The 2025 Oscars Best Picture category features the Academy’s best ten films of 2024. As before, the selection has attracted polarized criticism from critics, audiences, and movie enthusiasts. Like the years before, the 2025 Oscars Best Picture category has ten films. This has been the norm since the 82nd Academy Awards in 2009 when nominees were increased from five to ten.
All nominations, including Best Picture, for the 2025 Oscars were announced on January 23, 2025, by actor Bowen Yang and actress Rachel Sennott. The Best Picture is awarded to film producers and is normally scheduled as the night’s final award. The 2025 Oscars, also known as the 97th Academy Awards, will take place on March 2, 2025. These are all ten films nominated (listed alphabetically) for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars.
Anora
The Sean Baker-directed romantic comedy-drama Anora centers around Anora “Ani” Mikheeva (played by Mikey Madison) and Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn). Ani is a 23-year-old stripper from Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood. Ani’s life takes an unexpected turn when she meets Vanya, the 21-year-old son of a wealthy Russian oligarch.
Vanya hires Ani for several sexual encounters and later proposes marriage to her to secure a green card. Despite initial skepticism, Ani agrees, and they elope. However, their union faces challenges as Vanya’s powerful family intervenes, seeking to annul the marriage and separate them. First released at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in 2024, Anora won the Palme d’Or. It is one of the top contenders for the 2025 Oscars Best Picture category.
A Complete Unknown
Released in December 2024, A Complete Unknown is a biographical musical drama about the transformative early years of iconic American musician Bob Dylan. Directed by James Mangold, A Complete Unknown is led by Timothée Chalamet, who portrays Bob Dylan. Set between 1961 and 1965, the film’s narrative delves into Dylan’s rapid rise to fame, his complex relationships with contemporaries like Joan Baez (portrayed by Monica Barbaro), Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook), and his girlfriend Sylvie Russo (based on Suze Rotolo and portrayed by Elle Fanning). It also examines Bob Dylan’s controversial shift from acoustic folk to electric rock. A pivotal moment depicted is his performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where his decision to “go electric” challenged traditional folk norms and polarized audiences.
Conclave
The Ralph Fiennes-led political thriller Conclave was long projected as a worthy contender for the 97th Academy Awards. The film was adapted from Robert Harris’s 2016 novel and set within the Vatican. Conclave follows the drama surrounding the election of a new Pope after the sudden death of the previous one. With Ralph Fiennes playing a Cardinal, Conclave’s plot delves into the secrecy and intense politics of the papal election as cardinals gather to cast their votes in the Sistine Chapel. Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), the Dean of the College of Cardinals, oversees the conclave. He begins to uncover hidden secrets and rivalries among the cardinals, which threatens to shake the foundation of the Catholic Church.
Dune: Part Two
Like its predecessor, Dune: Part Two was nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars. Dune: Part Two continues the epic saga of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he joins forces with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen to seek vengeance against those who destroyed his family. As he navigates this path, Paul faces a dilemma between his deepening love for Chani and his destiny in the universe.
Paul strives to avert a dire future that only he can foresee. He integrates into Fremen society in a bid to unite the Fremen people and confront the oppressive forces of House Harkonnen and the Emperor (Christopher Walken). Dune: Part Two was another masterpiece from Denis Villeneuve. As such, many are shocked Villeneuve wasn’t nominated for Best Director by the Academy.
Emilia Pérez
Since the 2025 Oscars nominees were announced, Emilia Pérez has been the most controversial nomination. With 13 nominations across several categories, Emilia Pérez has the most nominations at the 2025 Oscars. Emilia Pérez is a French musical crime comedy that centers on Juan “Manitas” Del Monte (Karla Sofía Gascón), who desires to transition into a woman and live authentically. To achieve this, he collaborated with Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldaña), an underappreciated lawyer, to fake his death and undergo gender-affirming surgery. After a successful transition, Manitas emerges as the title character, Emilia Pérez.
I’m Still Here
I’m Still Here is another foreign film nominated for Best Picture. It is a Brazilian political biographical drama about Eunice Paiva (portrayed by Fernanda Torres). It is a true story of Eunice, whose husband, former congressman Rubens Paiva, was abducted and disappeared during Brazil’s military dictatorship in 1971. Following his disappearance, Eunice becomes a lawyer and human rights activist. Her search for his whereabouts only leads to her arrest and torture for about two weeks. Never getting a report about her husband for decades, Eunice dedicates herself to seeking justice and supporting others affected by the regime.
Nickel Boys
RaMell Ross’s 2024 historical drama Nickel Boys is also nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars. The film’s screenplay is adapted from Colson Whitehead’s 2019 novel The Nickel Boys. The film’s plot portrays the harrowing experiences of two African-American teenagers, Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson), at the Nickel Academy, a segregated reform school in the early 1960s Jim Crow era. Nickel Boys delves into the systemic abuse and racial injustice prevalent at the time.
The Brutalist
The Brady Corbet-directed epic period drama The Brutalist centers around László Tóth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian-born Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor. After immigrating to the United States, Tóth faced numerous challenges in reviving his architectural career. He then meets a wealthy industrialist, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), who offers him a life-changing opportunity. The Brutalist also Felicity Jones and Joe Alwyn, who played Brody’s on-screen wife and Pearce’s character’s son, respectively. The film received 10 nominations at the 2025 Oscars.
The Substance
Coralie Fargeat’s body horror has since been categorized as one of 2024’s best horror films. The film’s narrative centers on Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), an aging celebrity. After being dismissed by her producer after she turns 50, Elizabeth turns to a clandestine drug in an attempt to regain her youth. This drug induces the emergence of Sue (Margaret Qualley), a younger version of herself, leading to unforeseen and disturbing consequences.
Wicked
Released theatrically on November 22, 2024, Jon M. Chu’s musical fantasy Wicked was a great way to end 2024. The film’s plot is set in the Land of Oz and focuses on the untold story of the witches before Dorothy’s arrival. Wicked centers around two characters: Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo), a misunderstood young woman with green skin who eventually becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and Galinda “Glinda” Upland (Ariana Grande), the Good Witch, who is initially Elphaba’s friend. A critical and commercial success, Wicked’s nomination for Best Picture is unsurprising to critics and audiences.
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