2025 Oscar nominations: some very big surprises and snubs!

2025-oscar-nominations:-some-very-big-surprises-and-snubs!

If you ask me, this was always going to be a weird awards season, given the films and everything going on in the world in 2024. But the awards season absolutely changed and shifted with the Southern California wildfires, which started right after the Golden Globes. The reality is that many LA-based Oscar voters have lost their homes or they’re hosting evacuees. The schedule rightly shifted as people’s priorities changed. As of now, the Oscars are still scheduled for March 2nd, and I do not believe that the date will change. The Oscars telecast will shift though – they’ve removed the “Original Song” performances, and they’re going to honor LA firefighters and more. Okay, now let’s get to this year’s nominations! These are just the biggest categories, you can see the full list here.

Best Supporting Actress.


Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown


Ariana Grande, Wicked


Felicity Jones, The Brutalist


Isabella Rossellini, Conclave


Zoe Saldana, Emilia Perez

Best Supporting Actor


Yura Borisov, Anora


Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain


Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown


Guy Pearce, The Brutalist


Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Best Actor


Adrien Brody, The Brutalist


Timothee Chalamet, A Complete Unknown


Colman Domingo, Sing Sing


Ralph Fiennes, Conclave


Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Best Actress.


Cynthia Erivo, Wicked


Karla Sofia Gascon, Emilia Perez


Mikey Madison, Anora


Demi Moore, The Substance


Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Best Director.


Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)


Caralie Fargeat (The Substance).


James Mangold (A Complete Unknown)


Sean Baker (Anora)


Jacques Audiard (Emilia Perez)

Best Picture.


Anora


The Brutalist


A Complete Unknown


Conclave


Dune Part 2


Emilia Perez


I’m Still Here


Nickel Boys


The Substance


Wicked

Notable snubs: no Denzel Washington for Gladiator II (a damn shame), no Jamie Lee Curtis in The Last Showgirl (YAY), no Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez or Margaret Qualley. Qualley’s snub actually surprised me, given all of the buzz for The Substance. Obviously, Nicole Kidman was snubbed for Babygirl, and the Academy decided that they’re Team Brad Pitt, so no nom for Angelina Jolie. Other surprises: no Daniel Craig for Queer, no Pamela Anderson for The Last Showgirl and no Marianne Jean-Baptiste for Hard Truths. What other surprises? No nomination for Wicked director Jon Chu or Conclave director Edward Berger. Berger’s absence is definitely shocking, as is Denis Villeneuve.

I feel like Fernanda Torres getting nominated is a surprise, even if she won the Golden Globe. The Apprentice surprising everyone and picking up noms for Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong…it’s certainly interesting, although it does feel like Stan (in particular) is riding a critical wave at the moment. What else… I love Conclave’s noms, especially the ones for Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini. I would love it if we got a big surprise in Supporting Actress.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images. Posters courtesy of ‘The Brutalist’ and promotional images courtesy of ‘Conclave’.