Thoughts on the 2025 Oscar Nominations

The Oscar nominations were announced this week and there’s plenty of surprises this year. Some were genuinely pleasing, as with Sean Baker’s wild drama Anora and the body horror The Substance getting top honors of Best Picture. Some were expected, as with Wicked and Dune getting plenty of technical nominations. And then there some that were disheartening, like…okay, I won’t bury the lead, Emilia Pérez is weakest in every category, especially Best Picture. Here are some thoughts on each category.

Best Picture

• Anora
• The Brutalist
• A Complete Unknown
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• Emilia Pérez
• I’m Still Here
• Nickel Boys
• The Substance
• Wicked

With Anora being my favorite film of last year, it delighted me to see that film nominated. I doubt it has a chance of winning, but it really should for better encapsulating the anxiety and fury of fighting back we’ll need in the coming years. Of course, Emilia Pérez will have a better chance, considering its misfiring of transgender representation will be misread by the liberal voters as a vote for representation. But if you really care about trans people and actually talk to them about this Mexican musical directed by an elderly French guy, they’ll tell you the movie sucks and that there were far better trans films from last year, made by actual trans people. I would honestly be fine with any of these films winning over that musical trainwreck, but the only ones I think have a shot are The Brutalist and Conclave, though Brutalist seems to have a higher success rate.

Best Director

• Sean Baker – Anora
• Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
• James Mangold – A Complete Unknown
• Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
• Coralie Fargeat – The Substance

Again, I’m loving the nominations for Anora and The Substance, but I think Brady Corbet has got this nomination in the bag for The Brutalist. The direction of his American epic lives up to be as grand as its implications from the trailers. It’ll be highly deserving for Corbet to receive such an honor.

Best Actor

• Adrien Brody – The Brutalist as László Tóth
• Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown as Bob Dylan
• Colman Domingo – Sing Sing as John “Divine G” Whitfield
• Ralph Fiennes – Conclave as Thomas Cardinal Lawrence
• Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice as Donald Trump

Probably the only surprising nomination was Sebastian Stan for his portrayal of Donald Trump. He does an okay job trying to portray a more three-dimensional depiction of the spoiled brat turned President, but I couldn’t shake the sensation that it felt more like he was making a Bill Burr impression. I think the top spots for this category are the familiar bets of Adrien Brody and Ralph Fiennes, but I’m leaning more towards Brody for his exceptional performance of László Tóth, loaded with anxiety, flaws, and craving creative control amid the crumbling American dream.

Best Actress

• Cynthia Erivo – Wicked as Elphaba Thropp
• Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez as Emilia Pérez / Juan “Manitas” Del Monte
• Mikey Madison – Anora as Anora “Ani” Mikheeva
• Demi Moore – The Substance as Elisabeth Sparkle
• Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here as Eunice Paiva

I want to shout from a megaphone that Mikey Madison needs to win this award for her resonating performance, but I’m honestly more on the fence about this one. There’s a lot of choices that voters could view as political moves, favoring Gascón as trans representation or Erivo for improving the Academy’s lacking nominations for black women (which there were better options this year in films like Hard Truths, The Piano Lesson, and The Fire Inside). Torres might have a similar effect for giving some love to an international movie that’s not the mess of Emilia Pérez. But Demi Moore would be a fantastic dark horse to win in this category for his mesmerizing horror performance. It could go either way, but I’m pulling for Madison, even if she seems like the underdog in this category.

Best Supporting Actor

• Yura Borisov – Anora as Igor
• Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain as Benji Kaplan
• Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown as Pete Seeger
• Guy Pearce – The Brutalist as Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr.
• Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice as Roy Cohn

The Apprentice once again surprises, but I must admit that Strong’s performance was far more compelling than Stan’s depiction of Trump. Honestly, though, I don’t think he has much of a shot against reliable actors like Norton and Pierce, not to mention that genuine surprises of Borisov and Culkin stunning everybody with how great they were. I’d please with anybody winning this category, but Borisov is my pick, despite, much like Mikey Madison, is another underdog.

Best Supporting Actress

• Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown as Joan Baez
• Ariana Grande – Wicked as Galinda “Glinda” Upland
• Felicity Jones – The Brutalist as Erzsébet Tóth
• Isabella Rossellini – Conclave as Sister Agnes
• Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez as Rita Mora Castro

Saldaña might have a shot in this category for occupying so much of the screen, despite being so sparsely developed as a character in Emilia Pérez. Rossellini was so briefly included in Conclave’s central narrative and has so few lines, despite delivering a quietly compelling performance. I found more humanity within Felicity Jones in The Brutalist, playing a character who succumbs to just as much pressure and addiction as her husband.

Best Original Screenplay

• Anora – Sean Baker
• The Brutalist – Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold
• A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
• September 5 – Moritz Binder and Tim Fehlbaum; co-written by Alex David
• The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

I think Corbet has this category in the bag for The Brutalist. It’s a screenplay so good I initially thought it was based on a book or real person. It’s that brilliantly written.

