Oscar nominations 2025 live: Wicked, Conclave and Emilia Pérez ...

Steven McIntoshEntertainment reporter

Best picture is seen as wide open this year, with several films which could feasibly take the top prize.

Following the Oscar nominations, Conclave is arguably slightly weaker than was previously thought, having missed a best director nomination for Edward Berger.

Emilia Pérez might have the most nominations, and it is certainly a contender, but it's a divisive film which has almost as many detractors as fans, which could harm its chances.

Perhaps one of the strongest contenders is The Brutalist, which got into pretty much every major category it was expected to and has had a strong showing at other ceremonies. It is stronger after the Oscar nominations.

But don't count out Anora. It won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival last year, and although it has struggled to pick up wins elsewhere, it has such wide support that it could benefit from the preferential ballot system.

In best picture, voters rank the films in order of preference, which means a widely liked film which picks up lots of second and third placements can have a better chance of winning than a film with a smaller number of people who put it in first place.