Oscar Nominations 2025: ‘Emilia Pérez’ Leads With 13 Nods, ‘Wicked’ and ‘The Brutalist’ Follow With 10

“Emilia Pérez,” a musical about a drug kingpin who undergoes gender affirming surgery, topped the 2025 Oscar nominations with 13 nods. It was followed closely behind by “The Brutalist,” a historical epic the examines the immigrant experience, and “Wicked,” the hit screen version of a long-running Broadway sensation, which both nabbed 10 nominations. “Conclave,” a thriller about the election of a new pope, and “A Complete Unknown,” a look at Bob Dylan’s early, freewheelin’ years, each had eight nominations. All five of those films are up for best picture, the ceremony’s top prize, alongside indies like “Anora,” “Nickel Boys,” and “I’m Still Here,” as well as the body horror film, “The Substance,” and “Dune: Part Two,” one of the rare studio blockbusters to garner Oscar attention.

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The Academy Awards nominations were unveiled Thursday after voting had been extended twice because of the wildfires that have devastated Los Angeles, resulting in the deaths of at least 28 people and catastrophic property damage. This week, the Oscars announced that its March telecast will “acknowledge those who fought so bravely against the wildfires.”

Timothée Chalamet, who has proved his box office drawing power with “Dune” and “Wonka,” was nominated for best actor for his chameleonic performance as Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.” He will face off against “The Brutalist” star Adrien Brody, who became the youngest best actor winner in history at 29 for 2003’s “The Pianist.” Other best actor nominees include Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”), Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”), and Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”). Stan’s recognition came after “The Apprentice,” a Donald Trump biopic in which he plays the real estate mogul, struggled to get distribution — companies were concerned about getting on the bad side of the 47th president. His co-star Jeremy Strong, who plays Trump mentor Roy Cohn, was also nominated for best supporting actor.

Demi Moore, who had been one of Hollywood’s brightest stars in the 1990s, continued her career comeback, capturing a best actress nomination for “The Substance,” a subversive horror film that examines the movie industry’s sexism and ageism. Her fellow best actress contender, “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón, made history as the first openly transgender actor nominated for an Oscar. Mikey Madison (“Anora”), Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”) and Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”) rounded out the list of best actress nominees.

Strong’s “Succession” co-star Kieran Culkin was also nominated for best supporting actor for his work as a young man whose wisecracks mask his emotional turmoil in “A Real Pain.” He is widely considered to be the frontrunner after earning several critics prizes and a Golden Globe. Culkin and Strong will vie for the prize against Edward Norton (“A Complete Unknown”), Yura Borisov (“Anora”) and Guy Pearce (“The Brutalist”).

Zoe Saldaña, best known for headlining blockbusters like “Avatar,” got to show her singing-and-dancing side as an idealistic lawyer in “Emilia Pérez.” She was rewarded with a best supporting actress nomination. Her competition includes Ariana Grande (“Wicked”), Felicity Jones (“The Brutalist”), Monica Barbaro (“A Complete Unknown”) and Isabella Rossellini (“Conclave”). Rossellini’s mother, Ingrid Bergman, won the third of her Oscars in the best supporting actress category for 1974’s “Murder on the Orient Express.”

Brady Corbet, who struggled for nearly a decade to bring “The Brutalist” to the screen after financing for the project collapsed several times, was nominated for best director. His competition includes French auteurs Jacques Audiard (“Emilia Pérez”) and Coralie Fargeat (“The Substance”), as well as arthouse maverick Sean Baker (“Anora”) and studio mainstay James Mangold (“A Complete Unknown”). Every one of those filmmakers was nominated in multiple categories, having performed several different roles on the movies they made. Baker, for instance, is also nominated for editing, producing and penning the screenplay, while Audiard was recognized for writing a song his film, as well as co-writing its script.

Universal, which owns indie label Focus, dominated the nominations with 25 nods, the bulk of which came for “Wicked” and “Conclave.” Netflix, which released “Emilia Pérez,” scored 16 nominations, while A24, a plucky indie distributor known for embracing risky fare such as”The Brutalist,” a three-hour meditation on art and commerce, had 14 nominations.

