The 97th Academy Awards will take place this Sunday, and there’s a lot for geeks to be excited about. Some of the biggest fandom films of 2024 received nominations, including Wicked, Dune: Part Two, and Gladiator II. Wicked leads the pack of fandom movies with 10 nods, while Dune: Part Two has five. Gladiator II, Alien: Romulus and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes are among the other major franchise movies to score 2025 Oscar nominations. Although geeks aren’t used to seeing their favorite titles rack of Oscar wins, there are several categories that could easily see one of the aforementioned films emerge victories. Thus, fandoms need to pay attention to certain categories pertaining to acting and behind-the-scenes aspects to see if their top choice takes home a coveted statuette.
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The following 2025 Oscars categories and nominees are the ones to watch for film fandoms.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofรญa Gascรณn, Emilia Pรฉrez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here
Cynthia Erivo‘s third-ever Oscar nomination comes on the heels of her widely praised performance as Elphaba in Wicked. The star’s outstanding vocals and layered portrayal of the popular Broadway musical character earned her a nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role five years after scoring a nod in the same category for her role in 2019’s Harriet. Demi Moore’s performance in The Substance currently stands as the favorite to win this year, but a surprise victory for Erivo would be well deserved for the actress and a pleasant surprise for Wicked fans.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaรฑa, Emilia Pรฉrez
Ariana Grande’s distinguished career in music and film has finally taken her to the Oscars. The two-time Grammy winner earned her first-ever Academy Award nomination in the category of Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her outstanding performance as Glinda in Wicked. Although Grande has gone overlooked this awards season, a win at the Oscars could make up for her snubs at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and BAFTA Awards. Zoe Saldaรฑa is the most likely to emerge victorious in the Supporting Actress category following her wins at each of the aforementioned ceremonies.
Best Animated Feature Film
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Disney fans can be excited for Inside Out 2‘s Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. A worthy sequel to the 2015 Oscar-winning movie, Inside Out 2 earned its nod thanks to its compelling coming-of-age story and first-rate voice cast. Additionally, the Wallace & Gromit franchise figures in this year’s field. Vengeance Most Fowl is the first feature-length Wallace & Gromit movie since 2005’s The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and it did not disappoint. Despite Inside Out 2‘s predecessor winning the category in 2016 and Vengeance Most Fowl‘s crowd-pleasing entertainment, The Wild Robot is the frontrunner as it stands.
Best Cinematography
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pรฉrez
Maria
Nosferatu
Dune: Part Two landed a deserved Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography. Greig Fraser’s fantastic work on the film made it a marvel to watch on the big screen. Even though Dune: Part Two‘s cinematography is hard to beat, The Brutalist appears in the lead after it took home the BAFTA for the same category. Nosferatu prevailed as the Critics Choice Awards’ cinematography winner, so the film would also be an unsurprising winner. Still, geeks will hope to see Dune: Part Two complete a stunning, well-earned upset at the Oscars.
Best Costume Design
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Gladiator II
Nosferatu
Wicked
Gladiator II and Wicked were recognized for their superb costume design. Janty Yates and Dave Crossman created the gorgeous and intricate Roman Empire-era attire for Gladiator II, while Paul Tazewell brought the vibrant clothing of the land of Oz to Wicked‘s film adaptation. Although each entry boasts incredible work, Wicked remains the clear favorite to win after claiming the BAFTA, Astra Award, and Critics Choice Award. Thus, Wicked fans should be most excited for this category. Should the movie take home the Oscars’ Best Costume Design trophy, its second part, Wicked: For Good, could score a back-to-back victory next year.
Best Film Editing
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pรฉrez
Wicked
Wicked also scored a nomination for Best Film Editing thanks to Myron Kerstein’s work on the film. Justified by the movie’s seamless transitions between musical sequences and balanced pacing, Wicked‘s nod in this category was far from a mistake. Nonetheless, fans probably shouldn’t hold their breath, as Anora and Conclave are widely believed to be the frontrunners, with the latter holding a slight edge due to its BAFTA win. An unexpected Wicked victory would certainly delight the movie’s passionate fandom.
