The 2025 Oscars nominations are here, and, naturally, a lot of people mad about it. Hey, it wouldn’t be the Oscars if there weren’t a bunch of people on social media getting mad at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The nominations for the 97th annual Academy Awards were announced on Thursday morning, after being delayed due to the devastating Los Angeles fires. The nominations were announced by Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott, and you can watch the playback on the Oscars YouTube page. Eligible films for the 2025 Oscars include titles released from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, and had to have at least a 7-day qualifying run in theaters in a major U.S. city as its first form of public exhibition or distribution. The ceremony on will take place on Sunday, March 2, 2025, and will be televised live at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC and Hulu.
It’s been a wide open Oscar race for most of the year, but some front-runners have emerged over the last few months, including The Brutalist, Emilia Pérez, Anora, and Wicked. But it wouldn’t be the Oscars without a few upsets. Read on for a breakdown of the 2025 Oscar snubs and surprises, and check out the list of 2025 Oscar nominations on Decider.
Challengers for Best Score (or anything!): This one hurts. I don’t care that Challengers hasn’t been doing well in the awards circuit, that soundtrack was The Moment. You’re telling me those ear crimes in Emilia Pérez got nominated over “Yeah x10?” The Academy better shape up, or Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross might stop delivering these bangers.
Daniel Craig for Queer: Look, I knew it was a long shot, but Daniel Craig deserved recognition for his visceral portrayal of a gay man and drug addict coming apart at the seams in 1950s Mexico. The amount of sweat on Craig, alone, deserves its own reward.
Pamela Anderson for The Last Showgirl: Ugh, this was supposed to be Pamela’s big comeback! Hollywood was supposed to be apologizing for treating her like dirt for the last three decades! Alas. At least we saw her at the Golden Globes.
Jonathan Bailey for Wicked: Fieryo did not go dancing through life for a snub like this! But Bailey can rest easy knowing Wicked got a Best Picture nomination, and knowing that every person in the world is in love with him.
Clarence Maclin for Sing Sing: We really hoped Maclin would pull off a nomination for Best Supporting actor here, but alas. You could tell Bowen Yang thought this was a snub by the way he emphasized Maclin’s name when announcing Sing Sing’s nomination for Best Original Song.
Selena Gomez for Emilia Pérez: I’ll be honest, I knew from the moment I first saw Netflix’s musical crime comedy that Selena Gomez would not be getting an Oscar nomination for this role. It’s not her fault—it’s simply not an Oscar-worthy role. Still, the Selenators held out hope. Better luck next time!
Angelina Jolie for Maria: Angelina delivered a career-best performance as the famed Greek opera singer Maria Callas, heartbreaking and vulnerable. No doubt Jolie envisioned herself winning the Oscar for this role, but the Academy didn’t even bestow her a nomination. So it goes.
A Real Pain for Best Picture: With 10 slots available, it’s unusual for a movie to get so many other nominations—including Best Supporting Actor for Kieran Culkin—but not a Best Picture nomination. Luckily, Culkin has a strong shot at winning in his category.
I Saw the TV Glow for anything: It’s not surprising, but it is disappointing. The Academy completely snubbed what many, many critics (and Martin Scorsese!) agree is one of the best films of the year. Filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun should sleep well tonight knowing they made a visually striking, inventive, and gut-wrenching masterpiece, no matter what the Oscars may think.
Sebastian Stan for The Apprentice: We really weren’t sure if Stan’s portrayal of a young Donald Trump would earn a nomination, but the Academy surprised us! The twist? His earlier Golden Globe win was for his other big awards movie this year, A Different Man.
Monica Barbaro for A Complete Unknown: Another pleasant surprise was Barbaro’s nomination for her portrayal of Joan Baez in the Bob Dylan movie. How does it feel, you ask? Really good!
I’m Still Here for Best Picture: This one is a big win for the “come to Brazil” crowd in the live chat. Maybe Emilia Pérez isn’t a lock for Best International Feature after all! We can only hope.
Nickel Boys for Best Picture: Even though RaMell Ross’s masterpiece was egregiously snubbed for Best Cinematography, at least the Academy did the right thing and nominated Nickel Boys for Best Picture.
The Girl with the Needle for Best International Feature: A lot of American cinephiles just added this film from Denmark to our watchlists.