Cynthia Erivo, Felicity Jones and Ralph Fiennes led the British and Irish stars receiving an Oscars nomination on Thursday ahead of this year’s Academy Awards ceremony – but one fan-favourite was snubbed.
The 38-year-old Wicked star is hoping to take home the gong for Best Actress in a Leading Role, for her showstopping portrayal of Elphaba – the Wicked Witch of the West.
The smash hit musical landed 10 nominations in total, marking a significant milestone for the Broadway adaptation.
However, Cynthia will battle it out with Demi Moore (The Substance), Mikey Madison (Anora), Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez), and Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here) to take home the trophy.
Meanwhile, fellow British actress Felicity Jones has been nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her starring role as Erzsébet Tóth in historical drama The Brutalist.
Inspired by the Jean-Louis Cohen’s book Architecture in Uniform, the film stars Adrien Brody as a Hungarian architect with Felicity playing his wife.
Cynthia Erivo, Felicity Jones and Ralph Fiennes led the British and Irish stars receiving an Oscars nomination ahead of this year’s Academy Awards ceremony
The 38-year-old Wicked star is hoping to take home the gong for Best Actress in a Leading Role, for her showstopping portrayal of Elphaba – the Wicked Witch of the West
Felicity is up against Cynthia’s Wicked co-star Ariana Grande for her performance as Glinda The Good Witch, who receieved her first Oscars nomination.
Also hoping to win big in the same category are Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown), Isabella Rossellini (Conclave), and Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez).
Another Brit receiving a nod on Thursday afternoon was Ralph Fiennes for Best Actor in a Leading Role, after he transformed into into Cardinal Lomeli for Conclave.
Also nominated in the category are Adrien Brody (The Brutalist),Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice).
However, one British star who was noticeably missing from the catgory was Daniel Craig, who was snubbed as he missed out on a nomination for his performance in Queer.
The James Bond actor, 56, stars alongside Drew Starkey, 31, in Luca Guadagnino’s anticipated movie based on William Burroughs’ semi-autobiographical novella of the same name.
The period romantic drama, set in 1950s Mexico City, follows American expat and war veteran William Lee (played by Craig), who has a romance with a younger man, Eugene Allerton (Starkey), a drug addict and discharged Navy serviceman.
Meanwhile, Sir Elton John earned a nomination for the Academy Award for best music (original song) with Never Too Late from Elton John: Never Too Late.
It comes after the British music legend celebrated his ninth Official Number 1 album with Diamonds earlier this month.
Meanwhile, fellow British actress Felicity Jones has been nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her starring role as Erzsébet Tóth in historical drama The Brutalist
Felicity is up against Cynthia’s Wicked co-star Ariana Grande for her performance as Glinda The Good Witch, who receieved her first Oscars nomination
Another Brit receiving a nod on Thursday afternoon was Ralph Fiennes for Best Actor in a Leading Role, after he transformed into into Cardinal Lomeli for Conclave
Wallace & Gromit earned it’s sixth Oscars nomination with Vengeance Most Fowl, as it made the list for Best Animated Feature Film.
Creators Nick Park and Merlin Corssingham told the BBC that the nomination is a ‘surprise and privilege’ and they ‘nearly spilt their tea’ when hearing the news.
The 70-minute long film premiered on Christmas Day and features the return of the iconic supervillain Feathers McGraw.
Elsewhere, the annual ceremony will see Wicked, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Perez, Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys and The Substance battle it out for Best Picture.
And Spanish movie Emilia Perez dominated nominations with 13 nods including Best Picture, International Feature Film, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay, and Actress in a supporting role.
The nominations for the upcoming Oscars were finally revealed after being postponed amid the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
Comedian and actors Rachel Sennott and Bowen Yang are currently announcing the nominations during a live presentation from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles.
The upcoming 97th Academy Awards are still set to take place on March 2 – and will be hosted by comedian and TV personality, Conan O’Brien.
It will mark O’Brien’s Oscar hosting debut after fellow comedian Jimmy Kimmel revealed that he had turned down the opportunity to return after four consecutive years.
However, one British star who was noticeably missing from the catgory was Daniel Craig, who was snubbed as he missed out on a nomination for his performance in Queer
Meanwhile, Sir Elton John earned a nomination for the Academy Award for best music (original song) with Never Too Late from Elton John: Never Too Late
And Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, has made the list for best animated feature film (creators Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham pictured above)
The 70-minute long film premiered on Christmas Day and features the return of the iconic supervillain Feathers McGraw
It comes after a number of celebrities have lost their homes in the Pacific Palisades area – including Miles Teller, Anthony Hopkins, Adam Brody and wife Leighton Meester, as well as Anna Faris.
The fire in the upscale L.A. neighborhood has currently burned more than 14,000 homes and other structures since January 7.
Additional wildfires have also ignited, such as the Eaton Fire in Pasadena and another called the Hurst Fire located in the San Fernando Valley.
In the wake of the horrific events, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences initially delayed the announcement of the 2025 Oscar nominations from January 17 to January 19 – before being moved to January 23.
The voting period – which began on Wednesday – was also been extended through Tuesday, January 14. Voting had initially been set to end on Sunday, January 12.
A letter from the Academy, per The Hollywood Reporter, read: ‘We want to offer our deepest condolences to those who have been impacted by the devastating fires across Southern California.’
‘So many of our members and industry colleagues live and work in the Los Angeles area, and we are thinking of you.’
Earlier this year, Zoe Saldana led the film Emilia Perez to top honors at the Golden Globe Awards.
The night also saw period film The Brutalist win big, while Demi Moore became a first time winner at 62 for her role in The Substance.
Meanwhile, Wicked only managed to secure a win in the Cinematic And Box Office Achievement category.
