It’s been a chaotic awards season already, but the 97th Academy Award nominations are finally here. As expected, “Emilia Pérez” had a record-breaking morning, while “Anora,” “The Brutalist,” and “Wicked” had strong showings as well. Even so, there was no shortage of surprises among the nominees, and films sadly left out in the cold altogether. Let’s dive into the nominations, what caught us off guard, and how this morning impacts our predictions for the Oscar winners.
“EMILIA PÉREZ” LEADS NOMINATIONS
With a whopping 13 nominations, “Emilia Pérez” shattered the record for the most nominations for a non-English language film. As was widely predicted, France’s International Feature submission performed quite well, with Selena Gomez as the film’s only real missed nomination. Karla Sofía Gascón became the first openly trans person nominated for an acting award, while Zoe Saldaña scored a spot in Best Supporting Actress. Along with nominations for Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and more, some “on the bubble” categories like Cinematography and Editing pulled through, giving the film a very competitive total. While films like “Anora” and “The Brutalist” did quite well, this is precisely what the film needed to keep its Best Picture momentum rolling.
“THE BRUTALIST” AND “WICKED” SNAG 10 NOMS APIECE
While some had been doubting “The Brutalist” recently, despite a strong showing at the Golden Globes, Brady Corbet’s film didn’t miss a beat among these nominations. All three actors – Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, and Felicity Jones – landed in their respective categories. Brady Corbet scored Best Picture and Best Director nominations and a Best Original Screenplay nomination alongside his partner, Mona Fastvold. Some had doubted that the lengthy film would land in Best Editing, but it did, along with nominations in Cinematography, Score, and Production Design. It was a flawless run for a movie that needed it to stay competitive.
Meanwhile, “Wicked” overperformed. In addition to a Best Picture nomination, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande received nominations in their respective categories. Many had doubted Erivo early on, but she showed up everywhere this season and finally landed her third Oscar nomination. While categories like Production Design, Costume Design, and Sound were presumed locks, the musical also stunned with a surprising (and confusing) Best Original Score nomination. While Jon M. Chu couldn’t score a Best Director nomination, very few expected it. Few believe “Wicked” could pose a threat for Best Picture, but the Academy clearly loves the blockbuster sensation.
“I’M STILL HERE” STUNS WITH A BEST PICTURE NOMINATION
Since Fernanda Torres’s shocking Golden Globe win, voters have been flocking to see Brazil’s “I’m Still Here.” Just a few short weeks ago, few were predicting Torres would receive a Best Actress nomination, assuming the film was a play for International Feature and nothing more. Now, in one of the more stunning announcements in recent Oscar history, “I’m Still Here” not only scored Best Actress and Best International Feature nominations but also landed in Best Picture. Alongside “Emilia Pérez,” this is the first time in Academy Awards history that two Best International Feature nominees are also nominated for Best Picture. While the film surprisingly missed Best Adapted Screenplay, the shock factor for this morning’s announcement is yet another boost to the film’s campaign. Sony Pictures Classics are incredible campaigners, so this shocking Best Picture nomination could propel Torres to a Best Actress win.
“CONCLAVE” MISSES BEST DIRECTOR
Best Picture has been up in the air for quite some time, leading many prognosticators to look to the most generally well-liked film in the race as our future winner: “Conclave.” And yet, while the film performed admirably among these nominations, a shocking miss for Edward Berger crushed the dreams of a Best Picture win then and there. It’s surprising, especially considering the film didn’t miss anywhere else. With eight nominations, “Conclave” had an excellent morning, snagging nominations in Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Original Score, and more, alongside acting nominations for Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini. While this continues to create headaches for prognosticators trying to make sense of what will win Best Picture, at least it eliminated one option from the bunch.
“FLOW” AND “THE WILD ROBOT” GET MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS
It’s rare for any animated film to get multiple nominations, much less two. This year, both “The Wild Robot” and “Flow” showed up in multiple categories, in addition to Best Animated Feature. “The Wild Robot” landed in Best Sound and Best Original Score, making Kris Bowers the first person to receive nominations for both Score and Best Documentary Short, which he won just last year. “Flow” also received a Best International Feature nomination for Latvia, making it the first non-documentary animated film nominated in the category and the first film without dialogue. Now, determining the winner is all the more difficult. “Flow” won the Globe, while “The Wild Robot” has strong box office and Dreamworks behind it. For now, my money’s on “Flow.”
