After postponing the announcement a couple of times due to the fires devastating Los Angeles, the Oscars nominations are finally here. And as usual, they have the people divided: does the polemic Emilia Pérez deserve to be the most nominated film of the year? Was Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers snubbed — zero nominations, really? And how is it possible that Dune: Part Two only has five? On the other hand, there are other news to be celebrated: the first trans woman nominated for Actress in a Leading Role (Karla Sofía Gascón for Emilia Pérez), or Cynthia Erivo’s nomination for Wicked, which makes her closer to becoming an EGOT.
First things first: most people are shocked that Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez is leading this year’s nominations with thirteen (!!!), the same number as last year’s Oppenheimer and almost as many as Titanic (fourteen), and even a couple more than the brilliant The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (eleven nominations, to be more precise). But after winning major categories at the Golden Globes, can anyone be truly surprised? The film, set in Mexico but with no Mexican actors or crew involved at all, has just landed in Mexican cinemas — and people are really, really pissed about it. So what’s going on in Hollywood? The film is nominated to all major categories: Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role, Actress in Supporting Role (Zoe Saldaña), Directing, International Feature Film, Music (both Original Score and two Original Song), and more.
But it has tough competition. Another musical that had everyone in a pink-and-green craze, Wicked, is nominated in ten categories, also including Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role (Cynthia Erivo), Actress in Supporting Role (Ariana Grande), Music (Original Score), as well as Costume Design and Production Design, among others. The other movie with ten nominations is The Brutalist, which competes for Best Picture, Directing (Brady Corbet), Actor in a Leading Role (Adrien Brody), Actor in a Supporting Role (Guy Pearce), Actress in a Supporting Role (Felicity Jones), and Cinematography, among others.
Besides these three movies, the other films competing for Best Picture are: Anora, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, and The Substance. The latter, one of the most talked-about feature films of 2024, also has a lot to celebrate because of four other nominations: Coralie Fargeat is the only woman competing for Best Directing, and Demi Moore also is nominated for Best Actress in Leading Role; will she repeat the success at the Golden Globes? We’ll see, because the competition is high: besides the aforementioned Karla Sofía Gascón and Cynthia Erivo, she also faces Anora’s Mikey Madison and Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres for I’m Still Here — she also won a Golden Globe a few weeks ago. On a side note, some people took to the internet to express they missed names in this category, like Angelina Jolie for Maria or Pamela Anderson for The Last Showgirl.
Other films we must highlight include Conclave with eight nominations (Ralph Fienens for Actor in a Leading Role, Isabella Rossellini for Actress in a Supporting Role, Costume Design, and more); Anora, with six (Best Actress in a Leading Role, Yura Borisov for Actor in a Supporting Role, Sean Baker for Directing, Writing Original Screenplay, and more); or Dune: Part Two with five (Cinematography, Production Design, Visual Effects, and more).
On Sunday, March 2, the gala will be taking place in Los Angeles, where we’re sure everyone involved will focus their speeches on Trump’s second time at the White House and the wildfires that have destroyed entire neighbourhoods in the Californian city. But who’ll win what? You’ll have to wait, tune in, and wait for our review. In the meantime, place your bets!