Netflix’s musical drama about a transgender mobster has broken Oscar records to become the most nominated film not in the English language.
Emilia Pérez proved divisive among critics but not so among awards voters, who have recognised the film in 13 categories – just one shy of the all-time record held by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016) after a snub for its supporting star Selena Gomez.
The previous record for the most Oscar-nominated international film before Emilia Pérez was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001) and Roma (2018), which received 10 nods each.
Emilia Pérez has also seen a historic nomination for the film’s lead Karla Sofía Gascón, who has become the first out trans star to be nominated at the Oscars.
Following close behind, with 10 nominations apiece, were The Brutalist and Wicked, while the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and Vatican thriller Conclave received eight nominations.
All five of those films, as well as Nickel Boys, Dune: Part Two, I’m Still Here, Anora and The Substance, were nominated for Best Picture.
The Substance star Demi Moore, a fixture of blockbusters in the 1990s, received her first Oscar nomination for the body horror film, which also scored a Best Director nomination for French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat.
The film, which prompted cinema walkouts last year, is a surprising pick for the Oscars given their previous adversity to the horror genre. By being nominated for Best Picture, it becomes just the seventh horror movie to earn such an accolade, joining The Exorcist, Jaws, The Sixth Sense, The Silence of the Lambs, Black Swan and Get Out in the prestigious club.
The Brutalist, which was recently mired in an AI-related controversy, still stands as the major frontrunner to claim many of the top prizes. The nearly four-hour period piece has been recognised in several categories, including Best Picture, Best Director for Brady Corbet, Best Actor for Adrien Brody, Best Supporting Actress for Felicity Jones and Best Supporting Actor for Guy Pearce. This is the former Neighbours star’s first Oscar nomination.
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Jones joins fellow Brits Cynthia Erivo (Wicked ) and Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) in the acting categories.
Also repping it for the Brits are Aardman’s Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, nominated in the Animated Film category and Elton John, who has been nominated for the song “Never Too Late” from the documentary of the same name.
New US president Donald Trump is unlikely to be happy to see the damning biopic The Apprentice, which depicts his early career as a real estate tycoon in New York City, nominated. The film, which received mixed reviews, has seen Marvel star Sebastian Stan recognised for his role as Trump, while Jeremy Strong has received a supporting nod for playing controversial lawyer and Trump’s mentor, Roy Cohn.
Strong’s nomination will see a Succession reunion with Keiran Culkin, who is hotly tipped to win Best Supporting Actor for his performance in A Real Pain.
When the Oscars conclude on 2 March, there is a good chance that Timothée Chalamet could be the happiest person in the building. Not only is he a strong contender to scoop the Best Actor gong for his much-praised performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. His chances of starring in at least one film to walk away with a big award on the night were doubled when sci-fi extravaganza Dune: Part Two was nominated for Best Picture.
If the point of the Oscars is to celebrate the art of filmmaking and promote movies then surely the producers of Nickel Boys, an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel will be the happiest people today. The film won rave reviews but has so far made just over $1m at the worldwide box office. Surely a Best Picture nomination (as well as Best Adapted Screenplay) will prompt more people to a film which deserves as much love as it can get.
The 97th Academy Awards take place on Sunday 2 March.