There were several notable snubs and surprises. Denzel Washington, once seen as a lock for his villainous performance in “Gladiator II,” was overlooked, as was Margaret Qualley, who earned raves for playing Moore’s younger doppelgänger in “The Substance.” And Edward Berger, who gave “Conclave” its propulsive energy, and Jon M. Chu, who designed “Wicked’s” electrifying musical sequences, were shut out of the best director race, while “A Real Pain” failed to capture a best picture nomination despite earning some of the year’s best reviews.

The Oscars were first handed out nearly a century ago as a way to promote the movie business. In the ensuing 97 years, the film industry has undergone tectonic shifts — introducing sound and color (revolutions that changed the business forever), as well as 3D and Smell-O-Vision and 4DX (gambits that had less of an impact) — but few have been more significant than the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix.

These services have fundamentally altered the way movies are seen and experienced, and the theatrical part of the film business has often struggled to keep up. At the same time, COVID and a series of labor strikes in 2023 has left Hollywood with fewer movies to screen in cinemas. The impact of those disruptions can be tracked empirically, as the box office has failed to fully rebound from the pandemic. Domestic ticket sales in 2024 topped out at $8.7 billion, down more than 3.3% from 2023 (when revenues hit $9.04 billion) and down 23.5% from 2019 (when revenues reached $11.3 billion in the last pre-COVID period). And the stalled recovery has come as studios and streamers have enacted a series of cutbacks and shed jobs. Many of these companies — from Warner Bros. Discovery to Paramount Global — have sold themselves as the business has engaged in a period of frenzied consolidation that shows no signs of stopping.

The natural disasters that Los Angeles is still experiencing, as well as the corporate upheaval the business is stumbling through, means that the Academy Awards may feel less celebratory than usual. It will fall to Conan O’Brien, a former late night talk show staple turned podcasting mogul, to try to lift spirits as he embarks on his first stint as Oscars host. The show that O’Brien presides over will be held at the Dolby Theatre on March 2, with the Oscars airing, as it long has, on ABC. For the first time, it will also be available to stream live on Hulu, a concession to the shifting ways that audiences are watching movies and shows.

See the full list of nominees below as they’re announced.

Best Picture

“Anora,” (Neon) Alex Coco, Samantha Quan and Sean Baker, Producers  

“The Brutalist” (A24)

“A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight) Fred Berger, James Mangold and Alex Heineman, Producers

“Conclave” (Focus Features) Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman, Producers

“Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe and Denis Villeneuve, Producers

“Emilia Pérez” (Netflix)

“I’m Still Here” (Sony Pictures Classic)

“Nickel Boys” (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)

“The Substance” (MUBI)

“Wicked” (Universal) Marc Platt, Producer

Best Director 

Sean Baker, “Anora” 

Brady Corbet  “The Brutalist”  

James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown”

Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”  

Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance” 

Actor in a Leading Role 

Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”  

Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”  

Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”  

Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”  

Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice” 

Actress in a Leading Role 

Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked” 

Karla Sofía Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”  

Mikey Madison, “Anora”  

Demi Moore, “The Substance”  

Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”  

Actor in a Supporting Role

Yura Borisov, “Anora” 

Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”  

Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown” 

Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist” 

Jeremy Strong, “The Apprentice”  

Actress in a Supporting Role 

Monica Barbaro, “A Complete Unknown” 

Ariana Grande, “Wicked”

Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”

Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave” 

Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”

Adapted Screenplay

“A Complete Unknown”, Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks 

“Conclave,” Screenplay by Peter Straughan  

“Emilia Pérez,” Screenplay by Jacques Audiard in collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi

“Nickel Boys,” Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes 

“Sing Sing,” Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield

Original Screenplay

“Anora,” Written by Sean Baker  

“The Brutalist,” Written by Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold 

“A Real Pain,” Written by Jesse Eisenberg 

“September 5,” Written by Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Co-Written by Alex David

“The Substance,” Written by Coralie Fargeat 

Animated Short Film 

“Beautiful Men,” (Miyu Distribution) Nicolas Keppens and Brecht Van Elslande 

“In the Shadow of Cypress,” Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi  

