Oscars 2025: Two French Nominees Battle for Best Film!

On March 2nd, the world will learn who will follow “Oppenheimer” as the next cinematic masterpiece. In the meantime, let’s explore the nominees for the 97th Academy Awards, featuring notable mention “Emilia Perez.”

The final stretch of the Oscar race begins… now! Delayed by a few days due to severe wildfires still affecting Los Angeles, the nominations for the 97th Academy Awards were announced this Thursday, January 23. The big hopeful to follow Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” is a French contender! A few weeks after securing four Golden Globes, “Emilia Perez” by Jacques Audiard has been nominated thirteen times, setting a record for a non-English language film, surpassing “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Roma” (each with ten nominations). It’s in the running for major categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress (Karla Sofia Gascon, the first transgender actress nominated), Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldana), Best Foreign Language Film, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song, competing with two songs. In the best scenario, the film could walk away with up to twelve awards, possibly becoming the first French film to win the top prize since “The Artist” in 2012.

A French Oscar?

Unless “The Substance” pulls off a surprise and steals the spotlight. Having won the Best Screenplay at the last Cannes Film Festival (where “Emilia Perez” picked up two awards), it is also nominated in the two main categories: Best Picture and Best Director for Coralie Fargeat, who might also take home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, with Demi Moore as a favorite for Best Actress (despite competition from Fernanda Torres, Karla Sofia Gascon, and Mikey Madison), following her Golden Globes win.

It’s not the first time two French filmmakers are nominated for Best Director; François Truffaut and Roman Polanski were similarly honored in 1974. This marks a new symbol of the vibrant French cinema scene, which shines globally in various genres (from musical police dramas to organic horror), a year after the phenomenon “Anatomy of a Fall,” which culminated in an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Justine Triet and Arthur Harari.

A Brutal Oscar?

This sets the stage for an even more thrilling ceremony on March 2nd, although many things can still happen until then. Upcoming BAFTA awards and guild awards (from producers, directors, actors, and writers) increasingly tend to predict the winners. In a little over a month, we’ll have a clearer picture of the chances for “Emilia Perez” and “The Substance,” but also for “The Brutalist.”

Expected on February 12th in theaters, Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” is another favorite, already boasting three Golden Globes and ten Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Adrien Brody, who is tipped to win his category. However, the film, awarded at the last Venice Film Festival, might be overshadowed by the controversy over its use of artificial intelligence to enhance Hungarian accents, which has been a hot topic recently. The next few weeks will provide more clarity, and surprises are not out of the question.

A Musical Oscar?

This could be the case for “Conclave” (eight nominations, the same as “A Perfect Stranger”), whose public and critical success could be a strong asset in this final leg, while “Emilia Perez” and “The Brutalist” face various degrees of controversy. “Anora,” the Palme d’Or winner at the last Cannes Film Festival, remains a dark horse not to be underestimated too soon. Or “Wicked,” which, against all odds, has been nominated ten times. Reflecting its box office journey ($710 million worldwide to date), the musical inspired by “The Wizard of Oz” has cast its spell all the way to the Oscars, earning as many nods as “The Brutalist.”

While Cynthia Erivo’s chances in the Best Actress category seem slim against Demi Moore, Ariana Grande might be a strong contender against Zoe Saldana in the supporting roles. However, the film appears better positioned to excel in technical categories like set design, costumes, and makeup. Not to mention the music, although the songs, all from the early 2000s show, might not compete this time. Perhaps a chance for revenge in the next edition, since the second part will feature original songs?

Challengers Missing, Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie Too

While three nominees for Best Foreign Language Film are also contenders in other categories (Flow, I Am Still Here, and Emilia Perez) and Sebastian Stan’s portrayal of Donald Trump in “The Apprentice” is particularly timely, notable absences include “Challengers” (not even nominated for the music by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross), Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie among the actresses, Denzel Washington in the supporting roles, and Denis Villeneuve in directing, even though “Dune 2” has gathered five nominations and is among the ten candidates for Best Picture.

Last November, Josh Brolin threatened to retire if the filmmaker was not nominated. It’s time to see if the actor will follow through… or if potential awards for “Dune 2” might change his mind.

