Emilia Pérezarrived at the2025 Academy Awardswith a wave of anticipation, boasting animpressive 13 nominationsthat spanned nearly every major category. Yet, the movie’s journey from potential Oscar darling to historical underperformer proved to be a dramatic one.
This stark disparity between nominations and victories raisescrucial questions about the factors that influenced the Academy’s final decisions. From resurfaced controversies surrounding its lead actress, Karla Sofía Gascón, to a significant disconnect between critical acclaim and audience reception,Emilia Pérezonly won two Oscarsand is now placed among the most notably unrewarded films in Academy history.
Emilia Pérez’s Two Academy Award Wins & Total Nominations Explained
Emilia Pérezwas nominated for 13 Oscars, but only won two. Themusical crime dramareceived nominations across almost every key category, from Best Picture to acting and directing. This wide-ranging recognition signaled not just a film of artistic merit but also a potential frontrunner in multiple categories.
The sheer number of nominations created an expectation of significant wins, fueling anticipation for a major night. The film’s nominations in key artistic categories, such as Best Director for Jacques Audiard and Best Adapted Screenplay, highlighted the creative vision and narrative strength of the production. Similarly, the acting nominations for Karla Sofía Gascón and Zoe Saldaña underscored the film’s powerful performances.
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Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Best Cinematography
However, as the awards ceremony approached, the initial buzz surroundingEmilia Pérezbegan to wane. Despite its strong showing in the nominations, the movie’s odds of converting those nods into wins steadily diminished.The shift in momentum can be attributed to a confluence of factors, including the emergence of strong competition in several categories, the resurfacing of controversies surrounding the film’s cast, and a noticeable divergence between critical and audience reception. The film’s bold and unconventional narrative, while initially celebrated, may have ultimately proven divisive among Academy voters.
Emilia Pérez Now Has A Record Low After Losing 11 Out Of 13 Oscars
The Movie Suffered A Poor Nomination-To-Win Conversion Rate
Despite a strong showing with 13 Oscar nominations,Emilia Pérezsuffered a significant defeat, only winning two awards. This poor conversion rate puts it in a historically low position, even surpassing the previous record ofThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button(2015). The movie’s performance is a stark example of high nomination counts not translating into wins.The Curious Case ofBenjamin Buttonhad 13 Oscar nominationsbut only won three, for Best Art Direction, Best Makeup, and Best Visual Effects. Having won none for acting, this could be considered a snub.
Comparatively, Zoe Saldaña did well to take home Best Supporting Actress, despite controversy surroundingEmilia Pérez. Her win shows that the Academy felt her performance should still be acknowledged.Saldaña has also apologized to Mexicans offended by the movie, telling a journalist,“I’m very, very sorry that you and so many Mexicans felt offended […] That was never our intention. We spoke from a place of love”(perThe Guardian). Nonetheless, the movie has faced backlash not only from the Mexican community but also from the LGBTQ+ community due to costar Karla Sofia Gascón’s past inflammatory statements.
Did Emilia Pérez’s Ongoing Controversies Kill Its Oscar 2025 Chances?
Karla Sofia Gascón’s Resurfaced Tweets Sparked Controversy
Upon its November 2024 release,Emilia Pérezwas met with immediate pop culture enthusiasm. The film’s audacious premise - a cartel boss’s staged death and gender transition, depicted in a vibrant and genre-bending musical - was lauded as both creative and timely, particularly given its starring role for transgenderactress Karla Sofía Gascónamid escalating global attacks on trans rights. However, despite its72%Rotten TomatoesTomatometer score,it scored dramatically poorly with audiences, with a 16% Popcornmeter score.
“My Name Is Jimmy Kimmel”: Why Conan O’Brien Made Fun Of Karla Sofía Gascón At The Oscars 2025
Conan O’Brien, host of the 2025 Academy Awards, made a joke about Karla Sofía Gascón’s controversial social media posts during his opening monologue.
The tanking ofEmilia Pérez’s Oscar chances is likely because of the resurfaced tweets of its lead, Karla Sofía Gascón. The nail in the coffin was surely the tweet regarding the Oscars as recently as 2021:“More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films, I didn’t know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration or the 8M. Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala”(perThe Independent). This, along with several other concerning tweets, have since been deleted, and Gascón has issued an apology.
Emilia Perez
Cast
Emilia Perez is a drama film that follows the life of Emilia Perez, a determined and ambitious individual striving to make a name for herself in a competitive environment. The story explores her journey as she navigates the challenges and obstacles that come her way, all while uncovering the complexities of her own identity.
