The 2025 Oscars are right around the corner.
Former late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien is set to host Hollywood’s biggest night, where stars such as Demi Moore, Ariana Grande and Edward Norton are battling it out for the film industry’s top honors.
Here is everything you need to know about this year’s Academy Awards.
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The ceremony is set to air on Sunday on ABC at 7 p.m. ET, an hour earlier than in the past. In addition, the award show will simultaneously be available to stream live on Hulu for the first time ever.
It will also be available to stream on Hulu in its entirety the following day, for anyone who was unable to watch it as it was airing.
This year’s show features a lot of first-time nominees in all the categories, with many of the first-times coming out of the gate as frontrunners in the competition.
Leading up to the Academy Awards, Demi Moore won both the Golden Globe and the Critics Choice Award for her leading role in “The Substance,” a movie which is also nominated for best picture. Other first-time nominees in the lead actress race include Fernanda Torres for “I’m Still Here,” Mikey Madison for “Anora” and Karla Sofía Gascón for “Emilia Perez.” They are joined by previous two-time nominee Cynthia Erivo for “Wicked.”
Many of the nominated performances came from films which were also nominated for best picture. “Emilia Perez” received the most nominations this year, with 13, and was joined by “Nickel Boys,” “The Brutalist,” “Conclave,” “A Complete Unknown,” “The Substance,” “I’m Still Here,” “Anora,” “Wicked” and “Dune Part Two.”
Other first-time nominees this year include Kieran Culkin for “A Real Pain,” Zoe Saldaña for “Emilia Perez,” Ariana Grande for “Wicked,” Guy Pearce for “The Brutalist,” Isabella Rossellini for “Conclave” and others.
Previous nominees Cynthia Erivo, Edward Norton and Felicity Jones join the first-time nominees in the running for the acting categories, as they are nominated for “Wicked,” “A Complete Unknown” and “The Brutalist,” respectively.
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When the nominees were announced in January, social media users were quick to point out which were the biggest snubs this year. Many believed Angelina Jolie would receive her third Academy Award nomination for her leading role in “Maria,” playing famed opera singer Maria Callas during the final days of her life; however, she was shut out of the award show.
Pamela Anderson starred as an aging Las Vegas showgirl in what many were calling a career-defining performance for her, and were shocked the Academy failed to recognize her performance with a nomination for her role in “The Last Showgirl.”
Also left out of the nominations this year was Nicole Kidman, for her leading role in “Babygirl.” The actress was previously nominated for a Golden Globe for the role and won at both the Palm Springs Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival for playing a successful CEO who meets and engages in an affair with a younger man.
While “Emilia Perez” received 13 nominations at this year’s award show, one of its stars was left out of the running. Selena Gomez, who plays the Mexican-American former wife of a transgender cartel boss, was overlooked by the Academy for her performance, which was also one of the first times the actress acted in Spanish.
Many also expected great things for Denzel Washington when he starred as Macrinus in “Gladiator II,” but despite receiving a Golden Globe nomination, the actor has been shut out from every other award show, including the Oscars. The film itself also failed to receive a nomination.
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Many previous Academy Award winners are returning to the award show as presenters this year, including Goldie Hawn, Halle Berry and Penélope Cruz, who have won in the past for “Cactus Flower,” “Monster’s Ball” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” respectively.
In keeping with the tradition of the award show, the winners of last year’s acting categories will return to present the four Oscars to this year’s winners. Emma Stone, who won for her leading role in “Poor Things,” will present the award for this year’s best actor winners, and Cillian Murphy, who won for his leading role in “Oppenheimer,” will present the award for this year’s best actress winner.
Robert Downey Jr., who won last year for his supporting role in “Oppenheimer,” will present the award for best supporting actress, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who won last year for her supporting role in “The Holdovers” will present the award for best supporting actor.
Also presenting at this year’s award show are past nominees, including Oprah Winfrey, Scarlett Johansson, Ana de Armas and more. In addition, actors starring in this year’s best picture-nominated movies are also set to present, including Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez, Lily-Rose Depp and Bowen Yang, who appeared in “A Complete Unknown,” “Emilia Perez,” “Nosferatu” and “Wicked,” respectively.
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In previous years, the artists who sang the tunes nominated for best original song would take turns singing them on stage throughout the show. However, the format will be a little different this year.
Rather than have the singers perform, the show will honor the songwriters who created the songs. This year’s nominees for best song include “Like a Bird” from “Sing Sing,” “Mi Camino” and “El Mal” from “Emilia Perez,” “Never Too Late” from “Elton John: Never Too Late” and “The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight.”
Although viewers won’t be hearing the nominated songs during the show, there will be some performances from other artists. Performers include Lisa with the group Blackpink, Doja Cat, Queen Latifah and Raye. “Wicked” was not eligible for nominations in the best original song category, as it featured preexisting songs from the Broadway musical, but its stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are set to take the stage together to perform an unknown song.
