The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences showered little-seen movies rooted in progressive politics with nominations for the 97th Oscars on Thursday.
“Emilia Pérez,” a musical exploration of trans identity, and “The Brutalist,” a three-and-a-half-hour study of immigrant trauma and antisemitism, emerged as films to beat by securing nominations in most of the major categories, including best picture and best director. “Emilia Pérez,” a Netflix entry, received 13 nominations in total, the most of any film.
“The Brutalist,” a low-budget movie from A24 that arrives in theaters nationwide on Friday, received 10 nominations. One blockbuster, “Wicked,” with its messages about the dangers of authoritarianism and the power of resistance, also did well with voters. It garnered 10 nominations, but failed to crack the important directing and screenplay categories.
While the acting races have taken clearer shape over the past month, the best picture contest remains unusually wide open. Unlike last year, when “Oppenheimer” cemented its front-runner status almost immediately and never looked back, multiple films remain in the hunt for Hollywood’s top prize this time around.
The nominees for best picture included “Conclave,” a Vatican thriller; “The Substance,” which explores feminism through body horror; “Nickel Boys,” a historical drama set at a racist reform school in 1960s Florida; “Anora,” a Cinderella story about a sex worker who impulsively marries the hard-partying son of a Russian oligarch; “I’m Still Here,” a Brazilian drama about family life and political oppression; and the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.”
“Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two” filled out the category. The academy expanded the best picture field to 10 in 2022 as part a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative. The category previously had as few as five slots.
Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”), Timothée Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”), Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”) and Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”) were nominated for best actor, as expected. Sebastian Stan drew the wild-card spot for his performance as an unsavory, early-career Donald Trump in “The Apprentice.”
Demi Moore (“The Substance”) has been the favorite to win best actress since she delivered a poignant acceptance speech about Hollywood pigeonholing at the Golden Globes this month. Academy voters waved her through to the nomination stage while also giving best actress nods to Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”), Mikey Madison (“Anora”), Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”) and Karla Sofía Gascón (“Emilia Pérez”). Gascón became the first openly trans actress to receive an Oscar nomination.
Kieran Culkin, fresh off winning a Golden Globe for his performance in “A Real Pain,” received a nomination for best supporting actor. Filling out the category were Yura Borisov (“Anora”), Guy Pearce (“The Brutalist”), Edward Norton (“A Complete Unknown”) and Jeremy Strong (“The Apprentice”).
For supporting actress, Oscar voters handed nominations to the favorites Zoe Saldaña (“Emilia Pérez”) and Ariana Grande (“Wicked”), both of whom played lead roles but decided to run as secondary candidates. Joining them were Isabella Rossellini (“Conclave”), Monica Barbaro (“A Complete Unknown”) and Felicity Jones (“The Brutalist”).
In the director category, the academy nominated favorites Sean Baker (“Anora”), Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”) and Jacques Audiard (“Emilia Perez”). Rounding out the category were James Mangold (“A Complete Unknown”) and the French female filmmaker Coralie Fargeat (“The Substance”). Prominent omissions included Edward Berger (“Conclave”) and Jon M. Chu (“Wicked”).
The nominees for original screenplay included the favorites “Anora,” “The Brutalist” and “A Real Pain.” The remaining two slots went to “The Substance” and “September 5.”
Adapted screenplay nods went to “Conclave,” “Emilia Pérez ,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Nickel Boys” and “Sing Sing.”
Netflix, which is having a banner week, having announced on Tuesday that it crossed 300 million subscribers, walked away Thursday morning with the 16 nominations, the most of any distributor. Thirteen nominations for “Emilia Perez” alone makes the irreverent musical the company’s most nominated film in its history.
The movie was an acquisition for the company out of this year’s Cannes film festival and has been on an awards tear ever since. Before “Emilia,” Netflix’s most nominated film was 2018’s “Roma,” which garnered 10 nominations. The company’s most winning film is the 2022 drama “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which won four Oscars, including best international feature film and best cinematography.
The streaming giant has amassed 23 trophies since 2016, when it landed its first with the documentary short “The White Helmets.” It has also scored two best director wins: Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”) and Alfonso Cuarón (“Roma”). It has yet to land the highly coveted best picture prize.
The nominations were announced at the academy’s Beverly Hills, Calif., headquarters in an early-morning ceremony hosted by Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott. The ceremony will be held on March 2.