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The 3 Biggest Snubs And 3 Biggest Surprises From The 2025 Oscar Nominations
Sebastian Stan transforms into Donald Trump in "The Apprentice."
Briarcliff Entertainment
- The 2025 Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday.
- Surprises include Sebastian Stan's nomination for "The Apprentice" and a best picture nod for "The Substance."
- Snubs include Pamela Anderson for "The Last Showgirl" and "The Challengers" score.
The 2025 Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday with a lot of love given to favored titles like "Emilia Pérez" and "Wicked."
But there were some actors and movies that weren't called out.
Below, the BI staff breaks down their three biggest surprises and three most upsetting subs from this year's nominations.
SNUB: Pamela Anderson for 'The Last Showgirl'Pamela Anderson in 'The Last Showgirl."
Roadside Attractions
Anderson came out of nowhere to wow audiences in 2024 with her performance in "The Last Showgirl" as Shelly, a 57-year-old Vegas showgirl who hits a crossroads when the French-style revue she's performed in for three decades closes its doors.
Mixing a coquettishness reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe with a crushing vulnerability no one knew she could pull off, Anderson delivers the best performance of her career. Sadly, she won't be recognized for it on Hollywood's biggest night.
SNUB: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the 'Challengers' scoreZendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor in "Challengers."
Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross masterfully captured the messy dynamic between Tashi (Zendaya), Patrick (Josh O'Connor), and Art (Mike Faist) in their pulsating "Challengers" score, while also providing a techno backdrop for all the tennis matches and relationship warfare.
Throbbing tracks like "The Signal," "Brutalizer," and "Match Point" worked perfectly next to the cinematography to yank the audience through the screen and onto the court.
It's an impressive skill for a score to be so engaging while also delivering pure bangers that could fit right in at an underground rave — which might've livened up the Oscars if the Academy had been bold enough to recognize Reznor and Ross' work.
SNUB: Marianne Jean-Baptiste for 'Hard Truths'Marianne Jean-Baptiste in "Hard Truths."
Thin Man Films Ltd
Jean-Baptiste didn't just give the best female performance of the year in "Hard Truths" — she gave the best performance, period. The angry, depressed Pansy Deacon in "Hard Truths" could have easily become a caricature in the hands of a lesser actor, as the miserable woman lashes out, often in absurd ways, at anyone and everyone who crosses her path. But Jean-Baptiste instilled humanity and even evoked sympathy in the unlikeable character with her layered performance.
She (and director Mike Leigh, who previously directed Jean-Baptiste to her first Oscar nomination almost 30 years ago in "Secrets & Lies") were tapping into something we never see represented on screen. They both should have been acknowledged for it, but Jean-Baptiste was the more egregious snub, particularly since she swept nearly all the critic and indie awards where she was nominated.
SURPRISE: 'Anora' star Yura BorisovYura Borisov in "Anora."
Neon
Yura Borisov plays the sensitive henchman Igor in "Anora" with a disarming calmness opposite the outlandish antics of the movie's lead, Mikey Madison.
His quiet guy act didn't just leave a mark on audiences but on members of the Academy as well.
Borisov's nomination is the first time in almost five decades that a Russian actor has been nominated for an Oscar. The last was Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1977 for "The Turning Point."
SURPRISE: Sebastian Stan for playing Donald Trump in 'The Apprentice'Sebastian Stan in "The Apprentice."
Briarcliff Entertainment
Despite "The Apprentice" getting little to no marketing and most of Hollywood not wanting to touch the movie after its premiere at last year's Cannes Film Festival, Sebastian Stan's performance as President Donald Trump has made it to the big dance.
Stan is convincing as a young Trump trying to build his real estate empire under the tutelage of lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), going beyond getting the mannerisms down to even giving his character a sense of empathy.
SURPRISE: 'The Substance' earning multiple nominationsDemi Moore in "The Substance."
Christine Tamalet/Mubi
The Academy has historically been reticent to award Oscars to horror movies. While things have started to look up in recent years, with filmmakers like Jordan Peele breaking through with "Get Out," the amount of love "The Substance" got at the Oscars this year is pretty astounding.
Demi Moore was deservedly a lock for best actress with her raw performance as washed-up celebrity Elisabeth Sparkle, and it's thrilling to see her get this recognition for the first time after decades in the business.
It's more surprising, though, that French director Coralie Fargeat landed first-time nominations for both directing and writing the outrageous body-horror film, and that the movie itself got a best picture nod. It's a watershed moment for the genre.
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