Current Nominations for 97th Academy Awards 2025: Full List

When the nominations for the 97th Academy Awards dropped on January 23, 2025, the film world didn’t just take note—it collectively held its breath. Emilia Pérez, a French-language musical drama, shattered records with 13 nominations, the most ever received by a non-English-language film. Months later, on March 2, 2025, the ceremony confirmed what many suspected: this was an awards season unlike any before.

Most Nominated Film: Emilia Pérez (13) · Nominations Announced: January 23, 2025 · Ceremony Date: March 2, 2025 · Record for Non-English Film: 13 nominations

What are the current nominations for the 97th Academy Awards?

The nominations announcement on January 23, 2025, by presenters Rachel Sennott and Bowen Yang at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater revealed a landscape dominated by a single film: Emilia Pérez (YouTube, ABC7). The French-language musical drama led all films with 13 nominations—one shy of the all-time record—while The Brutalist and Wicked each secured 10 nominations (ABC7). A Complete Unknown and Conclave followed with 8 nominations each.

Emilia Pérez received nominations across major categories including Best Picture, Best Directing for Jacques Audiard, and acting categories for both Karla Sofía Gascón (Leading Actress) and Zoe Saldaña (Supporting Actress) (Post Magazine). It was also named France’s entry for International Feature Film (Oscars.org). Anora, Wicked, The Brutalist, Conclave, A Complete Unknown, and Dune: Part Two rounded out the major Best Picture contenders (Wikipedia).

The ceremony on March 2, 2025, delivered a twist that few predicted: Sean Baker’s Anora walked away with five Oscars, including Best Picture, Directing, and Actress (Leading) for Mikey Madison (ABC, Wikipedia). Sean Baker personally claimed four awards—producing, directing, screenwriting, and film editing (Wikipedia). Meanwhile, Emilia Pérez’s 13 nominations translated to two wins on the night (Wikipedia).

Best Picture

The field featured remarkable diversity in tone and origin—I’m Still Here became the first Portuguese-language film ever nominated for Best Picture (Wikipedia)—yet the Academy ultimately chose Anora’s intimate New York story over the more sprawling international dramas.

• Anora
• The Brutalist
• A Complete Unknown
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• I’m Still Here
• Nickel Boys
• The Substance
• Wicked

Directing

The directing lineup represented a striking mix of established veterans and breakthrough talents—James Mangold’s name recognition competed against Brady Corbet’s critical darling The Brutalist, while Coralie Fargeat became one of few women in the category since the award’s inception.

• Sean Baker (Anora)
• Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)
• James Mangold (A Complete Unknown)
• Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez)
• Coralie Fargeat (The Substance)

Best Actress

The Best Actress race saw Mikey Madison emerge as a surprising favorite over more decorated competitors, ultimately winning for her transformable performance in Anora.

• Cynthia Erivo (Wicked)
• Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez)
• Mikey Madison (Anora)
• Demi Moore (The Substance)
• Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here)

Which actress has lost Best Actress 18 times?

The actress most associated with repeated Oscar losses without winning in the Leading Actress category is Katharine Hepburn, who received four nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role without winning in that category (though she won four times in Supporting). Her record of losing multiple times without a single win in a single category was unmatched for decades.

In contemporary terms, Meryl Streep holds a different kind of record: 18 nominations for Best Actress (Wikipedia), with 3 wins among them. Her career of sustained excellence—the constant nominations rather than the losses—is what makes her case remarkable. She wasn’t nominated and lost 18 times; she was nominated 18 times and won three.

What confuses many online questions is conflating nomination counts with loss counts. Katharine Hepburn’s 12 nominations across her career with 4 wins means she “lost” 8 times—but never in a row and never without eventually being recognized. The reality is more encouraging than the framing suggests: the Academy keeps circling back to exceptional performers.

Who is the only actor to win 3 Best Actor Oscars?

Daniel Day-Lewis stands alone as the only actor to win three Academy Awards for Best Actor (Wikipedia). His victories came for My Left Foot (1989), There Will Be Blood (2007), and Lincoln (2012)—each a transformative performance that required substantial physical or psychological immersion.

No other actor has matched this record. Katharine Hepburn leads among actresses with four wins (though two came in the Supporting category). The achievement becomes more striking when considering that Day-Lewis announced his retirement from acting in 2017, making the record permanent unless broken by a future performer.

For the 97th Oscars, no current nominee comes close to this trajectory—Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice), Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain), and Guy Pearce (The Brutalist) each brought distinct, acclaimed performances but none suggested a career-crowning three-win arc (Post Magazine).

Who is favored to win the Best Actress Oscar?

At the time of the nominations announcement, Mikey Madison emerged as the leading contender for Best Actress, with her performance in Anora drawing critical praise for its complexity and physical transformation (Post Magazine). The race included Karla Sofía Gascón’s historic nomination for Emilia Pérez, Cynthia Erivo’s star turn in Wicked, and Demi Moore’s acclaimed return to dramatic work in The Substance.

Pre-ceremony predictions favored Madison, but the Academy’s track record in recent years shows surprising shifts in the final weeks. Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here) represented an alternative path—the quiet, character-driven performance that sometimes overtakes the showier work.

The March 2 ceremony confirmed Mikey Madison as the winner, making her the youngest Best Actress winner in decades and signaling the Academy’s willingness to crown rising talent over established stars.

Current frontrunners

• Mikey Madison (Anora) — favored for nuanced, transformable performance
• Cynthia Erivo (Wicked) — star power and technical achievement in musical
• Demi Moore (The Substance) — career-resurgence narrative

97th Oscars predictions

• Mikey Madison emerged as the likely winner based on precursor awards momentum
• Demi Moore’s “career comeback” narrative strengthened as the season progressed
• Karla Sofía Gascón represented a historic non-English performance in the category

What is the biggest Oscar snub of all time?

Determining the “biggest” Oscar snub depends on methodology—whether measuring critical consensus, popular sentiment, or industry precedent. Three cases frequently surface in this conversation: Alfred Hitchcock never won Best Director despite four nominations; Citizen Sesame’s lack of major nominations remains baffling by any standard; and the repeated overlooking of certain performance types shows systematic blind spots.

For the 97th Oscars, potential snubs included several critically acclaimed performances that didn’t translate to nominations. The absence of major nominations for certain critically lauded films suggested the Academy’s persistent difficulty with non-English performances in categories beyond International Feature.

Historical snubs

• Hitchcock never won Best Director across his 50-year career
• Citizen Shoch’s exclusion from major categories remains inexplicable
• Multiple genre films overlooked despite cultural impact

The pattern shows the Academy struggling most when a film is both artistically exceptional and culturally disruptive. The films that age best in Oscar history tend to be conservative choices that feel revolutionary decades later.

97th Oscars potential snubs

• Several genre-defining performances excluded from acting categories
• Technical achievements overlooked in favor of traditional categories
• Supporting performances from high-profile films missing from nominations

The 97th Academy Awards will be remembered for the gap between nominations and wins. Emilia Pérez arrived with 13 nominations—one shy of the all-time record—but left with just two Oscars. Anora, with far fewer nominations, dominated the final count with five wins including the top prize. For filmmakers chasing Oscar glory, the lesson is uncomfortable: nomination counts can mislead. What matters is which 10 members vote for Best Picture on the final night.