NO MISSES FOR “ANORA” AND “A COMPLETE UNKNOWN”
While Palme d’Or winner “Anora” has always remained a top-tier threat to win Best Picture, “A Complete Unknown” has had a strong and steady rise over the last month. Today, both films had essentially flawless mornings, with “A Complete Unknown” outperforming expectations with eight nominations. The Bob Dylan biopic showed up in Picture, Sound, and Screenplay as expected, along with Timothée Chalamet and Edward Norton in their respective categories. While James Mangold and Monica Barbaro each received respective nominations at DGA and SAG, many predictors left them out. Nevertheless, they both scored nominations today. The strong showing for “A Complete Unknown” clarifies that this is a major Best Picture contender.
With six nominations, “Anora” performed exactly as it needed to. Landing in Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Editing, Best Actress for Mikey Madison, and Best Supporting Actor for Yura Borisov, there were no misses for the film. This was essentially the best-case scenario for the Neon film, which was never much of a threat in the craft categories. While its nomination tally may be lower than “Emilia Pérez” or “The Brutalist,” that doesn’t stop it from being a major contender to win it all.
“SEPTEMBER 5,” “SING SING,” AND “A REAL PAIN” LEFT OUT OF PICTURE
Though each received nominations for writing, “September 5,” “Sing Sing,” and “A Real Pain” all missed Best Picture. “Sing Sing” showed up in Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song, and Best Actor for Colman Domingo but pulled up short, missing a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Clarence Maclin. However, Maclin partakes in the Best Adapted Screenplay nomination thanks to his “Story By” credit. “A Real Pain” has an all-but-guaranteed Best Supporting Actor win for Kieran Culkin, alongside a Best Original Screenplay nomination, but couldn’t crack Best Picture. And “September 5” is our lone screenplay nominee, landing in Original Screenplay with no other nominations.
“Nickel Boys” and “I’m Still Here” landed in Best Picture instead. While “Nickel Boys” had been on the bubble for most of the season, and many hoped a Best Director nomination would materialize for RaMell Ross, the film scored Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture nominations.
ACTING SURPRISES AND MISSES – THE APPRENTICE, THE LAST SHOWGIRL, AND MORE
As many men battled it out for the final spots in Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, the two men from “The Apprentice” got there. Both Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong scored their respective nominations. Daniel Craig remains on the outside yet again. In fact, neither of Luca Guadagnino’s two films, “Challengers” and “Queer,” received any nominations at all.
While “The Apprentice” made it in, “The Last Showgirl” came up empty-handed. Many had predicted Jamie Lee Curtis to make it thanks to her grassroots campaign, but it didn’t happen. Neither did Margaret Qualley for “The Substance,” a film that performed admirably but couldn’t bring along the young star. Danielle Deadwyler still remains un-nominated, as “The Piano Lesson” failed to materialize much attention this season.
Perhaps the saddest miss in the acting categories is Marianne Jean-Baptiste. She won the trifecta of critics prizes from NBR, NYFCC, and LAFCA but couldn’t break into the Oscars. It’s the second time a performer in a Mike Leigh film accomplished this unfortunate feat after Sally Hawkins in “Happy-Go-Lucky” faced the same fate.
OTHER NOTABLE MOMENTS
- While we knew “All We Imagine As Light” was frustratingly not eligible for Best International Feature, there were still glimmers of hope for an Original Screenplay nomination or even a Director or Picture. None materialized, and the film didn’t score a single nomination.
- Don’t doubt Elton John in Best Original Song. Though few predicted it, John returned to the category he just won five years ago.
- Though few are surprised, thanks to the tastes of the Documentary Branch, “Will & Harper” failed to receive a nomination for Best Documentary or Best Original Song. Yet again, the Critics Choice Award is the kiss of death for any film hoping for a nomination.
- ”The Girl With The Needle” scored a nomination for Best International Feature but failed to get a Best Cinematography nomination.
With these nominations finally unveiled, there’s plenty of movement in these races. Even so, the race for Best Picture is as up in the air as ever. Stay tuned to Next Best Picture for in-depth coverage as we make sense of the Oscar race, and look forward to the winners on March 2nd.
What was the biggest surprise of the morning for you? Did any of your longshot predictions make it in? What snub disappointed you the most? Please check out our updated predictions here and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or over on our X account.
