The 2025 Academy Award Nominations are here! While there were some disappointments (as usual), we do have much to be excited about! At Offscreen Central, we wanted to highlight some of our favorite Oscar nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards. From The Substance to Sebastian Stan to Nickel Boys, we had some amazing highlights this year!

The Substance – Best Picture

As the great Miley Cyrus said, “There’s always gonna be another mountain. I’m always gonna wanna make it move. Always gonna be an uphill battle. Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose.” This is how many horror fans feel with the Academy recognizing horror films. However, this year was different. They finally did it. Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance not only was nominated in 5 categories but secured a Best Picture nomination. It’s not even just that The Substance is a horror film with perhaps the most blood on screen in 2024 but it’s a film about a woman tossed aside by the entertainment industry as she ages. While the Oscars love a film about the industry, they don’t always love feeling called out. Fargeat and her team crafted such a meaningful, powerful film that was impossible to ignore. The Substance sliding into Best Picture is monumental in terms of horror recognition. Monstro Elisasue being part of the Best Picture landscape will do wonders for the types of horror films that not only get made but get Oscar pushes. The Substance acts as a bloodcurdling scream about society’s impositions and unforgiving expectations put onto women. The frustration women experience attempting to achieve and maintain beauty we’re conditioned to uphold in order to receive validation from those around us. Many women saw themselves in Elisabeth Sparkle, part of the industry or not. If you make a film with heart and something people can connect to, it will get across the finish line. – Kenzie

You can find our review of The Substance here.

The Wild Robot – Best Original Score and Best Sound

Could it be? Is The Academy inching closer and closer to respecting animation as an actual medium and seeing it more than just “children’s entertainment?” This may just be an anomaly, but oh are we happy to see The Wild Robot get these well deserved recognitions! The film’s sweeping score by Academy Award Winner, Kris Bowers, has remained one of my personal favorites of the year, and for many, the most memorable. The track “I Could Use a Boost” in context of what is happening on screen is a picture perfect example of how a brilliant film score is supposed to not only accompany what is happening on screen, but elevate it. You truly feel like you are flying alongside the characters. Bowers’ use of percussion, synth, horns, alongside chromaticism, carefully placed accents, and crescendos that grow as the film progresses cement this work as one of the greatest musical achievements of the year.

Alongside the wonderful score being recognized, the sound work (by Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo, and Leff Lefferts) getting its flowers was one of the most pleasant surprises of the morning! As previously mentioned, very rarely do animated films get nominated outside of the designated Best Animated Film category, let alone in techs. The sound work in The Wild Robot was one of the most underrated work in the category all award season and for it to show up here of all places…my jaw dropped on the floor and an audible gasp escaped my mouth. The sound team truly went above and beyond for this film in ways that the average film viewer might not recognize. Details such as the multiple sounds of the forest, the various animals, all of Roz’s specific sounds, and mixing the voice work from the actors, the sound design in this film is just as important as Bowers’s score. – Sarah

You can find our review of The Wild Robot here.

Jeremy Strong – Best Supporting Actor for The Apprentice

Jeremy Strong received his first Oscars nomination, and rightfully so. Although his co-star Sebastian Stan was nominated for Lead Actor for his portrayal of Donald Trump in Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice, Strong’s performance as Roy Cohn is the emotional core that keeps the film together. As the history goes, Cohn served as Trump’s mentor in New York, before ultimately being shut out in the cold by him. The monster he had built obtained enough power to not need him anymore. Considering Al Pacino played Cohn in Mike Nichols’ Angels in America, Strong had major shoes to fill. However, he rose to the challenge and delivered a heartbreaking performance as Cohn is ultimately diagnosed with AIDS. Strong’s standout moment arrives when Trump throws him a birthday party and he finds out through Ivanna (Maria Bakalova) that the gift of diamond cufflinks was fake — leading him to cry when the cake comes. It’s a reminder that even he had the empathy that Trump did not, but still hoped for the best at his final celebration on Earth. – Lexi

You can find our review of The Apprentice here.

A Different Man – Best Makeup & Hairstyling

The journey that we see Edward (Sebastian Stan) and Oswald (Adam Pearson) take throughout A Different Man, starts from the moment we get our first glimpse at Sebastian Stan in prosthetics. We first meet Edward Lemuel at an absolute low as he struggles with his neurofibromatosis. While the audience knows it’s Stan underneath the prosthetics and makeup, something about the way he carries himself is transformed by how he views and idolizes the idea of appearing “normal”. While in the past, films have often portrayed characters who have facial disfigurements as villains, the makeup in A Different Man humanizes and embraces this, allowing for the audience to understand and empathize with Edward’s journey. Makeup artist Mike Marino is able to capture how Edward sees himself before his transformation, and how without the makeup, the story of A Different Man doesn’t quite work without its prosthetics. When Edward becomes a new person, we ultimately realize that despite making all the efforts to become someone new, he will always be himself even after everything he’s been through. It’s a bittersweet story, that otherwise might not resonate if it wasn’t for the makeup transformation we see on film. – Leia

You can find our review of A Different Man here.

