World News

By Oscar Stowell in Winter 2025

What You Need to Know

The film industry came roaring back this year. With production returning from the writers’ strike, major studios rushed to make up for lost time. While a plethora of movies hit the theaters this year, there weren’t quite as many box office hits like those of last year, such as Barbie or Oppenheimer. One of the biggest movies of the year, Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez has 13 nominations. Tied for second place are Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist and Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of Wicked. The stars of all three– Karla Sofía Gascón, Adrien Brody, and Cynthia Erivo respectively– all picked up nominations. Also nominated for best actor is Sebastian Stan for his performance in Ali Abassi’s Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice. His co-star Jeremy Strong is nominated for best supporting actor alongside Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown), and Guy Pearce (The Brutalist). Competing for best actress are Mikey Madison for Anora, and Demi Moore for The Substance. In the best supporting actress category, notable nominees include Ariana Grande for her performance as Galinda in Wicked, and Felicity Jones for her outstanding performance in The Brutalist. 

Nominations

Anora

Sean Baker’s Anora is a soaring, gritty, and beautiful film about the romance between stripper and sex worker Ani (Mikey Madison) and her client Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) that will certainly be a star-making turn for both actors. 

The Brutalist

In Brady Corbet’s cinematic masterpiece, a renowned foreign architect builds a new life in America. Though there has been controversy regarding the use of AI to change Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones’ accents, both delivered career high performances. 

A Complete Unknown

Timothée Chalamet shines in this Bob Dylan biopic, which portrays the singer as an enigmatic, prophet-like singer who delivers solace to a needy world. 

Conclave 

This film centers around a British cardinal (Ralph Fiennes) who must organize the election of a new pope, after the last’s sudden death. Based on the book of the same name by Robert Harris, Conclave is visually stunning, heart racing, and emotional. 

Dune: Part Two

An interstellar follow up to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One, this film is, in all respects, epic. With soaring performances from Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet, Dune: Part Two is an incredible, visually sumptuous, and beautifully sleek adaptation of Frank Herbert’s behemoth novel. 

Emilia Pérez

In Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, A cartel leader retires and transitions into a woman with the help of a lawyer. Unfortunately, the accents in this film have offended many Spanish speakers. Do not be fooled by the fact that it is an “International film,” this movie is French, not Spanish. Many trans people disagree with the way that gender affirming care is portrayed. Nonetheless, this movie leads the Oscars with 13 nominations. 

I’m Still Here

In this Brazilian film, Fernanda Torres delivers a gut wrenching performance as a woman who investigates the disappearance of her husband, while coping with loneliness and a family in shambles.

Nickel Boys

In this adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s book, the camera is a character. We view the story of two boys at an abusive reformatory school in the Jim Crow South through a first person perspective. 

The Substance 

In this dark, grotesque, feminist comedy-horror, Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore both deliver outstanding performances. An aging actress in Hollywood, portrayed guttingly by Demi Moore, divides herself to create a younger, more beautiful version of herself. 

Wicked

This adaptation of the hit musical was by far the biggest box office hit of the year. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo both delivered fun, intelligent, and emotional performances. If it were to win, it would be the first musical to do so since Chicago in 2002.

Some notable exclusions from the best picture race were Sing Sing, a beautiful story of incarceration and art, Joker 2, the sequel to Joker, for which Joaquin Phoenix took home best actor, and the comedy A Real Pain starring Jesse Esenberg and Kieren Culkin. Watch the 97th Oscars live on March 2nd at 4:00 PM PST, to find out who will take home the biggest honor in film.