Best Adapted Screenplay

• A Complete Unknown – James Mangold and Jay Cocks; based on the book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald
• Conclave – Peter Straughan; based on the novel Conclave by Robert Harris
• Emilia Pérez – Jacques Audiard; in collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius, and Nicolas Livecchi; based on the opera libretto Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard
• Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes; based on the novel The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
• Sing Sing – Screenplay by Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley; story by Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley, Clarence Maclin, and John “Divine G” Whitfield; based on the book The Sing Sing Follies by John H. Richardson

Considering Sing Sing has gotten little love, it’d be nice to have it win for a strong screenplay, made all the more real by the casting of real prisoners who have experience with the prison theater program. I also think Nickel Boys is a strong choice for being more of an all-encompassing script that tips into far more than drama. Conclave and Emilia Pérez, however, might be safer bets, but I’d lean more towards Conclave.

Best Animated Feature

• Flow
• Inside Out 2
• Memoir of a Snail
• Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
• The Wild Robot

Aside from Inside Out 2, these are some strong nominations for animation. I think the two top contenders are Flow for being so visually astounding and The Wild Robot for being so tenderly approached. My personal favorite, however, is Memoir of a Snail for being the more personal project of stop-motion, holding higher reverence than the familiar yet sturdy assembly of another Wallace & Gromit feature. That said, it’d be such a delight for Flow, an animated feature from Lativa, to take home the honors, considering how much a chance it has.

Best International Feature Film

• Emilia Pérez (France) in Spanish – directed by Jacques Audiard
• Flow (Latvia) – directed by Gints Zilbalodis
• The Girl with the Needle (Denmark) in Danish – directed by Magnus von Horn
• I’m Still Here (Brazil) in Portuguese – directed by Walter Salles
• The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany) in Persian – directed by Mohammad Rasoulof

This category could go in so many directions. Emilia Pérez might have this one in the bag for being the only International Feature with the most nominations. But it’d be such a delight if Flow, an animated film, won in this category. The Girl with the Needle and I’m Still Here, however, have the benefit of harboring historical importance that can easily be applied today. Still, The Seed of the Sacred Fig is such a vicious dose of Middle Eastern criticism in theocracy and women’s rights that it might have a shot as well. I’ll be rooting for Flow and Sacred Fig in this category, but it sadly wouldn’t be much of a surprise if Pérez takes this for notoriety alone.

Best 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

So many better scores were overlooked for this category. Reznor and Ross gave us TWO mesmerizing scores this year in Challengers and Queer. Those two scores didn’t get nominated, but The Wild Robot does? In terms of the nominations, The Brutalist music I found the most intoxicating, but I’m sure the musicals of Emilia Pérez and Wicked will be the top contenders here.

Best Original Song

• “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez – Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; lyrics by Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard
• “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight – Music and lyrics by Diane Warren
• “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing – Music and lyrics by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada
• “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez – Music and lyrics by Camille and Clément Ducol
• “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late – Music and lyrics by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, and Bernie Taupin

I’m hoping for Like a Bird, but again, Emilia Pérez has too much spread that it’s hard to see it not winning in this category with two songs getting through.

Best 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 Pérez – 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

Now we’re getting to the categories where Dune might have a chance, and I think sound is where it might shine best.

Best 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

Very strong nominations in this category and I’m on the fence between the scope of The Brutalist and the detail of Dune: Part Two. I’d be cool with either winning.

Best Cinematography

• The Brutalist – Lol Crawley
• Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser
• Emilia Pérez – Paul Guilhaume
• Maria – Ed Lachman
• Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke

Same as Production Design, here. I’m leaning more toward The Brutalist on this one, considering how astounding those grand shots were.

Best 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 Stokes-Munton
• The Substance – Pierre-Oliver Persin, Stéphanie Guillon, and Marilyne Scarselli
• Wicked – Frances Hannon, Laura Blount, and Sarah Nuth

I think Wicked has this one in the bag, though I’d love if The Substance got some love, since I doubt it has much of a chance in the other categories.

Best Costume Design

• A Complete Unknown – Arianne Phillips
• Conclave – Lisy Christl
• Gladiator II – Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
• Nosferatu – Linda Muir
• Wicked – Paul Tazewell

Another likely win for Wicked and, honestly, given the other nominations, deserved.

Best Film Editing

• Anora – Sean Baker
• The Brutalist – Dávid Jancsó
• Conclave – Nick Emerson
• Emilia Pérez – Juliette Welfling
• Wicked – Myron Kerstein

I loved how Baker edited Anora to create different tones and levels of romance, anger, and comedy. It’s good stuff, but, again, I think it’ll get overshadowed by the bigger films like The Brutalist and Conclave, with Brutalist having a bigger shot.

Best 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

Another category where Dune has the best shot, where I think it has a chance to soar over the two motion-capture monkey visual effects movie this year.

And that’s all the categories where I’ve seen all the entries. I’ll try to catch up on all the documentaries and shorts as well, as I’ve seen some, but not all of the nominations to give a firm assessment.

The Academy Awards will be hosted on ABC on March 2, 2025.