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The two films secured nominations in most of the major categories, including best picture, a wide-open race. Acting nominees include Demi Moore, Cynthia Erivo, Adrien Brody and Timothée Chalamet.
Jan. 23, 2025Updated 9:13 a.m. ET
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences showered little-seen movies rooted in progressive politics with nominations for the 97th Oscars on Thursday.
“Emilia Pérez,” a musical exploration of trans identity, and “The Brutalist,” a three-and-a-half-hour study of immigrant trauma and antisemitism, emerged as films to beat by securing nominations in most of the major categories, including best picture.
While the acting races have taken clearer shape over the past month, the best picture contest remains unusually wide open. Unlike last year, when “Oppenheimer” cemented its front-runner status almost immediately and never looked back, multiple films remain in the hunt for Hollywood’s top prize this time around.
The nominees for best picture included “Conclave,” a Vatican thriller with gender identity twist; “The Substance,” which explores feminism through body horror; “Nickel Boys,” a historical drama set at a racist reform school in 1960s Florida; “Anora,” a Cinderella story about a sex worker who impulsively marries the hard-partying son of a Russian oligarch; “A Real Pain,” a dramedy about odd-couple cousins on a journey to honor their grandmother; and the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.”
Two blockbusters, “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two,” filled out the category. The academy expanded the best picture field to a full 10 in 2022 as part a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative. The category previously had as few as five slots.
