‘Emilia Perez’ Makes History At Oscars 2025 With 13 Nominations

The 2025 Oscar Nominations have been announced and some familiar faces as well as groundbreaking scenarios are taking center stage.

The biggest award for Best Picture is a steep competition, with Emilia Perez leading the way followed by Wicked and The Brutalist close behind. Emilia Perez, a film starring Karla Sofia Gascon, received 13 nominations, the most for a non-English language film. Gascon also was nominated as the first transgender woman in the Best Actress category. In the story of Emilia Perez, Gascon plays a Mexican cartel boss who is offered the chance to retire in hiding if he transitions as a woman.

Both with 10 nominations are Wicked and The Brutalist. Wicked, the story of the witches of Oz and their unlikely friendship before we meet Dorothy, includes nominations for the two lead actresses, Cynthia Erivo for Best Actress and Ariana Grande for Best Supporting Actress. The Universal Studios movie was also nominated for Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, as well as Costume Design.

The Brutalist stars Adrian Brody, who is no stranger to the Oscar statue. He’s hoping to add to his collection of awards and his one Oscar he received for The Pianist in 2002. In The Brutalist, Brody stars as an immigrant architect leaving Europe after World War II. Another film honored with a nomination is The Substance. It’s lead actress Demi Moore has been given her first Oscar Nomination.

Moore, a veteran actress, has been around for 4 decades first beginning as a model then moving onto acting. She appeared in some of Hollywood’s biggest films including St. Elmo’s Fire, Ghost, and A Few Good Men. Her nomination for Best Actress In A Lead Role is being touted as a career high.

The honors were announced by Wicked star Bowen Yang and Saturday Night actress Rachel Sennott. Rounding out the Best Picture category are Anora, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, I’m Still Here, and Nickel Boys. A Complete Unknown, the story of Bob Dylan starring Timothee Chalamet and Conclave starring Ralph Fiennes both racked up eight nominations. Other categories besides Best Picture, Best Actor and Actress includes Best Director, Documentary, Animated Film, Original and Adapted Screenplay, Original Song and Cinematography and Visual Effects, amongst others. In total, there are 24 categories.

The nomination announcement was originally scheduled for January 17 but faced two different cancellations as a result of the Los Angeles wildfires that affected the Pacific Palisades and Altadena. The day after the fires began the Academy extended the voting window to January 14, with the plan to announce on January 19.

However, it became apparent that the fires were not letting up and the Academy saw it best to delay the nominations again, with the announcement scheduled and executed this morning. The annual nominee luncheon was canceled entirely with the money allocated on that event to now be donated to relief efforts. Additionally, the Academy also donated $1 million to the Motion Picture and Television Funds Wildlife relief efforts.

The ceremony will take the time to honor those affected by the fires. Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said in a statement, “We will reflect on the recent events while highlighting the strength, creativity and optimism that defines Los Angeles and our industry.” The Award Ceremony will take place with Conan O’Brien as host on Sunday, March 2, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.