The Substance and Dune: Part Two get five Oscar nominations each — including Best Picture

Is it possible that one of the worst films in recent memory, Emilia Pérez, is now the frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar? In an award season that didn’t seem to have any clear frontrunners at the start, Pérez has loudly become one of the most talked about films of the year, netting a win at the Golden Globes and 13 Oscar nominations today. A decadent showcase of bad taste and worst impulses, Audiard’s film has seemingly struck a chord with industry types for baffling though painfully obvious reasons (they have bad taste and rudimentary understanding of “good” representation). 

In the major categories, there aren’t many obvious snubs among this year’s Oscar nominations. While all the expected players are there, Challengers not receiving a nomination for score — one of the bounciest and most electric works of cinematic music composing of the decade — is likely the most egregious omission this year. Beloved local favourite Universal Language not landing a nomination for Best International Film trails closely behind. Another local favourite, Dune: Part Two, scores five nominations for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Visual Effects, Sound and Production Design. Though Dune continues to dominate in technical categories, Denis Villeneuve still can’t seem to get that directing nomination, even though his work is more impressive than four out of the five nominees in this year’s category.

If there are any surprises, they’re relatively muted. Nothing particularly show-stopping or insane. Everything feels predictable and safe. I’m Still Here, from Brazil, receiving a Best Picture nomination is a pleasant surprise, though this wasn’t necessarily beyond the realm of possibility. The same can be said for Colman Domingo’s nomination for Sing, Sing. Arguably, Sebastian Stan being nominated for The Apprentice is a bit unexpected as well — though good as Donald Trump, he’s completely eclipsed by Jeremy Strong (who is, of course, also nominated). If anything, Stan’s performance showcases just how shallow Trump’s well of interiority is — a fine observation, even if it’s one that doesn’t necessarily make for compelling acting. And, like Dune, The Substance also got five nominations, including for Best Picture AND Best Director for Coralie Fargeat.

The world is on fire but the show must go on

The Oscar nominations were already delayed twice due to the L.A. wildfires before being announced this morning. As the world continues to burn (literally and figuratively), it’s difficult to get overly excited for this year’s event. While Conan O’Brien as host is an inspired choice and the actual ceremony seems dedicated to celebrating the city itself, the entire spectacle feels like holding onto a dying empire. The loss of David Lynch just a few days ago — an artist who created such a singular and visionary oeuvre, and one deeply reverent to the city — feels especially poignant. One of the last true artists of the old filmmaking process, his movies were precisely the kind of visionary art that the Academy so often neglected. His towering influence is a monument to Hollywood, while also being shunned by it. 

While it seems obvious, the Oscars have never been about art, but industry, and in this challenging political episode, industry doesn’t know how to rise up to meet the moment. They lean into symbolic gestures and melancholic elegies, unable and unwilling to take a meaningful stand for people or art. While it seems unlikely that the Oscars will ever sink as low as they did a few years ago when they fully embraced anti-intellectualism and garish Tik Tok aesthetic logic, the faux-elegance they now lean into feels like the revival of a long-dead corpse. 

But the show must go on! Film fans, tired or not of the braindead spectacle, will tune in — myself included. Live shows, though they’ve lost a bit of their spark, still have that hint of danger. While I don’t have any clear favourites I’d like to see win (except maybe Conclave, which is not even on my Best of 2024 list, but it would please me), the only thing I ask from this year’s ceremony is some element of surprise. 

And now, the Oscar nominations

Best Picture
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked

Best Director
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbert, The Brutalist
James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance

Best Actor
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ray Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofia Gascon, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Best Supporting Actress
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldana, Emilia Pérez

Best Costume Design
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Gladiator II
Nosferatu
Wicked

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

Best Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!

Best Live-Action Short Film
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Would Not Remain Silent

Best Adapted Screenplay
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing

Best Original Screenplay
Anora
The Brutalist
A Real Pain
September 5
The Substance

Best Original Song
“El Mal,” Emilia Pérez
“The Journey,” The Six Triple Eight
“Like A Bird,” Sing Sing
“Mi Camino,” Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late,” Elton John Never Too Late

Best Original Score
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot

Best Documentary
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land
Porcelean War
Sugar Cane

Best Documentary Short Subject
Death By Numbers
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra

Best International Film
I’m Still Here
The Girl with The Needle
Emilia Pérez
The Seed of a Sacred Fig
Flow

Best Animated Feature
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit
The Wild Robot

Best Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked

Best Film Editing
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked

Best Sound
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot

Best Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom Planet Apes
Wicked

Best Cinematography
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Maria
Nosferatu

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The 97th Academy Awards will air on ABC on Sunday, March 2. For full list of Oscar nominations, please visit the Academy’s website.

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