Coralie Fargeat (The Substance) – Best Director

Coralie Fargeat is the ninth woman to be nominated in the Best Director category. A stat that is far too low and speaks volumes to the state of the industry pushing female directed projects and how the industry recognizes women. The Substance is a film about how the world views women as disposable and for their own consumption based on what women can offer to them. Fargeat breaks barriers with every aspect of her hands on approach in the making of The Substance doing many things herself, which you can check out here. There was no director lineup complete without her. Fargeat has a unique vision and brings an ultra feminine aesthetic to the bloody often gritty world of horror. The Substance is an essential film on what it’s like to be a woman. Fargeat sounds a fiery alarm on the bleak reality of society’s perception of a woman’s worth. To see the Academy not only recognize the film but Fargeat’s directorial effort is one for the history books. Body horror has always been a genre that connects deeply with women because of our very existence being a body horror and seeing Fargeat Oscar nominated for a film exploring that…. it will change your life. – Kenzie

You can read our interview with Fargeat here.

Better Man – Best Visual Effects

Like most people, I have not shut up about Better Man since I saw it. I ran off a plane and went immediately to the theater, where I was blown away by the visual effects they pulled off in this — and have since seen it several more times. Through the company Weta FX (Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, and Peter Stubbs), Better Man takes what would have been a typical biopic about Robbie Williams and transforms it into something larger-than-life. Sure, the CGI monkey has caught the most attention, with actor Jonno Davies guiding the movement. It’s an incredibly executed CGI blended with Williams’ facial features. The film has several sequences where I just went, “How on earth did they pull that off?” — including the massive “Rock DJ” dance number that was filmed on-location, recreating Williams’ Knebworth concert, and the heart wrenching visuals in “Come Undone” and “Angels.” Given this is Better Man’s only nomination (after Williams was deemed ineligible for Original Song), it is more than deserving of a win. – Lexi

You can read our review of Better Man here.

No Other Land – Best Documentary Feature

By definition, a documentary is a film or television program that provides a factual record or report. They are meant to educate, inform, and show the world true events occurring in the world. No other documentary film achieves this milestone as effectively as No Other Land. Despite, at the time of this piece being written, the film has yet to be picked up for wide distribution by any major studio, No Other Land has achieved the impossible. Directed by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor, this film was made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of activists as a means to showcase the world the reality of what is occurring in the West Bank, as a means of forging a path to peace, liberation, and coexistence. It is very rare that any film, whether narrative or not, that centers on Palestinian resistance and liberation be given as big of a platform as a nomination at a huge award ceremony. For this documentary to receive this recognition, given its subject matter and what has been occurring in the region for the past year and a half is truly remarkable. I only hope that film studios get the courage to give this well-made documentary the distribution it deserves. – Sarah

You can find our review of No Other Land here.

Guy Pearce – Best Supporting Actor for The Brutalist

During my watch of Christopher Nolan’s filmography ahead of Oppenheimer, I finally sat down to watch Memento. I was blown away by the performance of an actor who (admittedly) I had only seen a few of his roles, and one of those was a Marvel movie. But there I was, in awe of Guy Pearce and his pursuit to uncover who murdered his wife. Today, I’m once again in awe that the Academy recognized his exceptional performance as industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren in The Brutalist. Beyond the snobbish bravado of Harrison, it’s what Pearce doesn’t say that actually stands the most striking, easing you into a false sense of security until Harrison explodes again. Perhaps the most shocking fact is that this is Guy Pearce’s first nomination from the Academy. This is long overdue recognition for one of the great underrated working actors and so well deserved. – Meredith

You can find our review of The Brutalist here.

Nosferatu for Best Cinematography

Nosferatu is one of the most gorgeous films in the Oscar race. The Robert Eggers film landing the cinematography nomination for his longtime collaborator, Jarin Blaschke, is one of the best of the morning and most deserved. The true to nightfall color he’s able to bring to the screen is unreal and magical. The carriage sequence is one of the most talked about scenes from a film in 2024 and that is the power of what images Blaschke brings to the screen. Blaschke captures the essence of nightfall used within vampire stories to transport you into the fever dream Eggers creates. He truly makes darkness visible and an ally in filmmaking where many others are unable. His unique vision and ability to use the darkness as a tool is unmatched. – Kenzie

You can find our review of Nosferatu here.

A Real Pain – Best Original Screenplay

There’s a moment in Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain that makes us realize we may be a mix of both David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) throughout our lives. It comes at a pivotal moment as the duo and their tour group are traveling throughout Poland, and in a moment of reflection, we finally get the opportunity to see all of the love and heartbreak David feels towards his cousin. As he recounts finding Benji after a suicide attempt, there is a better understanding of the ever-encompassing grief, love and envy we have towards certain members of our family. A Real Pain’s screenplay is the catalyst for how losing a loved one brings us closer to understanding our own generational trauma, and how despite it all, we’re still there for one another. Eisenberg’s writing makes us empathize with David and Benji, while also proving to be a type of miracle in understanding how different and alike we are towards our cousins as we manage through our sorrows. Eisenberg has crafted one of my favorite screenplays of the 2020s, and proves to be a force in understanding what makes us feel human in times of grief. – Leia

You can find our review of A Real Pain here.

Conclave – Best Adapted Screenplay

What initially sparked my interest in Conclave was its stacked cast, but what made it one of my favorite films of the year was its screenplay.  I do not come from a Catholic background so the process of choosing a new Pope was a foreign concept to me.  Through this film, you are taken on an impactful 72-hour experience of a political thriller with new twists and revelations that keep you on the edge of your seat.  Peter Straughan, the film’s screenwriter, is able to take you on a journey of these Cardinals fighting their way to the top in the most deceptive ways possible.  Every character is given the opportunity to demonstrate how they fit into this complex puzzle and that is thanks to the tightness and intelligence of the script.  With humor and thrills woven into a relatively simple narrative, you will never be bored as Straughan is able to pull you into the story so well you will continue to change your vote for Pope every time a new scandal is revealed.  – Jessa

You can find our review of Conclave here.

Sebastian Stan – Best Lead Actor for The Apprentice

The Apprentice was almost not distributed in the United States. It was white-hot with controversy, and nobody wanted to touch it with a ten-foot pole. Thankfully, Briarcliff Entertainment took a chance on it, and now it is a two-time Oscar-nominated film. Sebastian Stan’s performance is a perfectly calculated masterpiece. He never drifts into a formulaic impression of Trump but captures the essence of who he is. He has electrifying chemistry with his Oscar-nominated co-star, Jeremy Strong. Stan deserves all the praise in the world. He has been a solid working actor in Hollywood for years, oftentimes in supporting roles, but never failing to steal the show. It’s exhilarating to see Stan nominated for Best Lead Actor. Between his Oscar nomination for The Apprentice and his Golden Globe-winning performance in A Different Man, there will be more lead roles in his future. On another note, some publications proclaimed that Hollywood is ready to play ball with Donald Trump, but the Academy has made a statement with this nomination. Sebastian Stan is a talented actor and a risk-taker, and thankfully his bravery has brought him an Oscar nomination. He is my favorite nominee of the morning. – Eva

You can find our review of The Apprentice here.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Best Animated Feature

Throughout the last 30 years, Wallace and Gromit have been able to make their presence known all throughout the world with their short and full-length feature films. With their 6th full-length film, Vengeance Most Fowl, the duo embark on their biggest adventure yet, and one that is jam-packed with new, innovative technology for stop-motion animation. With a chase sequence that involves a final confrontation between Gromit and fan-favorite villain Feathers McGraw, the film opens the doorway for discussions about how technology has impacted our lives and what happens when it gets into the wrong hands. Vengeance Most Fowl is unlike any Wallace & Gromit film you’ve seen, and I’m eating celebratory cheese in honor of the duo’s Best Animated Feature nomination this year. – Leia

You can find our review of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl here.

Wicked – Best Picture

Jon M. Chu was born to make Wicked, a sentence thrown out many times since the Broadway adaptation first screened for critics late last year. In multiple attempts over a 20 year journey to bring ‘Wicked’ to the cinemas, it was Chu who knew exactly what the film needed and who needed to be involved in crafting the most magical saga of sisterhood and otherism. Introducing the world to the once in a lifetime performances of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, these women put on a full love affair that anchors the film on the verge of heartbreak and joy backed by the illuminated world of every creative collaborator in Chu’s spear that no detail goes missed just like the nine million tulips planted. Grounded in realism, we all see ourselves in Glinda and Elphaba as new life is breathed into the beloved story adding new meaning and depth in a dark moment that Wicked shines the light of kindness keeping us hopeful and prosperous.  Wicked is the ultimate dedication to the power of world building and cinema and Chu is at the helm.  – Jillian

You can find our review of Wicked here.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – Best Visual Effects

I was not remotely interested in any of the new Planet of the Apes movies until I saw the trailer for this most recent installment.  After catching up on all of the films, and creating a complete lesson plan based around the first one, I cannot believe it took me this long to watch this amazing series.  What makes Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes stand out above its predecessors is that it is the first to feature an nearly entire ape cast with only two human beings making an appearance during the film.  There is no hiding how well everything looks in this captivating feature.  It has been centuries since humans started dying off, Earth has regrown as a jungle landscape.  You feel so immersed in their environment that you want to join Noa and his friends swinging through their surroundings finding eggs for their coming-of-age ceremony.  The motion capture used on the actors playing apes has been immaculate since the first film in 2011 and it has continued to improve to above and beyond standards.  If the visual effects were not up to par, the film could have either felt flat and life or goofy and unserious when they have important messages behind the animal antics.  There is no mistaking how hard all of these animators and designers worked on this film and it deserves to be in a winning conversation.  – Jessa

You can find our review of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes here as well as our interview with Director Wes Ball and Visual Effects Supervisor Erik Winquist here.

Flow – Best International Feature

Flow is the little film that could. This Latvian film was created using free animation software, which is such an inspiration to all filmmakers who fear they cannot create art unless there is a big budget attached. Director and writer Gints Zilbalodis and his writing partner Matīss Kaža did a brilliant job of putting the audience in the cat’s point of view. The animation is lovely, especially whenever the cat enters the water. This nomination is a lovely consequence of changing Best Foreign Language Film to Best International Feature since Flow has no words, only animal sounds. While it likely would have been eligible, it would have been a more difficult obstacle to beat. Flow has been the critics’s passion pick for Animated Feature the entire season, and it seems the passion is in the industry as well, this time in two different categories. It is only the second film nominated for Best International Feature and Best Animated Feature after Flea. This film made me bawl in the theater like no other film this year. As an animal lover, and specifically as a cat parent, Flow touched my heart completely. It is a perfect reminder that in times of peril, we must stick together to survive, especially with natural disasters being so prevalent in the world today. What an inspired nomination this Oscar morning!. – Eva

You can find our review of Flow here.

Kieran Culkin – Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain

No one knew the star quality of a little Kieran Culkin drinking a Pepsi in Home Alone until the last couple of years breaking out on television and now an Oscar nominee. A child star that finally found his love of acting through Succession having an incredible year with A Real Pain captivating audiences from Sundance 2024 until now with his turn as Benji. Playing off Jesse Eisenberg’s anxiousness, Culkin became someone we all have in our life, the family member we love unconditionally but has never grown from how we last saw them. Culkin manages to play his range in the film in a matter of seconds from producing laughs to genuine tears as Benji grapples with his own unprocessed pain. Bringing his signature mannerisms that with the subtle nuances takes him from Roman Roy to the frustrating Benji in a role truly made for his talent, Culkin reminded us all of why we need more of him. – Jillian

You can find our review of A Real Pain here.

I’m Still Here – Best Picture

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the morning was I’m Still Here making it into Best Picture alongside its expected lead actress and international film nominations. And what a pleasant surprise it was. I’m Still Here is one of the year’s biggest achievements, grounding a larger story about Brazil’s military dictatorship in the intimate story of a family preserving in spite of the loss of their father. Walter Salles brings an incredible dose of energy to the film’s opening beach scene that gets slowly eaten away as Euince, played by the incredible force that is Fernada Torres, finds herself holding the family together by an emotional thread. When she asks her family to smile for a picture, it’s not about forgetting the past — it’s about not letting it hold them back from leading the life forward they deserve. I’m Still Here’s inclusion in the Academy’s top category is not only a testament to the far-reaching impact of the film but the increasing diversity of the Academy’s voting body. – Matt

Isabella Rossellini – Best Supporting Actress for Conclave

In a category that is so often filled with co-leads who get slipped into supporting so they can win Oscars, Isabella Rossellini making it in for her turn in Edward Berger’s heightened pope drama is a breath of fresh air. And for the industry legend who has been working since the 1970s, it’s rightful recognition for her many unique roles over the years. As Sister Agnes, Rosselini doesn’t have many lines but she is always present, her eyes shooting daggers and saying so much with so little in every scene. And when she does finally speak, she doesn’t just steal the scene — she completely transforms the whole film and its playing field to another level. Suffice to say that Conclave would not have fully clicked without her small but vital part. – Matt

You can find our review of Conclave here.