[RELATED – Animated Movies Have a Chance to Make History at the Oscars 2025]
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
A Different Man
Emilia Pรฉrez
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked
Wicked‘s Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth are in the running for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. One doesn’t have to watch the entirety of Wicked to understand the brilliance behind the film’s hair and makeup choices. Enlivening each character on top of their detailed costumes, Wicked‘s makeup and hairstyling could easily emerge as the winner in the category. The Substance presents arguably the highest possibility, as it took home the same title at the Critics Choice Awards and BAFTA Awards. Still, Wicked fans should keep an eye on this category.
Best Music (Original Score)
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pรฉrez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Wicked‘s score, composed by John Powell and Stephen Schwartz, earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score. Although inspired by the Broadway Musical, the majority of Wicked‘s music includes background tracks uniquely devised and recorded for the adaptation. Wicked missed out on the Best Original Song field since all of its songs were taken from the Broadway production. Right now, a victory for Wicked in the Best Original Score category looks like a long shot, as The Brutalist leads after its BAFTA win.
Best Picture
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pรฉrez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Thankfully, fandoms get to see a pair of titles in the Best Picture race. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two and Jon M. Chu’s Wicked figure among the nominees. Perpetually the most difficult winner to predict, the Best Picture Oscar could go to several of the 10 candidates. The wide-open race sees Golden Globe winner The Brutalist, BAFTA winner Conclave, and Critics Choice victor Anora as the most likely winners at this year’s Oscars. Unfortunately sci-fi epics such as Dune: Part Two rarely see a Best Picture title. Similarly, genre pieces and musicals like Wicked don’t often have the highest chance. So, while it’s unlikely that Dune and Wicked fans will celebrate a Best Picture win in 2025, fans should still follow the race. Given that every major awards show saw a different film win the prize, the Oscars could see an unexpected movie take home Best Picture.
Best Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked
Dune: Part Two and Wicked appear in the 2025 Oscar nominations again in the category of Best Production Design. Patrice Vermette and Shane Vieau constructed Dune: Part Two‘s elaborate locations across the film’s universe. Wicked‘s Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales created the movie’s beautiful set from Shiz University to the Emerald City, which fully lived up to the musical’s production. In addition to its costume design wins, Wicked landed the Critics Choice Award, BAFTA, and Astra Award for production design. Accordingly, Wicked stands out at the favorite to win Best Production Design at the Oscars. Fans should expect Wicked to complete the duo of this award and Best Costume Design.
Best Sound
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pรฉrez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill represent Dune: Part Two in among the Best Sound nominees. Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis landed the nod for Wicked. Watching Dune: Part Two in theaters was an otherworldly experience thanks to the movie’s outstanding sound mixing, and Wicked achieved similar success. 2021’s Dune: Part One won the category three years ago, so it’s reasonable to expect the same of the second film. Moreover, Dune: Part Two recently took home the BAFTA Award for Best Sound, so its proven success will likely continue at this year’s Oscars.
Best Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked
Four out of the five Oscar nominees for Best Visual Effects come from major IPs. This category usually features the highest number of big franchise movies, and 2025’s group is an impressive one. Alien: Romulus emphatically revived the Alien franchise in part thanks to its grisly visuals that set the tone of the sci-fi horror film. Meanwhile, Dune: Part Two‘s breathtaking sandworms and VFX-enhanced action sequences took Villeneuve’s sequel to another level. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes followed its predecessors by producing top-notch CGI apes through motion capture and expert attention to detail. Finally, Wicked‘s flawlessly blended VFX with practical effects to achieve a fabulous rendition of Oz. All of these titles have their merits, but Dune: Part Two is the most probable victor by far, following in the footsteps of Dune: Part One‘s Best Visual Effects Oscar win in 2022.
The 2025 Oscars will air on Sunday, March 2nd on ABC.
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