Oscars 2025 – The Nominees and Hungary’s Strong Presence in the Race

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed the nominees for the 97th Academy Awards, and this year, Hungary once again proves its influence on the global stage. With multiple productions linked to Hungary, including The Brutalist, Dune: Part Two, and Alien: Romulus, the country’s film industry continues to play a key role in major Hollywood projects.

Hungarian Connections at the 2025 Oscars

One of the standout nominations is Dávid Jancsó, who is up for Best Film Editing for his work on The Brutalist. This marks a significant moment for the Hungarian editor, whose collaboration with director Brady Corbet has earned widespread acclaim. The film, which was co-produced by Proton Cinema, has also secured nominations in multiple key categories, including Best Picture, Best Director (Brady Corbet), Best Cinematography (Lol Crawley), and Best Original Screenplay (Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold).

Additionally, The Brutalist has nominations for:

• Best Actor in a Leading Role – Adrien Brody
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Guy Pearce
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Felicity Jones
• Best Original Score – Daniel Blumberg
• Best Production Design – Judy Becker, Patricia Cuckoo

Additionally, the biopic Maria, which was also filmed in Hungary, received a nomination for Best Cinematography (Ed Lachman), further showcasing the country’s role as a favored destination for international productions.

Origo Studios’ Blockbusters: Dune and Alien

Two of the most high-profile nominees, Dune: Part Two and Alien: Romulus, were both filmed at Origo Studios in Budapest.

Dune: Part Two continues its awards streak with nominations in:

• Best Picture – Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe and Denis Villeneuve, Producers
• Best Cinematography – Greig Fraser
• Best Production Design – Patrice Vermette, Shane Vieau
• Best Sound – Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill
• Best Visual Effects – Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer

Alien: Romulus has also earned a Best Visual Effects nomination, recognizing the outstanding work in bringing the terrifying world of the Alien franchise to life.

Major Contenders for the 2025 Oscars

Beyond Hungary’s contributions, this year’s nominations present a mix of industry veterans and breakthrough talents. Some of the most talked-about films in the race include:

• Sean Baker’s Anora – Leading the indie charge with nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing.
• James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown – A biopic about Bob Dylan, featuring Timothée Chalamet in the lead role.
• Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez – A bold, genre-blending film that has received nominations across multiple categories, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Karla Sofía Gascón.

The 97th Academy Awards will take place on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

The full list of nominees:

‌ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

ADRIEN BRODY – The Brutalist

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET – A Complete Unknown

COLMAN DOMINGO – Sing Sing

RALPH FIENNES – Conclave

SEBASTIAN STAN – The Apprentice

‌ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

YURA BORISOV – Anora

KIERAN CULKIN – A Real Pain

EDWARD NORTON – A Complete Unknown

GUY PEARCE – The Brutalist

JEREMY STRONG – The Apprentice

‌ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

CYNTHIA ERIVO – Wicked

KARLA SOFÍA GASCÓN – Emilia Pérez

MIKEY MADISON – Anora

DEMI MOORE – The Substance

FERNANDA TORRES – I’m Still Here

‌ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

MONICA BARBARO – A Complete Unknown

ARIANA GRANDE – Wicked

FELICITY JONES – The Brutalist

ISABELLA ROSSELLINI – Conclave

ZOE SALDAÑA – Emilia Pérez

‌ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

FLOW – Nominees to be determined

INSIDE OUT 2 – Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen

MEMOIR OF A SNAIL – Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney

WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL – Nominees to be determined

THE WILD ROBOT – Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann

‌ANIMATED SHORT FILM

BEAUTIFUL MEN – Nicolas Keppens and Brecht Van Elslande

IN THE SHADOW OF THE CYPRESS – Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi

MAGIC CANDIES – Daisuke Nishio and Takashi Washio

WANDER TO WONDER – Nina Gantz and Stienette Bosklopper

YUCK! – Loïc Espuche and Juliette Marquet

‌CINEMATOGRAPHY

THE BRUTALIST – Lol Crawley

DUNE: PART TWO – Greig Fraser

EMILIA PÉREZ – Paul Guilhaume

MARIA – Ed Lachman

NOSFERATU – Jarin Blaschke

‌COSTUME DESIGN

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN – Arianne Phillips

CONCLAVE – Lisy Christl

GLADIATOR II – Janty Yates and Dave Crossman

NOSFERATU – Linda Muir

WICKED – Paul Tazewell

‌DIRECTING

ANORA – Sean Baker

THE BRUTALIST – Brady Corbet

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN – James Mangold

EMILIA PÉREZ – Jacques Audiard

THE SUBSTANCE – Coralie Fargeat

‌DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM

BLACK BOX DIARIES – Shiori Ito, Eric Nyari and Hanna Aqvilin

NO OTHER LAND – Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham

PORCELAIN WAR – Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, Aniela Sidorska and Paula DuPre’ Pesmen

SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT – Johan Grimonprez, Daan Milius and Rémi Grellety

SUGARCANE – Nominees to be determined

‌DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM

DEATH BY NUMBERS – Kim A. Snyder and Janique L. Robillard

I AM READY, WARDEN – Smriti Mundhra and Maya Gnyp

INCIDENT – Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven

INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART – Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Eric Nyari

THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA – Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington

‌FILM EDITING

ANORA – Sean Baker

THE BRUTALIST – David Jancso

CONCLAVE – Nick Emerson

EMILIA PÉREZ – Juliette Welfling

WICKED – Myron Kerstein

‌INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

BRAZIL – I’m Still Here

DENMARK – The Girl with the Needle

FRANCE – Emilia Pérez

GERMANY – The Seed of the Sacred Fig

LATVIA – Flow

‌MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

A DIFFERENT MAN – Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado

EMILIA PÉREZ – Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini

NOSFERATU – David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne Stokes-Munton

THE SUBSTANCE – Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli

WICKED – Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth

‌MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

THE BRUTALIST – Daniel Blumberg

CONCLAVE – Volker Bertelmann

EMILIA PÉREZ – Clément Ducol and Camille

WICKED – John Powell and Stephen Schwartz

THE WILD ROBOT – Kris Bowers

‌MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

EL MAL – from Emilia Pérez; Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard

THE JOURNEY – from The Six Triple Eight; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

LIKE A BIRD – from Sing Sing; Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada

MI CAMINO – from Emilia Pérez; Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol

NEVER TOO LATE – from Elton John: Never Too Late; Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin

‌BEST PICTURE

ANORA – Alex Coco, Samantha Quan and Sean Baker, Producers

THE BRUTALIST – Nominees to be determined

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN – Fred Berger, James Mangold and Alex Heineman, Producers

CONCLAVE – Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman, Producers

DUNE: PART TWO – Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe and Denis Villeneuve, Producers

EMILIA PÉREZ – Nominees to be determined

I’M STILL HERE – Nominees to be determined

NICKEL BOYS – Nominees to be determined

THE SUBSTANCE – Nominees to be determined

WICKED – Marc Platt, Producer

‌PRODUCTION DESIGN

THE BRUTALIST – Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia

CONCLAVE – Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter

DUNE: PART TWO – Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau

NOSFERATU – Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová

WICKED – Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

‌LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

A LIEN – Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz

ANUJA – Adam J. Graves and Suchitra Mattai

I’M NOT A ROBOT – Victoria Warmerdam and Trent

THE LAST RANGER – Cindy Lee and Darwin Shaw

THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT – Nebojša Slijepčević and Danijel Pek

‌SOUND

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN – Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco

DUNE: PART TWO – Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill

EMILIA PÉREZ – Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta

WICKED – Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis

THE WILD ROBOT – Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo and Leff Lefferts

‌VISUAL EFFECTS

ALIEN: ROMULUS – Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan

BETTER MAN – Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs

DUNE: PART TWO – Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer

KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES – Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke

WICKED – Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould

‌WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN – Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks

CONCLAVE – Screenplay by Peter Straughan

EMILIA PÉREZ – Screenplay by Jacques Audiard; In collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi

NICKEL BOYS – Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes

SING SING – Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield

‌WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

ANORA – Written by Sean Baker

THE BRUTALIST – Written by Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold

A REAL PAIN – Written by Jesse Eisenberg

SEPTEMBER 5 – Written by Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; Co-Written by Alex David

THE SUBSTANCE – Written by Coralie Fargeat