Film’s biggest night is shaping up to be a fierce competition as the critically acclaimed films of 2024 compete for top honors in various categories
The 2025 Academy Awards Nominations: “Emila Perez,” “Wicked” and “The Brutalist” Take Center Stage
BY Alo Folakemi
January 27, 2025
12:49 pm
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is gearing up for a thrilling yet intense award ceremony as the critically acclaimed films of 2024 compete in twenty-three categories for the ultimate chance at an Oscar.
The nominations were announced on Jan. 23, 2025, by Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott via the Oscars Youtube live stream, and films like “Emilia Perez,” “Anora,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Wicked”, “The Brutalist,” “The Substance,” “Conclave,” and “Dune Part: Two” earned multiple nominations in various categories, solidifying their resilience during this award season. Many of the films nominated have won awards at other major film ceremonies like The Golden Globes and critics’ associations like the Georgia Film Critics Association and the Hollywood Critics Association.
The Oscars will take place on Mar. 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Comedian Conan O’Brien is set to host the show for the first time in a live telecast on the ABC Network, with a simultaneous streaming option on Hulu. This is the first Oscars ceremony to be broadcast live on a streaming service. Kay Mullan and Raj Kapoor return as the award ceremony’s executive producers.
Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” is the most nominated film this year with thirteen nods. It is also the most nominated non-English language film in Oscars history, surpassing its predecessors “Roma,” “Crouching Tiger,” and “Dragon.” Karla Sofia Gascon earns her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress as the titular character in the musical crime film; she solidifies her place in history as the first openly transgender person to be nominated for the prestigious award. Another first-time nominee is Zoe Saldana for Best Supporting Actress. She previously won the Golden Globe award in this category.
Before Demi Moore’s historic win at the Golden Globes, she had been getting Oscar buzz for her role in the horror film “The Substance.” Now, a nomination is officially hers as she scores a nod in the Best Actress category- her first ever nomination despite being active in Hollywood since 1981.
“The Substance” director, Coralie Fargeat, joins an exclusive list of women nominated for Best Director. In the Oscars’ ninety-seven-year history, only nine women have been nominated in the Best Director category, and three have won thus far.
Fans and critics are hailing the five nominations for “The Substance” as a step in the right direction, as it has been rightfully observed that The Academy barely gives due consideration to horror films. Hopefully, in the future, the horror genre will gain more recognition from the Academy voters.
Another woman making Oscar history is Cynthia Erivo. The British actress and singer is now a three-time Oscar nominee thanks to her role as Elphaba in the musical fantasy “Wicked.” With her Best Actress nomination, she became the second black woman nominated multiple times in the Best Actress category after Viola Davis.
“Wicked” ties “The Brutalist” as the second-most nominated film this year with ten nominations each. Despite Jon M. Chu’s shocking snub from the Best Director race, the film is nominated in key categories like Best Picture, Best Original Score, and Best Supporting Actress for Ariana Grande-another first-time nominee.
The period drama “The Brutalist” has been the brightest star of this year’s award season, dominating critical film conversations and challenging the traditional methods of producing period dramas. The film’s multiple nominations are a testament to director Brady Corbert”s tenacity as he struggled to bring the post-war production to life due to financial constraints and investors’ inability to comprehend the film’s three-hour timeline. Now, he’s a Best Director nominee. Adrien Brody, an Oscar winner and the youngest actor to win in the Best Actor category for 2002’s “The Pianist,” is back in the Best Actor race with his nomination in “The Brutalist.” He is easily the frontrunner in the category after winning the Golden Globe at the start of 2025.
Guy Pearce also earns his first Academy nomination and Felicity Jones her second for “The Brutalist.”
Religious thriller “Conclave” secures eight nominations from The Academy despite pushback from the Catholic community over the film’s exaggerated portrayal of the Christian denomination’s doctrines.
Straight from her Golden Globe win, Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres secures a Best Actress nomination for the political drama “I’m Still Here.” As another history-maker, she joins her mother Fernanda Montenegro as the only Brazilian actresses nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars.
Indie films like “Anora,” “Flow,” and “Nickel Boys” have much to celebrate this year as they gain recognition from the Oscars. The Denis Villeneuve desert saga “Dune: Part Two” is part of an elite class of blockbusters nominated for an Academy Award. It’s the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2024, and this year, it’s nominated in five categories, including Best Picture.
Other first-time nominees at the 2025 Academy Awards are Mikey Madison, Sean Baker, and Yura Borisov (“Anora”), Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong (“The Apprentice”), Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”), and Monica Barbaro (“A Complete Unknown”).
Universal Studios dominated the nominations list with a whopping twenty-five nods, followed by Netflix with sixteen nods. Indie entertainment company A24 trails in third place with fourteen nods.
Final voting in the different categories commences on Feb. 11 and ends on Feb. 18.
View the 2025 Academy Award nominations here.