You’ve seen the headlines, but the vibe in Hollywood right now is kinda chaotic. When the list of nominees for Oscars 2025 finally dropped, it wasn’t just a "who's who" of big stars. It was a total reckoning. People expected a coronation for the massive blockbusters, but what we actually got was a gritty, indie-heavy lineup that has a lot of folks scratching their heads.
Honestly, it feels like the Academy is trying to prove it still has "taste."
Look at Emilia Pérez. This thing is a French musical about a Mexican cartel boss undergoing gender-affirming surgery. It’s wild. It’s loud. And it walked away with a massive 13 nominations. That’s the kind of flex that tells you exactly where the voters' heads are at this year. They aren't just looking for "pretty" movies; they want something that makes them feel a bit uncomfortable.
The Brutal Reality of the Nominees for Oscars 2025
If you haven't sat through The Brutalist yet, bring a snack. It’s a three-and-a-half-hour epic about a Hungarian immigrant architect. Adrien Brody is the lead here, and he basically turned into a lock for Best Actor the second the credits rolled at Venice. The film snagged 10 nominations, tying with Wicked.
It’s a weird pairing, right? You’ve got a bleak, sprawling historical drama on one side and a neon-pink Broadway adaptation on the other.
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- Best Picture Contenders: Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance, and Wicked.
- The Power Players: Emilia Pérez (13 noms), The Brutalist (10 noms), Wicked (10 noms).
The acting categories are where things get spicy. Mikey Madison in Anora is the one everyone is talking about. She’s young, she’s intense, and she’s the heart of a movie that won the Palme d'Or. But then you have Demi Moore in The Substance. That’s a body-horror flick, people! The Academy usually avoids gore like the plague, but Moore’s performance was so visceral they couldn't ignore it.
Why Everyone Is Mad About the Snubs
Every year, some A-lister gets left out, and the internet loses its collective mind. This year? It’s a bloodbath.
Denzel Washington in Gladiator II? Gone. He was the heavy favorite for a Supporting Actor nod, but the Academy moved on. Then there's Nicole Kidman. Her work in Babygirl won her the Best Actress prize at Venice, but she didn’t even make the top five for the nominees for Oscars 2025. It’s brutal.
And don't even get me started on Selena Gomez. She was a huge part of the Emilia Pérez ensemble, but while her co-stars Karla Sofía Gascón and Zoe Saldaña got the nod, Gomez was left in the cold. It’s those kinds of "close but no cigar" moments that make the Oscar season so stressful for fans.
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Even Denis Villeneuve got snubbed for Best Director for Dune: Part Two. I mean, he built a literal world, and the Academy was basically like, "Cool, but have you seen this indie film shot on a 16mm camera?"
Breaking Down the Acting Heats
Timothée Chalamet is back in the mix for A Complete Unknown, playing Bob Dylan. It’s his second Best Actor nod, but he’s up against some titans. Ralph Fiennes is doing incredible, understated work in Conclave—a movie about the Vatican that plays like a political thriller.
- Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) – The frontrunner.
- Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) – A surprising but deserved nod for his take on a young Donald Trump.
- Colman Domingo (Sing Sing) – Pure emotional weight.
Then you have the Supporting Actor race. Kieran Culkin is riding high from A Real Pain. If you’ve seen it, you know he’s basically playing a version of himself but with more trauma, and it works perfectly. He’s up against Edward Norton and Guy Pearce, so it’s not exactly a walk in the park.
Behind the Scenes and Technical Nods
The "below the line" categories—costumes, sound, editing—are where Dune: Part Two and Wicked are expected to clean up. But watch out for Nosferatu. Robert Eggers’ gothic horror movie pulled in four nominations, including Cinematography and Production Design. It looks like a painting come to life, even if it is a nightmare-inducing one.
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Interestingly, Flow, a tiny animated film from Latvia, made history. It’s nominated for Best Animated Feature, proving that you don't need a Pixar budget to get noticed if the storytelling is tight enough. It’s competing against Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot, so it’s a real David vs. Goliath situation.
What You Should Actually Do Now
If you want to be the smartest person at your Oscar watch party, you need a plan. Don't just watch the trailers.
- Watch the "Small" Films First: Start with Anora or A Real Pain. These are the movies that actually have the momentum right now.
- Track the Guild Awards: The SAG and DGA awards are usually better predictors than the Golden Globes. If someone wins there, they’re probably taking the Oscar.
- Don't Ignore the International Category: The Seed of the Sacred Fig and I’m Still Here are phenomenal. Often, the best movie of the year is hidden in this category.
The ceremony is set for March 2, 2026. Between now and then, the narrative will change a dozen times. Someone will give a weird interview, a "scandal" will break about a production detail, and the frontrunners will shift. That’s just the game. But as of right now, the nominees for Oscars 2025 represent one of the most diverse and artistically "brave" years we've seen in a decade.
Focus on the performances that made you feel something. At the end of the day, the gold statue is just metal, but the movies—especially the ones that got snubbed—are what we actually remember.