In the midst of one of the most unpredictable seasons yet, The Brutalist cleans up nicely.
BY DANTE ALVAREZ
FEBRUARY 23, 2025 10:41 EST
©A24
"The Brutalist"
The 2025 Awards season is becoming the most chaotic we’ve ever seen. From controversial Tweets to AI usage, this season has shaped up to feel disordered. On the road to the Dante Awards, many films have surprised and surged at the right times. Brady Corbet’s three hour long American epic managed to score 12 nominations, the most of any film this year. The Brutalist is up for Score, Editing, Production Design, Cinematography, Ensemble, Best Scene, Actress in a Supporting Role for Felicity Jones, Actor in a Supporting Role for Guy Pearce, Original Screenplay, Director, Actor in a Leading Role for Adrien Brody, and Best Picture of the Year. The film follows fictional architect, László Tóth (Adrien Brody), after immigrating to America in a post WWII setting. Tóth faces the many struggles of the “American Dream” as he overcomes the subtle prejudices of his new landscape.
Another juggernaut this year included Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance. Fargeat’s gore filled body horror flick redeems Demi Moore after a declining career. The film is nominated for 9 Dante Awards, including Best Actress for Demi Moore. While many people doubted the grossness that came with the film, it nevertheless has persevered itself to a Best Picture nomination unlike many other films. On the other side of things, Jacques Audiard’s genre-bending musical, Emilia Pérez, shocked many after missing out in every single category it was contending for. The controversial pick didn’t manage to snag an International Feature, Original Song, nor Best Picture nod after being the predicted winner in multiple categories for months. In a post-Karla Sofia Gascon tweets world, Emilia Perez found no room to shine. Even the film’s highlight, Zoe Saladana, failed to receive recognition in the Supporting Actress category.
Swinging in like a wrecking ball this year was Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers. Guadagnino made Dante Award’s history by being the first director to get two different films into the Best Picture lineup (Challengers and Queer, respectively). Throughout this awards season, Guadagnino has been shut out of multiple races including the Oscar’s bunch of nominees. The Dante Awards has seemingly redeemed the film with its best showing of the season, including a Best Director nomination for Guadagnino himself. Challengers follows former tennis prodigy, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), as she creates a winning player out of her former Grand Slam winning husband (Mike Faist).
However, Anora, the presumed frontrunner of this awards season, underwhelmed everyone this evening. Sean Baker’s indie darling was projected for a multitude of nominations, but missed in key categories such as Editing. This poses many questions for the upcoming ceremony: Is Anora really the frontrunner? Can The Brutalist have a bigger sweep than previously imagined? Will Nickel Boys pull an upset? All daring questions that aren’t going to be answered for almost another month when this year’s Dante Awards ceremony comes by.
See this year’s nominees below.
Best Picture
Anora (Neon)
The Brutalist (A24)
Challengers (MGM)
Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
Hundreds of Beavers (SRH)
I’m Still Here (Sony Picture Classics)
Nickel Boys (MGM)
Queer (A24)
Sing Sing (A24)
The Substance (Mubi)
Actress in a Leading Role
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Lily Rose-Depp, Nosferatu
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here
Zendaya, Challengers
Actress in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig, Queer
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Director
Anora, Sean Baker
The Brutalist, Brady Corbet
Challengers, Luca Guadagnino
Nickel Boys, RaMell Ross
The Substance, Coralie Fargeat
Scene in a Major Motion Picture
“Windshield” from Anora
“Overture” from The Brutalist
“Match Point” from Challengers
“There Is Still Time” from I Saw the TV Glow
“Get Ready With Me” from The Substance
Ensemble
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Kinds of Kindness
Sing Sing
Original Screenplay
Anora
The Brutalist
Challengers
A Real Pain
The Substance
Adapted Screenplay
Conclave
Hit Man
Nickel Boys
Queer
Sing Sing
International Feature
The Beast, France
How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, Thailand
I’m Still Here, Brazil
No Other Land, Norway
The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Germany
Editing
The Brutalist
Challengers
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu
The Substance
Sound
Dune: Part Two
Hundreds of Beavers
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu
The Substance
Cinematography
The Brutalist
Challengers
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu
Documentary Feature
The Contestant
Daughters
No Other Land
SPERMWORLD
Will & Harper
Visual Effects
Civil War
Dune: Part Two
Hundreds of Beavers
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Twisters
Makeup & Hairstyling
A Different Man
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Nosferatu
The Substance
Production Design
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked
Choreography & Stunts
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
Animated Feature
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Costume Design
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
Hundreds of Beavers
Nosferatu
Wicked
Original Score
The Brutalist
Challengers
Dune: Part Two
Queer
The Substance
Original Song
Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma from Twisters
Claw Machine from I Saw the TV Glow
Compress/Repress from Challengers
Jean Kayak and His Acme Applejack from Hundreds of Beavers
Riding Around in the Dark from I Saw the TV Glow
Actor in a Supporting Role
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Chris Hemsworth, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Elle Fanning, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Tilda Swinton, Problemista
Total Nomination Tallies:
The Brutalist, 12 Nominations
Challengers, 9 Nominations
Dune: Part Two, 9 Nominations
The Substance, 9 Nominations
Anora, 6 Nominations
Nickel Boys, 6 Nominations
Nosferatu, 6 Nominations
Sing Sing, 5 Nominations
A Complete Unknown, 4 Nominations
Hundreds of Beavers, 4 Nominations
Queer, 4 Nominations
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, 3 Nominations
I Saw the TV Glow, 3 Nominations
I’m Still Here, 3 Nominations
Wicked, 3 Nominations
The Apprentice, 2 Nominations
No Other Land, 2 Nominations
A Real Pain, 2 Nominations
Twisters, 2 Nominations
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