “Oppenheimer” solidified its position as the front-runner almost instantly and never looked back.
The Vatican thriller “Conclave,” a body horror film that explores identity politics, “The Substance,” a feminist manifesto, “Nickel Boys,” a historical drama set at a racist reform school in 1960s Florida, “Anora,” a Cinderella tale about a sex worker who impulsively marries the hard-partying son of a Russian oligarch, “I’m Still Here,” a Brazilian drama about family life and political oppression, and the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” were among the nominees for best picture.
The category was completed by the high-profile studio productions “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two.” Previously having a sliding number with as few as five slots, the academy increased the number of best picture slots to 10 in 2022. The adjustments were presented by the academy as a component of a broader emphasis on inclusion, equity, and diversity.
As anticipated, the nominees for outstanding actor were Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”), Timothée Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”), Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”), and Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”). Sebastian Stan’s portrayal of an unscrupulous Donald Trump in “The Apprentice” earned him the wild card spot.
Since her moving acceptance speech on Hollywood pigeonholing at the Golden Globes this month, Demi Moore (“The Substance”) has been the front-runner to win Best Actor. In addition to handing best actress nominations to Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”), Mikey Madison (“Anora”), Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”), and Karla Sofía Gascón (“Emilia Pérez”), Academy voters waived her through to the nomination stage. The first openly transgender actress to be nominated for an Oscar was Gascón.
Kieran Culkin was nominated for best-supporting actor after winning a Golden Globe for his role in the dramedy “A Real Pain.” Jeremy Strong (“The Apprentice”), Edward Norton (“A Complete Unknown”), Guy Pearce (“The Brutalist”), and Yura Borisov (“Anora”) completed the category.
Both Zoe Saldaña (“Emilia Pérez”) and Ariana Grande (“Wicked”), who opted to compete as secondary candidates despite playing lead parts, received nominations from Oscar voters for supporting actress. Felicity Jones (“The Brutalist”), Monica Barbaro (“A Complete Unknown”), and Isabella Rossellini (“Conclave”) joined them.
The Academy’s efforts over the previous ten years to reduce the number of elderly white men in its voting membership may have been highlighted by the fact that 13 out of 20 acting candidates were first-time awardees. The number of voting members in the academy has increased from around 6,700 in 2017 to about 10,000 today.
The Academy put its choices, Sean Baker (“Anora”), Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”), and Jacques Audiard (“Emilia Pérez”), forward in the director category. French director Coralie Fargeat (“The Substance”) and James Mangold (“A Complete Unknown”) completed the category. Jon M. Chu (“Wicked”) and Edward Berger (“Conclave”) were notable exclusions.
In the 97-year history of the academy, Fargeat is the tenth female nominee in the best director category. Only three have won: Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”) in 2009, Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”) in 2021, and Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”) in 2022.
Favorite films “A Real Pain,” “The Brutalist,” and “Anora” are among the finalists for original screenplay. “The Substance” and “September 5” were awarded the final two spots.
“Conclave,” “Emilia Pérez,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Nickel Boys,” and “Sing Sing” all received mentions from the adapted screenplay.
With 16 nominations, more than any other distributor, and an announcement on Tuesday that it had surpassed 300 million members, Netflix is enjoying a spectacular week. The irreverent musical is the most-nominated movie in the history of the streaming service with 13 nominations for “Emilia Pérez” alone. Additionally, the Spanish-language musical “Emilia Pérez” became the most-nominated non-English-language film in Oscar history. With ten apiece, “Roma” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” were the previous record holders.
After being acquired by Netflix from the Cannes Film Festival the previous year, “Emilia Pérez” has been winning accolades ever since. Previously, with ten nominations, 2018’s “Roma” was Netflix’s most nominated movie. Berger’s 2022 drama “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which took home four Oscars, including Best International Feature Picture and best cinematography, is the company’s most successful production.
Since winning its first trophy in 2016 with the documentary short “The White Helmets,” the streaming behemoth has collected 23 more. Additionally, it has won two awards for best director: Alfonso Cuarón for Roma and Campion for The Power of the Dog. The much-coveted Best Picture award has not yet been awarded to it.
Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott convened an early-morning ceremony at the academy’s offices in Beverly Hills, California, to reveal the nominations. On March 2, the ceremony will take place.
In an attempt to select a host who would create excitement without going overboard, the Academy Awards’ organizers traded Jimmy Kimmel, a late-night comedian, for Conan O’Brien, a former late-night comedian. O’Brien, who has never hosted the Oscars before, is expected to inject some new energy into the program, which at best may come across as outdated and at worst as out of touch. He is a seasoned professional with decades of experience hosting award ceremonies, including the Emmys, and his comic manner makes him a safe option.
The academy postponed the nominee’s release due to the catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles County, which have burned at least 10,000 houses. In the midst of the destruction, Hollywood has been wondering about the event. Should it be transformed into a telethon to raise money? Or discarded completely?
Both of those ideas were rejected by Academy executives, who stated in a statement to members on Wednesday that their major goal for the event will still be “honoring the unifying spirit and creative synergy of moviemaking.” Nevertheless, the program would “give credit to those who bravely battled the wildfires.” The presentation would also “move away from live performances” of nominated songs, maybe to convey a sense of seriousness.
A more subdued Oscars would be a stark contrast to previous years when the academy tried to boost the ante in a desperate attempt to draw in more viewers. About 20 million people watched ABC’s telecast of the most recent ceremony, which was a four-year high. But as recently as 2014, twice as many tuned in.
In December, the Academy decided to webcast the Oscars online (on Hulu) for the first time in an effort to make the ceremony more relevant to young people. ABC continues to be the academy’s broadcast partner, and like Hulu, it is controlled by Disney.