Oscars 2025: All Nominations

Best Picture (2024 Winner: Oppenheimer)

Anora

The Brutalist

Conclave

Dune – Part 2

Emilia Perez

I Am Still Here

Nickel Boys

The Substance

A Perfect Stranger

Wicked

Best Director (2024 Winner: Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer)

Jacques Audiard – Emilia Perez

Sean Baker – Anora

Brady Corbet – The Brutalist

Coralie Fargeat – The Substance

James Mangold – A Perfect Stranger

Best Actress (2024 Winner: Emma Stone – Poor Creatures)

Cynthia Erivo – Wicked

Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Perez

Mikey Madison – Anora

Demi Moore – The Substance

Fernanda Torres – I Am Still Here

Best Actor (2024 Winner: Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer)

Adrien Brody – The Brutalist

Timothée Chalamet – A Perfect Stranger

Colman Domingo – Sing Sing

Ralph Fiennes – Conclave

Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice

Best Supporting Actress (2024 Winner: Da’Vine Joy Randolph – Winter Break)

Monica Barbaro – A Perfect Stranger

Ariana Grande – Wicked

Felicity Jones – The Brutalist

Isabella Rossellini – Conclave

Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Perez

Best Supporting Actor (2024 Winner: Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer)

Yura Borisov – Anora

Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain

Edward Norton – A Perfect Stranger

Guy Pearce – The Brutalist

Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice

Best Adapted Screenplay (2024 Winner: American Fiction – Cord Jefferson)

Conclave – Peter Straughan

Emilia Perez – Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain & Nicolas Livecchi

Nickel Boys – Joslyn Barnes & RaMell Ross

A Perfect Stranger – Jay Cocks & James Mangold

Sing Sing – Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

Best Original Screenplay (2024 Winner: Anatomy of a Fall – Arthur Harari & Justine Triet)

September 5th – Tim Fehlbaum & Moritz Binder

A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg

Anora – Sean Baker

The Brutalist – Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold

The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

Best Foreign Language Film (2024 Winner: The Zone of Interest – United Kingdom)

Emilia Perez (France)

Flow (Latvia)

The Wild Fig Seeds (Germany)

I Am Still Here (Brazil)

The Young Woman with the Needle (Denmark)

Best Animated Film (2024 Winner: The Boy and the Heron)

Flow

The Wild Robot

Snail’s Memoirs

Inside Out 2

Wallace & Gromit: The Palm of Vengeance

Best Cinematography (2024 Winner: Oppenheimer – Hoyte van Hoytema)

The Brutalist – Lol Crawley

Dune 2 – Greig Fraser

Emilia Perez – Paul Guilhaume

Maria – Ed Lachman

Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke

Best Editing (2024 Winner: Oppenheimer)

Anora

The Brutalist

Conclave

Emilia Perez

Wicked

Best Production Design (2024 Winner: Poor Creatures)

The Brutalist

Conclave

Dune 2

Nosferatu

Wicked

Best Costume Design (2024 Winner: Poor Creatures)

Conclave

Gladiator II

Nosferatu

A Perfect Stranger

Wicked

Best Makeup and Hairstyling (2024 Winner: Poor Creatures)

A Different Man

Emilia Perez

Nosferatu

The Substance

Wicked

Best Visual Effects (2024 Winner: Godzilla Minus One)

Alien: Romulus

Better Man

Dune 2

Planet of the Apes: The New Kingdom

Wicked

Best Sound (2024 Winner: The Zone of Interest)

Dune 2

Emilia Perez

The Wild Robot

A Perfect Stranger

Wicked

Best Original Score (2024 Winner: Oppenheimer – Ludwig Goransson)

The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg

Conclave – Volker Bertelmann

Emilia Perez – Clément Ducol & Camille

The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers

Wicked – John Powell & Stephen Schwartz

Best Original Song (2024 Winner: “What Was I Made For?” – Barbie – Billie Eilish & Finneas O’Connell)

“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)

“The Journey” – War Messengers (Diane Warren)

“Like a Bird” – Sing Sing (Abraham Alexander & Adrian Quesada)

Best Documentary (2024 Winner: 20 Days in Mariupol)

Black Box Diaries

No Other Land

Porcelain War

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

Sugarcane

Best Documentary Short (2024 Winner: The Last Repair Shop)

Death by Numbers

I Am Ready, Warden

Incident

Instruments of a Beating Heart

The Only Girl in the Band

Best Animated Short (2024 Winner: War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko)

Beautiful Men

Yuck!

In the Shadow of the Cypress

Magic Candies

Wander to Wonder

Best Live Action Short (2024 Winner: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar)

A Lien

Anuja

The Man Who Would Not Be Quiet

I’m Not a Robot

The Last Ranger

The verdict of this 97th edition of the Oscars will be revealed on the night of March 2 to 3 in France!