The Oscar 2025 nominees were announced on Thursday afternoon and fans have been shocked by some of the top selections.
Saturday Night Live and Wicked star Bowen Yang and Bodies Bodies Bodies actress Rachel Sennott announced the nods this morning, while Conan O’Brien will host the main show next month.
Among the Academy Award nominees, Demi Moore landed her first nomination for her efforts in the Substance, after smashing her awards season.
The 62-year-old was mentioned in the best actress list, alongside WIcked’s Cynthia Erivo, Anora star Mikey Madison, Fernanda Torres for I’m Still Here and Karla Sofía Gascón for Emilia Pérez.
Timothee Chalamet has been recognized for his efforts as Bob Dylan in the recent A Complete Unknown biopic, earning a best actor nod alongside a host of other huge stars.
The Brutalist star Adrien Brody also makes up the list, beside Ralph Fiennes for Conclave, Sing Sing’s Colman Domingo and The Apprentice actor Sebastian Stan.
Cynthia’s Wicked co-star Ariana Grande earned her first ever Oscar nod in the best supporting actress category, going up against Monica Barbaro for A Complete Unknown, Felicity Jones in the Brutalist, Conclave’s Isabella Rossellini and Zoe Saldana for Emilia Pérez.
Succession stars Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong will be battling it out against each other for supporting actor, thanks to their incredible efforts in A Real Pain and The Apprentice respectfully.
Anora star Yura Borisov, A Complete Unknown’s Edward Norton and The Brutalist actor Guy Pearce also make up the category.
In the running for best director, A Complete Unknown filmmaker James Mangold is up against Anora’s Sean Baker, Brady Corbet for the Brutalist, Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez and Coralie Fargeat for the Substance.
Best picture nominees include Anora, The Brutalist, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys and The Substance.
Wicked, Dune: Part Two, Conclave and A Complete Unknown make up the rest of the list.
Who was snubbed in the Oscars 2025 nominations?
Although Emilia Pérez raked in 13 nominations in total, including nods for Zoe Saldana, director Jacques Audiard and Karla Sofía Gascón, there was a major snub for Selena Gomez, who was tipped to be mentioned in the acting categories.
The Only Murders actress played Jessi in the hit film, and had garnered attention during awards season so far – with Bafta and Golden Globes nods for the role.
Daniel Craig was also left off the best actor list, despite impressing critics and fans alike with his efforts in Queer.
The film was nowhere to be found in the nominations announcement on Thursday morning.
Angelina Jolie has also earned rave reviews for her efforts as opera icon Maria Callas, but was not recognized by the Academy for the film – which only picked up one nomination in total, for cinematography.
Another huge shock was the absence of Kneecap – Rich Peppiatt’s movie about the iconic Irish group.
The film was met with huge applause when it premiered at Sundance last year, and was tipped to take home a trophy in a few months.
Instead, I’m Still Here, The Girl With The Needle, Emilia Pérez, The Seed of the Sacred Fig and Flow were nominated in the international feature film category.
Film fans were left shocked when Challengers, starring Zendaya, snubbed from the shortlist.
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ efforts on the soundtrack could not secure a mention in the best original score category.
In a huge change from previous years, the Academy announced that there would be no live performances of the best original song nominees – due to the ongoing LA wildfires.
Normally the festivities include live performances of all the nominees for the best original song category, Last year memorably included a larger-than-life I’m Just Ken rendition led by Ryan Gosling and a whole host of fellow Kens.
An internal letter, via Entertainment Weekly, said the show will ‘reflect on the recent events while highlighting the strength, creativity, and optimism that defines Los Angeles and our industry’ and include ‘powerful musical moments.
‘We will celebrate their artistry through personal reflections from the teams who bring these songs to life. All of this, and more, will uncover the stories and inspiration behind this year’s nominees.’
Instead, there is expected to be a spotlight on the songwriters behind the nominations.
The Substance nabbed five nominations, and all eyes will be on Demi to take home the best actress trophy next month.
The body horror flick, starring the Ghost legend and Margaret Qualley, has delighted and disgusted fans since it was released in September 2024.
She shared her delight at the nomination on Instagram, in a post on her story.
Sharing a post from the official Substance Instagram page, she simply wrote: ‘Thank you @theacademy. And congratulations @trythesubstance @coralie_fargeat.’
In a further statement to Us Weekly, she added: ‘Being nominated for an Oscar is an incredible honor and these last few months have been beyond my wildest dreams.
