How to watch Academy Awards and who is nominated

Stars, film fans and fashionistas rejoice as the biggest night in the showbiz calendar is here at last – the 97th Oscars.

Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez leads the way with 13 nominations, but recently saw its awards chances damaged after offensive historic tweets from its star resurfaced.

Wicked, The Brutalist, Conclave and Anora are also among the top contenders, with the race for best picture too close to call.

US comedian Conan O’Brien is presenting the awards from Los Angeles, with the show starting at 16:00 (PT), 19:00 (ET) and midnight (GMT).

You can also expect plenty of references during the night to the wildfires which devastated LA and left thousands of homes destroyed.

Here are all the major talking points and things to look out for at the ceremony, as an eventful awards season draws to an end.

Emilia Pérez, about a Mexican drug lord who changes gender, has 13 nominations in total – including best picture, best actress (Karla Sofía Gascón) and best supporting actress (Zoe Saldaña).

It is the most-nominated non-English language film of all time. It’s actually a French production, largely set in Mexico, with Spanish as the main language spoken.

Karla Sofía Gascón’s nomination made her the first trans person to be nominated in an acting category (although Elliot Page was nominated for Juno in 2008, before the actor transitioned).

However, the film – which had already caused controversy in Mexico – has been beset by controversy following a social media row involving Gascón.

Emilia Pérez remains strong in a couple of categories, but it’s unlikely to sweep the board in the way Oppenheimer – which also had 13 nominations – did last year.

Chasing down Emilia Pérez with 10 nods is three-and-a-half epic The Brutalist, starring Adrien Brody.

Wicked also has 10 nominations, including for British actress Cynthia Erivo and her co-star Ariana Grande, while Demi Moore has the first Oscar nomination of her career for her role in The Substance.

Meanwhile, pope selection drama Conclave has eight nominations, including best actor for its British star Ralph Fiennes.

All the films above are up for the coveted best picture prize, and are joined by Anora, about a New York stripper who falls for the son of a wealthy Russian.

The film, which has six nominations, leapt ahead in the race after a string of precursor wins at the Critics Choice Awards as well as two major guild ceremonies – the Directors Guild of America and Producers Guild of America Awards.

But there remains no consensus on what will ultimately win the top prize – with the other contenders for best picture including A Complete Unknown, Dune: Part Two, I’m Still Here and Nickel Boys.

This has been an unpredictable awards season, and there could still be plenty of surprises in store.

In the best actress category, Moore, 62, is nominated for playing a fading star who swaps her body for a younger and more beautiful version of herself in The Substance.

But it’s a tight race.

There were gasps backstage at the Baftas (where I was) when Anora star Mikey Madison scooped up the best actress prize.

It was a big blow to the assumed Oscar momentum for Moore, and an incredible moment for Madison, who was relatively unknown before her role in Anora.

This is exactly the type of rags-to-riches story that awards ceremonies love – and the film itself celebrates.

Best actor may also be up in the air. Adrian Brody is the frontrunner, with his nod for The Brutalist – but Timothée Chalamet is his toughest competition, thanks to his acclaimed portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.

Last week, Chalamet’s surprise SAG win shook up the race, after his somewhat eccentric awards campaign.

If he won, not only would Chalamet halt Brody’s winning streak, he would also take Brody’s record as the youngest-ever winner of best actor.

In the best supporting actor category, Kieran Culkin is the frontrunner for A Real Pain, while Zoe Saldaña is almost certain to win best supporting actress for Emilia Pérez, having taken the trophy at a string of precursor events including the Baftas, SAG Awards and Golden Globes.

It’s worth noting it’s been a decade since the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite started trending, due to the lack of diversity at the 2015 Academy Awards.

This year, there are people of colour in both the best actress and best actor categories.

In fact, Sing Sing’s Colman Domingo is nominated for best leading actor for the second year in a row.

Elsewhere, however, progress remains slow.

Coralie Fargeat is the only woman to be nominated for best director, for The Substance, out of a field of five.

“Has there been progress, yes. Has there been enough? Absolutely not,” April Reign, LA-based founder of the #OscarsSoWhite movement, told me.

“It was never just about the Oscars not being black enough. It was also about gender, age, class, sexuality and geography too.”

“If we’re still able to count them on one hand, then we’re not there yet.”

Most of the nominees will be gracing the red carpet – I’m already betting we’ll see more tears and hand holding from Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

There had been a big question mark over whether Karla Sofía Gascón will show up after the row over her past tweets.

However, it’s been confirmed she will attend the Oscars ceremony itself – although it remains to be seen if she will walk the red carpet and sit with her co-stars.

Presenters include Halle Berry, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Downey Jr, Cillian Murphy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Emma Stone.

This year’s Oscars race has played out against the grim backdrop of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.

The nominations themselves were postponed twice due to the fires.

There’s no doubt it’s going to be hard for the awards to strike the right tone when so many people are suffering. It doesn’t sit well with celebrities flaunting their wealth on the red carpet.

Cancelling the whole event, however, was “never on the table,” according to Lynette Howell Taylor, an LA-based British film producer and member of the Academy’s board of governors, who lost her own house in the fires.

She told me there would “definitely be recognition of what the city has gone through” during the ceremony, with clear signposting of support mechanisms and ways to donate.

“But ultimately the show will be about the celebration of the movies of the year, like it is every year,” she said.

This year, the Academy has done away with having the original song nominees perform during the ceremony.

Instead, Wicked stars Erivo and Grande will perform a medley of songs from the film during the Oscars ceremony, which will last a reported 10 minutes long.

I can already see social media going into a meltdown over Defying Gravity, but it remains to be seen if the duo can recreate the energy of Ryan Gosling’s viral performance of I’m Just Ken last year.

Doja Cat, Lisa from Blackpink, Queen Latifah and Raye will be among the other performers during the ceremony.

The Academy Awards ceremony is hosted this year for the first time by comedian and podcaster Conan O’Brien.

He replaces US late night presenter Jimmy Kimmel, who has presented the show four times including last year.

The 2025 Oscars will air live on Sunday 3 March from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, where the ceremony has been held since 2002.

The show can be watched in the US on ABC and can be streamed on Hulu. It’s also broadcast around the world in more than 200 territories.

UK viewers can watch on ITV and ITVX from 22:30.

Cynthia Erivo is the first black British woman to receive two Oscar nominations for acting, after also being nominated for Harriet in 2020.

If she wins best actress this time, for playing Elphaba in Wicked, she’ll become an EGOT – having completed the set of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.

Ralph Fiennes is flying the flag in the best actor category with his first nomination for 28 years. He’s recognised for playing a cardinal who oversees the selection of a new Pope in Conclave.

Elsewhere, Felicity Jones is nominated for best supporting actress for The Brutalist – a decade after her first Oscar nomination – while Sir Elton John is in the best original song race.

The country will also be rooting for two more screen legends – Wallace and Gromit (and their makers Aardman Animations), who are hoping for their fourth Oscar. They are shortlisted for best animated feature for their latest outing, Vengeance Most Fowl.

Read more about this year’s awards season films: