Demi Moore, 62, earns first ever Oscar nomination after career-defining comeback

The Oscar 2025 nominees were announced on Thursday afternoon and fans have been shocked by some of the top selections.

Saturday Night Live and Wicked star Bowen Yang and Bodies Bodies Bodies actress Rachel Sennott announced the nods this morning, while Conan O’Brien will host the main show next month.

Among the Academy Award nominees, Demi Moore landed her first nomination for her efforts in the Substance, after smashing her awards season.

The 62-year-old was mentioned in the best actress list, alongside WIcked’s Cynthia Erivo, Anora star Mikey Madison, Fernanda Torres for I’m Still Here and Karla Sofía Gascón for Emilia Pérez.

Timothee Chalamet has been recognized for his efforts as Bob Dylan in the recent A Complete Unknown biopic, earning a best actor nod alongside a host of other huge stars.

The Brutalist star Adrien Brody also makes up the list, beside Ralph Fiennes for Conclave, Sing Sing’s Colman Domingo and The Apprentice actor Sebastian Stan.

Cynthia’s Wicked co-star Ariana Grande earned her first ever Oscar nod in the best supporting actress category, going up against Monica Barbaro for A Complete Unknown, Felicity Jones in the Brutalist, Conclave’s Isabella Rossellini and Zoe Saldana for Emilia Pérez.

Succession stars Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong will be battling it out against each other for supporting actor, thanks to their incredible efforts in A Real Pain and The Apprentice respectfully.

Anora star Yura Borisov, A Complete Unknown’s Edward Norton and The Brutalist actor Guy Pearce also make up the category.

In a huge change from previous years, the Academy announced that there would be no live performances of the best original song nominees – due to the ongoing LA wildfires.

Normally the festivities include live performances of all the nominees for the best original song category, Last year memorably included a larger-than-life I’m Just Ken rendition led by Ryan Gosling and a whole host of fellow Kens.

An internal letter, via Entertainment Weekly, said the show will ‘reflect on the recent events while highlighting the strength, creativity, and optimism that defines Los Angeles and our industry’ and include ‘powerful musical moments.

‘We will celebrate their artistry through personal reflections from the teams who bring these songs to life. All of this, and more, will uncover the stories and inspiration behind this year’s nominees.’

Instead, there is expected to be a spotlight on the songwriters behind the nominations.

The Brutalist has received high praise from critics and is expected to win several awards at the Oscars. The nearly four-hour-long film from Bradley Corbet has already won three Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture Drama.

The Brutalist also won nine Bafta nominations and another nine nominations at the Critics Choice Award.

The epic period drama film is the biopic of an imaginary Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor, László Tóth – played by Adrian Brody.

The Substance is another huge film this season. The body horror flick starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley has delighted and disgusted fans since it was released in September 2024.

History was made for Demi at the Golden Globes as she won the Best Actress award for the first time ever.

‘Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress and at that time, I made that mean that this wasn’t something that I was allowed to have, that I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn’t be acknowledged,’ she said on stage during Sunday’s ceremony.

‘I bought in, and I believed that, and that corroded me over time, to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it, maybe I was complete. I’ve done what I was supposed to do.

‘And as I was at kind of a low point, I had this magical, bold, courageous, out-of-the-box, absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called The Substance, and the universe told me that you’re not done.’

The film has also received five Bafta nominations, plus six Critics Choice Award nominations.

The awards season has already been filled with drama as shows have been boycotted and cancelled because of the fires.

Some celebrities – including Stephen King – have spoken about cancelling the Oscars and revealed that he wouldn’t be voting for any of the films in the lead-up to the show.

Despite winning four Golden Globes, five European Film Awards and being nominated for eleven Baftas, Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard’s musical about a Mexican drug lord, has been hit with major criticism for its depiction of Mexico.

Mexican screenwriter Héctor Guillén tagged the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – who run the Oscars – the day after the Globes in a post that highlighted why people are unhappy with the film’s depiction of the country.

The screenwriter shared an image of a poster that read: ‘Mexico hates Emilia Pérez. “Racist Euro Centrist Mockery.” Almost 500K dead and France decides to do a musical. No Mexicans in their cast or crew.

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