Musicals dominate 2025 Oscars as 'Emilia Pérez,' 'Wicked' lead the nominations

Following two postponements due to recent wildfires in Los Angeles, the nominations for the 97th annual Academy Awards have been announced. Leading the list are Emilia Pérez, The Brutalist, and Wicked.

Crime musical Emilia Pérez received 13 nominations. It centers around a retired cartel leader who has transitioned into a woman. Its lead star, Karla Sofía Gascón, achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first transgender woman to be nominated in any acting category at the Academy Awards. She joins the likes of Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Mikey Madison, (Anora), Demi Moore, (The Substance), and Fernanda Torres, (I'm Still Here) in the list of Best Actress.

The movie adaptation of the hit musical Wicked follows the pack with 10 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Score.

Coralie Fargeat's horror sci-fi film The Substance received five nominations, with Fargeat herself nominated for Best Director.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the cancellation of the Oscars nominees luncheon, which was scheduled for Feb. 10. However, the 97th Academy Awards ceremony remains on schedule for March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Below is the list of nominations for the 2025 Academy Awards:

Best picture

• "Anora" (Neon)
• "The Brutalist" (A24)
• "A Complete Unknown" (Searchlight)
• "Conclave" (Focus)
• "Dune: Part Two" (Warner Bros.)
• "Emilia Pérez" (Netflix)
• "I'm Still Here" (Sony Classics)
• "Nickel Boys" (Amazon/MGM)
• "The Substance" (Mubi)
• "Wicked" (Universal)

Best director

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

Best actress

• Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked"
• Karla Sofia Gascón, "Emilia Pérez"
• Mikey Madison, "Anora"
• Demi Moore, "The Substance"
• Fernanda Torres, "I'm Still Here"

Best actor

• Adrian Brody, "The Brutalist"
• Timothée Chalamet, "A Complete Unknown"
• Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"
• Ralph Fiennes, "Conclave"
• Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice"

Best supporting actress

• Monica Barbaro, "A Complete Unknown"
• Ariana Grande, "Wicked"
• Felicity Jones, "The Brutalist"
• Isabella Rossellini, "Conclave"
• Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez"

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 original screenplay

• "Anora," Sean Baker
• "The Brutalist," Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
• "A Real Pain," Jesse Eisenberg
• "September 5," Tim Fehlbaum & Moritz Binder
• "The Substance," Coralie Fargeat

Best adapted screenplay

• "A Complete Unknown," Jay Cocks & James Mangold
• "Conclave," Peter Straughan
• "Emilia Pérez," Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain & Nicolas Livecchi
• "Nickel Boys," RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
• "Sing Sing," Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin & John "Divine G" Whitfield

Best international feature

• "I'm Still Here," Walter Salles (Brazil)
• "The Girl with the Needle," Magnus von Horn (Denmark)
• "Emilia Pérez," Jacques Audiard (France)
• "The Seed of the Sacred Fig," Mohammad Rasoulof (Germany)
• "Flow," Miguel Gomes (Latvia)

Best documentary feature

• "Black Box Diaries," Shiori Itō (MTV)
• "No Other Land," Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham & Rachel Szor (No distributor)
• "Porcelain War," Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev (Picturehouse)
• "Soundtrack for a Cout d'Etat," Johan Grimonprez (Kino Lorber)
• "Sugarcane," Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie (Nat Geo)

Best animated feature

• "Flow" (Janus Films/Sideshow)
• "Inside Out 2" (Disney/Pixar)
• "Memoir of a Snail" (IFC Films)
• "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl" (Aardman/Netflix)
• "The Wild Robot" (Dreamworks/Universal)

Best cinematography

• "The Brutalist," Lol Crawley
• "Dune: Part Two," Greig Fraser
• "Emilia Pérez," Paul Guillaume
• "Maria," Edward Lachman
• "Nosferatu," Jarin Blaschke

Best costume design

• "A Complete Unknown," Arianne Phillips
• "Conclave," Lisy Christl
• "Gladiator II," Janty Yates
• "Nosferatu," Linda Muir
• "Wicked," Paul Tazewell

Best film editing

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

Best production design

• "The Brutalist," Judy Becker
• "Conclave," Suzie Davies
• "Dune: Part Two," Patrice Vermette
• "Nosferatu," Craig Lathrop
• "Wicked," Nathan Crowley

Best original score

• "The Brutalist," Daniel Blumberg
• "Conclave," Volker Bertelmann
• "Emilia Pérez," Clément Ducol & Camille
• "Wicked," John Powell & Stephen Schwartz
• "The Wild Robot," Kris Bowers

Best original song

• "Never Too Late," "Elton John: Never Too Late" (Elton John & Brandi Carlile)
• "El Mal," "Emilia Pérez" (Clement Ducol, Camille & Jacques Audiard)
• "Mi Camino," "Emilia Pérez" (Clement Ducol & Camille)
• "Like a Bird," "Sing Sing" (Adrian Quesada & Abraham Alexander)
• "The Journey," "The Six Triple Eight" (Diane Warren)

Best sound

• "A Complete Unknown"
• "Dune: Part Two"
• "Emilia Pérez"
• "Wicked"
• "The Wild Robot"

Best visual effects

• "Alien: Romulus"
• "Better Man"
• "Dune: Part Two"
• "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes"
• "Wicked"

Best makeup and hairstyling

• "A Different Man"
• "Emilia Pérez"
• "Nosferatu"
• "The Substance"
• "Wicked"

Best documentary short

• "Death by Numbers"
• "I Am Ready, Warden"
• "Incident"
• "Instruments of a Beating Heart"
• "The Only Girl in the Orchestra"

Best animated short

• "Beautiful Men"
• "In the Shadow of the Cypress"
• "Magic Candies"
• "Wander to Wonder"
• "Yuck!"

Best live-action short

• "A Lien"
• "Anuja"
• "I'm Not a Robot"
• "The Last Ranger"
• "The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent"