2025 Oscars: ‘Emilia Pérez’ and ‘Wicked’ Dominate the Craft Nominations with 7 Apiece
“Emilia Pérez” and “Wicked” emerged January 23 as the two Oscar craft juggernauts, scoring seven nominations apiece and setting up a battle of the musicals at the 97th Academy Awards on March 2. This matches the seven craft nominations of last year’s eventual Best Picture winner “Oppenheimer.”
Jacques Audiard’s operatic thriller “Emilia Pérez” grabbed cinematography (Paul Guillaume), makeup and hairstyling (Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier, and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini), editing (Juliette Welfling), score (Clément Ducol and Camille), sound (Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz, and Niels Barletta), and two original songs (“El Mal” by Clément Ducol and Camille and Audiard and “Mi Camino” by Camille and Ducol).
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Jon M. Chu’s populist blockbuster “Wicked” captured costume design (Paul Tazewell), production design (seven-time nominee Nathan Crowley, shared with set decorator Lee Sandales), makeup and hairstyling (Frances Hannon, Laura Blount, and Sarah Nuth), editing (Myron Kerstein), sound (Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson, and John Marquis), score (John Powell and Stephen Schwartz), and VFX (Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk, and Paul Corbould).
Sharing four noms were “The Brutalist,” “Conclave,” “Dune: Part Two,” and “Nosferatu.”
Brady Corbet’s post-Holocaust immigrant drama “The Brutalist” nabbed cinematography (Lol Crawley in retro VistaVision), production design (Judy Becker, shared with set decorator Patricia Cuccia), editing (David Jancso), and score (Daniel Blumberg).
Edward Berger’s Vatican thriller “Conclave” secured costume design (Lisy Christl), production design (Suzie Davies, shared with set decorator Cynthia Sleiter), editing (Nick Emerson), and score (“All Quiet on the Western Front” winner Volker Bertelmann).
Denis Villeneuve’s more action-packed sci-fi sequel “Dune: Part 2” earned nods for cinematography (Greig Fraser), production design (Patrice Vermette, shared with set decorator Shane Vieau), sound (Gareth John, Richard King, and Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill), and VFX (Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer). All were category winners for “Dune.”
Robert Eggers’ horror remake “Nosferatu” captured cinematography (Jarin Blaschke in 35mm), costume design (Linda Muir), production design (Craig Lathrop, shared with set decorator Beatrice Brentnerová), and makeup/hair (David White, Traci Loader, and Suzanne StokesMunton).
Netting three noms was “The Wild Robot.” Chris Sanders’ hand-drawn-looking sci-fi adventure garnered animated feature, score (Kris Bowers), and sound (Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo, and Leff Lefferts). This was last accomplished by Pixar’s “Soul” and represents a first for DreamWorks Animation. “The Wild Robot” finds itself in a battle with Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow,” which also grabbed an International Feature Film nom for Latvia. Other animated feature nominees include Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” last year’s billion-dollar phenom, Aardman/Netflix’s “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” and Adam Elliot’s “Memoir of a Snail.”
James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” scored two noms for costume (Arianne Phillips) and sound (Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey, and David Giammarco).
Meanwhile, the following received single moms: “Alien: Romulus” (VFX for Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin, and Shane Mahan); “Anora” (Sean Baker marks the eighth director for editing); “Better Man” (VFX for Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, and Peter Stubbs of Wētā FX); “A Different Man” (makeup/hair for Mike Marino, David Presto, and Crystal Jurado); “Gladiator II” (costume design for Janty Yates and Dave Crossman); “Elton John: Never Too Late” (the title song for John and Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, and Bernie Taupin); “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (VFX for Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke of Wētā FX); “Maria” (cinematographer Ed Lachman’s fourth nomination, this time shooting 35mm/16mm film); “Sing Sing” (original song “Like a Bird,” Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada); “The Six Triple Eight” (original song “The Journey,” honorary winner Diane Warren’s 16th nomination); and Coralie Fargeat’s Best Picture nominee, “The Substance” (makeup/hair for Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli).
A question mark was “Dune: Part Two.” Given its early release and lack of buzz, it wound up underperforming compared to “Dune,” which racked up eight nominations. However, its best shot at repeating is VFX.
The biggest craft snub was Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers,” which contended for both Marco Costa’s kinetic editing and buzzy score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Another crafts shut out was RaMell Ross’ Best Picture nominee, “Nickel Boys,” especially for Jomo Fray’s experimental cinematography (an ASC Spotlight Award nominee). Steve McQueen’s World War II drama, “Blitz,” was also MIA. It was a hopeful for Jacqueline Durran’s costumes and Hans Zimmer’s score.
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