Emilia Pérez, the musical about a Mexican cartel leader who fakes his death and undergoes a gender transition but cannot avoid the people in her former life, leads all nominees with 13 including Best Picture. Wicked got 10 nominations – including for its stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande – tying it for second most overall with Brady Corbet’s sweeping The Brutalist, which got noms for Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, and Corbet for directing. Conclave and A Complete Unknown drew eight nominations each, while Palme d’Or winner Anora had six, and the wild horror tale The Substance drew five including Demi Moore’s first nomination after she won the Golden Globe. The Substance‘s director Coralie Fargeat also got nominated. Beyond The Substance, perhaps the biggest surprise was nominations for Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan for the Ali Abbasi-directed The Apprentice.
“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 8 nominations.
“Emilia Pérez” led the pack with the most nominations with 13. It set the record for the most-nominated non-English language film. Notable snubs include Angelina Jolie for “Maria,” Nicole Kidman for “Babygirl,” Pamela Anderson for “The Last Showgirl” and Denzel Washington for “Gladiator II.” For the first time, Conan O’Brien will host the starry ceremony at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. The late night vet and podcaster previously emceed the Emmy Awards in 2002 and 2006. In a well-timed move for the host of a movie industry award show, O’Brien will make his dramatic feature debut this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” starring Rose Byrne. The 97th Academy Awards air Sunday, March 2 at 7 p.m. on ABC.