“Magic Candies,” (Toei Animation) Daisuke Nishio and Takashi Washio

“Wander to Wonder,” ” (Miyu Distribution) Nina Gantz and Stienette Bosklopper

“Yuck!” (Miyu Distribution) Loïc Espuche and Juliette Marquet

Costume Design 

“A Complete Unknown,” Arianne Phillips  

“Conclave,” Lisy Christl  

“Gladiator II,” Janty Yates and Dave Crossman  

“Nosferatu,” Linda Muir  

“Wicked,” Paul Tazewell  

Live Action Short Film

“A Lien,” Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz  

“Anuja,” Adam J. Graves and Suchitra Mattai  

“I’m Not a Robot” (The New Yorker) Victoria Warmerdam and Trent

“The Last Ranger,” Cindy Lee and Darwin Shaw  

“The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” (Manifest) Nebojša Slijepčević and Danijel Pek

Makeup and Hairstyling 

“A Different Man,” Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado 

“Emilia Pérez,” Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini

“Nosferatu,” David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne StokesMunton  

“The Substance,” Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli

 “Wicked,” Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth  

Original Score

“The Brutalist,” Daniel Blumberg  

“Conclave,” Volker Bertelmann 

“Emilia Pérez,” Clément Ducol and Camille  

“Wicked,” John Powell and Stephen Schwartz

“The Wild Robot,” Kris Bowers

Animated Feature Film 

“Flow” (Sideshow/Janus Films)

“Inside Out 2” (Walt Disney) Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen

“Memoir of a Snail” (IFC Films) Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney

“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (Netflix)

“The Wild Robot” (Universal) Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann

Cinematography 

“The Brutalist,” Lol Crawley  

“Dune: Part Two,” Greig Fraser 

“Emilia Pérez,” Paul Guilhaume  

“Maria,” Ed Lachman  

“Nosferatu,” Jarin Blaschke  

Documentary Feature Film 

“Black Box Diaries” (MTV Documentary Films) Shiori Ito, Eric Nyari and Hanna Aqvilin

“No Other Land,” Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham

“Porcelain War” (Picturehouse) Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, Aniela Sidorska and Paula DuPre’ Pesmen

“Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” (Kino Lorber) Johan Grimonprez, Daan Milius and Rémi Grellety

“Sugarcane” (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Documentary Short Film 

“Death by Numbers” Kim A. Snyder and Janique L. Robillard

“I Am Ready, Warden” (MTV Documentary Films) Smriti Mundhra and Maya Gnyp

“Incident” (The New Yorker) Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven

“Instruments of a Beating Heart”  (The New York Times OpDocs/Cineric Creative) Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Eric Nyari

“The Only Girl in the Orchestra” (Netflix) Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington

Film Editing

“Anora” Sean Baker

“The Brutalist” David Jancso

“Conclave” Nick Emerson 

“Emilia Pérez” Juliette Welfling

“Wicked” Myron Kerstein 

International Feature Film 

“I’m Still Here,” Brazil 

“The Girl with the Needle,” Denmark 

“Emilia Pérez,” France  

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” Germany  

“Flow,” Latvia

Original Song

“El Mal” from “Emilia Pérez,” Music by Clément Ducol and Camille, Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard

“The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight,” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren  

“Like a Bird” from “Sing Sing,” Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada

“Mi Camino” from “Emilia Pérez,” Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol 

“Never Too Late” from “Elton John: Never Too Late,” Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin

Production Design 

“The Brutalist,” Production Design: Judy Becker, Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia

“Conclave,” Production Design: Suzie Davies, Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter

“Dune: Part Two,” Production Design: Patrice Vermette, Set Decoration: Shane Vieau

“Nosferatu,” Production Design: Craig Lathrop, Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová

“Wicked,” Production Design: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Sound

“A Complete Unknown,” Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco 

“Dune: Part Two,” Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill

“Emilia Perez,” Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta

“Wicked,” Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis

“The Wild Robot,” Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo and Leff Lefferts

Visual Effects

“Alien: Romulus,” Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan

“Better Man,”  Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs

“Dune: Part Two,” Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke

“Wicked,” Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould