(Cover photo credit: Al Seib, the Academy. (c) A.M.P.A.S.)
(CNN) — The nominations for the 97th Academy Awards were announced Thursday and it was a big morning for “Emilia Pérez,” “The Brutalist” and “Wicked.”
After acknowledgement of the impact of ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles by Academy leadership, Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott revealed the nominees for the film industry’s top prize, previewing the race that will play out in the weeks to come, culminating at the March ceremony.
“Emilia Pérez” led with 13 nominations, followed by “The Brutalist” and “Wicked” with 10 each.
Musical “Emilia Pérez” has seen success in spite of some controversy. The movie’s four Golden Globe wins did some to calm the criticism over many aspects of the film, including Selena Gomez’s perceived struggles with her character’s Spanish dialogue and various issues with the movie’s representation of the transgender community. Despite all this, it topped “Roma” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” ever for a non-English language film.
“The Brutalist,” from director Brady Corbet, stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones as Hungarian refugees who come to the US after WWII. The film, which won big at the Golden Globes, was recently embroiled in controversy over its use of artificial intelligence in dialect, with Corbet giving an assertive defense of his performers amid the debate.
“Wicked,” meanwhile, certainly had the blockbuster audience vote, and this time that also translated into awards recognition. The musical from director Jon M. Chu scored a nomination for best picture as well as individual honors for stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the latter of whom was a first-time nominee. Erivo was previously nominated for “Harriet.” (If she adds an Oscar to her awards collection, she will achieve EGOT status, joining fewer than 30 artists who have each won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards.)
With “Wicked” and “Emilia Pérez,” this year marks the first time two musicals have been nominated in the best picture category since 1968 when “Oliver!” and “Funny Girl” both scored nominations, according to the Academy.
The acting categories were largely dominated by first-time nominees, with 13 individuals scoring their first Oscar nods, including Kieran Culkin, Demi Moore, Isabella Rossellini and Zoe Saldaña.
Conan O’Brien is set to host the ceremony, taking place on March 2 and airing on ABC.
A list of nominees follows below.
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 in a leading role
Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”
Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”
Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”
Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”
Best 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”
Best 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”
Best actress in a supporting role
Monica Barbaro, “A Complete Unknown”
Ariana Grande, “Wicked”
Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”
Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave”
Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”
Best director
Sean Baker, “Anora”
Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”
James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown”
Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”
Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”
Best cinematography
“The Brutalist”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Maria”
“Nosferatu”
Best international feature film
“I’m Still Here”
“The Girl with the Needle”
“Emilia Pérez”
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
“Flow”
Best adapted screenplay
“A Complete Unknown”
“Conclave”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Nickel Boys”
“Sing Sing”
Best original screenplay
“Anora”
“The Brutalist”
“A Real Pain”
“September 5”
“The Substance”
Best live action short film
“A Lien”
“Anuja”
“I’m Not a Robot”
“The Last Ranger”
“A Man Who Could Not Remain Silent”
Best animated short film
“Beautiful Men”
“In the Shadow of the Cypress”
“Magic Candies”
“Wander to Wonder”
“Yuck!”
Best animated feature film
“Flow”
“Inside Out 2”
“Memoir of a Snail”
“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”
“The Wild Robot”
Best documentary short
“Death By Numbers”
“I Am Ready, Warden”
“Incident”
“Instruments of a Beating Heart”
“The Only Girl in the Orchestra”
Best documentary feature film
“Black Box Diaries”
“No Other Land”
“Porcelain War”
“Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”
“Sugarcane”
Best original song
“El Mal,” from “Emilia Pérez”
“The Journey,” from “The Six Triple Eight”
“Like a Bird,” from “Sing Sing”
“Mi Camino,” from “Emilia Pérez”
“Never Too Late,” from “Elton John: Never Too Late”
Best original score
“The Brutalist”
“Conclave”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Wicked”
“The Wild Robot”
Best makeup and hairstyling
“A Different Man”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Nosferatu”
“The Substance”
“Wicked”
Best costume design
“A Complete Unknown”
“Conclave”
“Gladiator II”
“Nosferatu”
“Wicked”
Best editing
“Anora”
“The Brutalist”
“Conclave”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Wicked”
Best sound
“A Complete Unknown”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Wicked”
“The Wild Robot”
Best production design
“The Brutalist”
“Conclave”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Nosferatu”
“Wicked”
Best visual effects
“Alien: Romulus”
“Better Man”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”
“Wicked”
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