‘Truly there are no words to fully express my joy and overwhelming gratitude for this recognition. Not only for me but for what this film represents. I am deeply humbled.’
Demi made history at the Golden Globes recently, as she won the Best Actress award for the first time ever.
‘Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress and at that time, I made that mean that this wasn’t something that I was allowed to have, that I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn’t be acknowledged,’ she said.
‘I bought in, and I believed that, and that corroded me over time, to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it, maybe I was complete. I’ve done what I was supposed to do.
‘And as I was at kind of a low point, I had this magical, bold, courageous, out-of-the-box, absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called The Substance, and the universe told me that you’re not done.’
The film has also received five Bafta nominations, plus six Critics Choice Award nominations.
The Brutalist scored 10 nods and has received high praise from critics – the nearly four-hour-long film from Brady Corbet has already won three Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture Drama.
The Brutalist won nine Bafta nominations and another nine nominations at the Critics Choice Award.
The epic period drama film is the biopic of an imaginary Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor, László Tóth – played by Adrian Brody.
Wicked also got 10 nominations, including a best actress mention for Cynthia, and a best supporting actress tip for Ariana, marking her first Oscar nod.
Taking to Instagram after the announcement, the Glinda actress thanked the Academy in a lengthy post, sharing that she was ‘picking her head up between sobs’.
‘Picking my head up in between sobs to say thank you so much to @theacademy for this unfathomable recognition. I cannot stop crying, to no one’s surprise,’ she wrote.
‘I’m humbled and deeply honored to be in such brilliant company and sharing this with tiny Ari who sat and studied Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow just before the big, beautiful bubble entered. I’m so proud of you, tiny.
‘Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for this acknowledgement @theacademy. Thank you @jonmchu for taking this chance on me and for being the most unbelievably brilliant leader, human being, and most fierce friend.
‘I am so deeply proud of my beautiful Wicked family. I am so proud of my Elphie, my sister, my dear @cynthiaerivo. Your brilliance is never ending and you deserve every flower (tulip) in every garden. I love you unconditionally, always.
‘I don’t quite have all my words yet, I’m still trying to breathe. but thank you. Oh my goodness, thank you. Universal, Marc, my family, my heart. Lemons and melons and pears, oh my.’
Cynthia followed suit on her own page, writing: ‘Moments like this don’t come along very often, and when they do, it is sacrilege to let them pass by without a moment of gratitude.
‘I am grateful, grateful to @theacademy, grateful to be a part of something that makes people feel seen, grateful to be a cog in the wheel of a piece that makes us believe in magic, grateful to have experienced a dream come true, and deeply deeply grateful for this unbelievable recognition.
‘I often get asked what I would say to my younger self. Well today there’s nothing to be said. She is smiling, beaming, glowing from ear to ear. That speaks volumes.’
To my sister, @arianagrande, what a joy it is to be here with you watching as you ascend and amaze and become the actress you were meant to be,’ she continued. ‘Congratulations first time nominee, I’m so so proud of you!! There is no one in the world I would have wanted to do this with more than you.
‘Thank you @jonmchu, our fearless leader whose kindness provided us with the room to play, you are deserving of all good things and I’m lucky to call you my brother. Marc, Winnie, Stephen, Universal fam, Wicked fam!!! LETS GO!!!’
Zoe celebrated her best actress mention for Emilia Pérez on social media earlier today, posting a smiling selfie with her loved ones.
‘I am truly honored and grateful for the nomination,’ she captioned the post. ‘Thank you so much for considering me for this award. I am thrilled to be among such talented company. Emilia Pérez was made with love.
‘Thank you to @theacademy and its members for recognizing our work. Jacques!!!!! BINGO!’
While Ralph opened up about his nod in a message shared via PA, which read: ‘I’m thrilled to be nominated and to be celebrating the other nominations for Conclave.
‘Edward Berger brought an extraordinary cast and crew together – he is an inspirational director with rare insight and a unique vision which lies at the heart of this film.’
The awards season has already been filled with drama as shows have been boycotted and cancelled because of the fires.
Some celebrities – including Stephen King – have spoken about cancelling the Oscars and revealed that he wouldn’t be voting for any of the films in the lead-up to the show.
Despite winning four Golden Globes, five European Film Awards and being nominated for eleven Baftas, Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard’s musical about a Mexican drug lord, has been hit with major criticism for its depiction of Mexico.
