
Critics may have been divided on Emilia Pérez, Netflix’s movie about a Mexican gang leader who transitions to escape death, but the Oscars voting academy aren’t. The movie picked up 13 nominations today, including Best Picture, at an event postponed twice due to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. It makes Emilia Pérez a historical movie, with it now holding the record for the most Oscar nominations earned by a film not in the English language. The movie’s lead, Karla Sofía Gascón, also becomes the first trans actor to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Close behind with 10 nominations is The Brutalist, Brady Corbet’s historical epic that has garnered as much attention for its 3 hour 15 minute runtime as it has for its bold cinematography and confident storytelling. Adrien Brody could pick up his second Best Actor Oscar for his role as Holocaust survivor László Tóth, while Guy Pearce is also nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category.
These are the big two established early favorites in this year’s Oscars race. Think of Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist as a kind of Barbenheimer for people who appreciate both Bauhaus architecture and Selena Gomez singing in Spanish.
You also can’t rule out Wicked this year. The hit musical earned 10 nominations ahead of this year’s ceremony, with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande nominated in Best Actress and Best Actress in a Supporting Role respectively.
The political landscape of the United States plays a role in how voters cast their ballots (as suggested by both Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong earning nominations for their roles in Trump biopic The Apprentice). It’s a narrative whereby a movie like Wicked, with its story of resilience, authenticity, and not judging others, could strike a chord with voters adjusting to the return of Trump to the White House. You can frame The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez in similar terms: One is about the insularity of a family business, the other representing the Academy’s increasingly international makeup.
Rounding out the Best Picture category are Anora, Conclave, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, and The Substance. Best Actor nominee Timothée Chalamet has two movies in the race: his Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and Dune: Part Two. It is Chalamet who poses the strongest threat to Brody winning Best Actor, with his impressive take on Dylan earning him an army of new fans among the dad community. It would also be foolish to rule out Colman Domingo, a magnetic actor whose role in Sing Sing, about a theater company inside a prison, is one of the most affecting of the year.
Unlike 2024, where Oppenheimer had the Best Picture, Director, and Actor races wrapped up from the jump, this year’s nominees represent a wide spread of possibilities. I would personally love to see Demi Moore take home the Best Actress award for her fully committed role in The Substance. She deserves it for that crushing mirror scene alone. But then there is also Mikey Madison, a revelation in Anora, a brash Brooklyn sex worker who gets in way over her head with a Russian heir. Nobody under the age of 30 has taken home an acting Oscar since Emma Stone won for La La Land in 2016, and Madison is deserving of the accolade.
Of course, so were many others and it remains an injustice that Challengers was completely shut out of this year’s Oscars race. Luca Guadagnino, Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist could all have got shortlisted in another year. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross didn’t even get nominated for the movie’s pulsating techno score, which feels like a true oversight. Similarly, I’d have had Nicole Kidman on the Best Actress list for Babygirl. Perhaps getting to watch co-star Harris Dickinson dance to George Michael’s “Father Figure” is reward enough for her.
Host Conan O’Brien will preside over this year’s Oscars, which will take place on Sunday, March 2. Expect it to be a close and unpredictable battle between Emilia Pérez, The Brutalist, and Wicked. It’s unlikely there is much crossover between audiences of all three but any great contest needs a bit of tribalism thrown into the mix. Whoever emerges victorious, it’s sure to be a contentious and exciting evening.
2025 Oscar nominations
Best picture
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Best actor
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Best actress
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here
Best supporting actor
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Best supporting actress
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldana, Emilia Pérez
Best directing
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance