Everything Everywhere All At Once leads the Oscar nominations, as blockbuster films triumph in the best picture category.
The sci-fi fantasy, which has been a word-of-mouth hit around the world, landed 11 nominations, closely followed by The Banshees Of Inisherin and All Quiet On The Western Front with nine nods each.
Somewhat unusually, the prestigious best picture category included films that performed brilliantly at the box office as well as pleasing the critics, with Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way Of Water and Elvis all making the cut.
Image: Tom Cruise is back in Top Gun: Maverick. Pic: Paramount Pictures
All about the sequels
In another first for the category, two sequels were nominated – Top Gun and Avatar. Only eight sequels have ever made the cut in Oscar history, and never before have two been chosen in a single year.
Last year, in a bid to open it up to genres that might not be typically thought of as Oscars-material, the best picture category was expanded to 10 films.
The other films up for best picture are The Fabelmans, Tar, Women Talking and Triangle Of Sadness.
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Which actors got a nod?
The best actor category saw five first time nominees, with British star Bill Nighy getting his first nod for his portrayal of a buttoned-up businessman learning to enjoy life.
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Irish stars Colin Farrell and Paul Mescal also made the cut, nominated for The Banshees Of Inisherin and Aftersun respectively. They will go up against US stars Brendan Fraser, for The Whale, and Austin Butler, for Elvis.
In the best actress race, four-time nominee Michelle Williams will be hoping this year is her time, and goes up against Cate Blanchett for Tar, Michelle Yeo for Everything Everywhere, Ana de Armas for Blonde and Andrea Riseborough for To Leslie.
Image: Andrea Riseborough
Riseborough’s nomination is a shock to many, with her film – about an alcoholic seeking redemption after squandering her lottery winnings and abandoning her son – made on a modest budget and filmed in just 19 days.
Endorsed by a host of Hollywood stars including Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Aniston and Amy Adams in recent weeks – the last minute push has clearly done the trick.
Banshees continues to impress
Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees – a comedy about a man left bewildered after his best friend kicks him to the curb – continued its success in the supporting actor categories, with Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon all gaining nods.
Image: Barry Keoghan also stars in the film. Pic: 20th Century Studios
Image: Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Pic: A24
In the best supporting actor category Glesson and Keoghan will be up against former child-star Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere, Brian Tyree Henry in Causeway and Judd Hirsch in The Fabelmans.
In the best supporting actress category, Condon will be up against Angela Bassett – whose nod for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever marks the first acting nomination for a Marvel film, aside from Chadwick Boseman’s posthumous 2021 nod.
The other best supporting actress nominations are Hong Chau for The Whale, and Jamie Lee Curtis and and Stephanie Hsu for Everything Everywhere.
Female directors snubbed
An all-male best director list means that despite women winning the category two years running (Chloe Zhao in 2021 and Jane Campion 2022) it will not be a woman taking home the gong this year.
Spielberg and McDonagh will continue their rivalry for best director accolades, both having received nominations in the parallel categories at other award shows.
The other men up for the best director Oscar are Todd Field for Tar, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known collectively as “The Daniels”) for Everything Everywhere and Ruben Ostlund for Triangle Of Sadness.
Nominations across 23 categories were announced by Oscar-winner actor and producer Riz Ahmed and Girls star Allison Williams.
When and where can I watch the actual Oscars?
Three hundred and one films were eligible for this year’s awards, which will take place in March, in a star-studded ceremony hosted by US chat show host Jimmy Kimmel.
All nominated movies must have opened in a commercial motion picture theatre in at least one of six US metropolitan areas between 1 January and 31 December, last year.
They must also have completed a minimum of seven consecutive days in the same venue and must have a running time of more than 40 minutes.
You can watch the Oscars exclusively on Sky Showcase on Sunday 12 March from midnight.
Sky News will be live on the red carpet at the ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday 12 and live with the winners at the Vanity Fair party on Breakfast with Kay Burley, Monday 13 March.
Austria has won Eurovision 2025, with Austrian-Filipino singer-songwriter JJ taking the glass microphone.
The 24-year-old singer, who originally trained as a countertenor, represented his country with his operatic ballad Wasted Love, staged on a storm-tossed ship.
The song, which was not dissimilar to that of last year’s winner Nemo, told the story of unrequited love, with a techno breakdown near the end. Austria has won Eurovision twice before, the last time in 2014 with Conchita Wurst’s pop hit Rise Like A Phoenix.
Image: JJ singing Wasted Love for Austria. Pic: Reuters
Israel’s Yuval Raphael, who survived the October 7, 2023, attacks which were the catalyst for Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza, was the runner-up with piano ballad New Day Will Rise, performed in Hebrew, French and English.
The singer was left “shaken and upset,” after two pro-Palestinian protesters rushed towards her during her grand final performance.
Organisers confirmed a backstage crew member was hit with paint but was not hurt.
A spokesman for SRG SSR said: “At the end of the Israeli performance, a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier onto the stage.
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“They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint and a crew member was hit. The crew member is fine and nobody was injured. The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police.”
Israel has won Eurovision four times, and last year finished in fifth place with Eden Golan’s Hurricane.
Image: Yuval Raphael performs New Day Will Rise for Israel. Pic:AP
Just as the grand final began broadcasting, Spanish broadcaster shared a message of Palestinian support which read: “When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine.”
The broadcaster had already received a warning from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) over political statements reported by Israeli broadcaster Kan.
The EBU said in response to the latter incident: “We can confirm that we have spoken to RTVE regarding this matter and made it clear that commentators are expected to maintain neutrality within the broadcasts of the Eurovision Song Contest.”
During the evening, there were also pro-Palestinian protests near the centre of Basel, as well as a small group nearby protesting with Israeli flags.
Israeli National Security Council had issued a warning to Israeli civilians in the city to keep a low profile during the competition.
In a change from last year’s contest in Malmo, Sweden, the ban on certain flags being waved by the audience was relaxed which meant Palestinian symbols could be seen in the arena.
Image: Remember Monday perform What The Hell Just Happened for the UK. Pic: AP
The UK’s act – country pop trio Remember Monday – who performed in colourful Bridgerton-style outfits – avoided the dreaded “nul points”, coming in at 19th place with song What The Hell Just Happened?
However, for the second year running, the UK received no points in the public score.
The UK has had five wins at Eurovision, but in recent years have struggled to rank, with the exception being Sam Ryder with Space Man in 2022, who came second.
Last year, Olly Alexander placed 18th at Malmo, and Mae Muller was second to last the previous year in Liverpool.
The Eurovision grand final took place in the St Jakobshalle arena in Basel, Switzerland, with the winner from among the 26 performing nations decided by a mix of public voting and points from national juries.
The four-hour-long show was presented by an all-female team – stand-up comedian Hazel Brugger, TV presenter Michelle Hunziker and Eurovision veteran Sandra Studer.
There were performances by previous Eurovision runners-up Croatia’s Baby Lasagna and Finland’s Kaarija, as well as last year’s winner Nemo during the night.
Image: KAJ perform Bara Bada Bastu for Sweden. Pic: AP
Sweden had been widely tipped to win with their sauna-themed entry Bara Bada Bastu (Just Sauna), but ended up coming fourth.
Ukraine, who have made a strong showing each since they first entered the competition in 2003, and who won in 2023, came ninth.
Last year protests and politics overshadowed the singing event amid the outbreak of war in Gaza, with some calling for Israel to be kicked out of the contest.
Last year also saw Dutch singer Joost Klein kicked out of the competition by the EBU over alleged verbal threats to a female production worker, which he denied.
Next year’s competition, Eurovision’s 70th, will be held in Austria.
A second man has been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent after an incident at a London nightclub that allegedly involved US singer Chris Brown.
The Metropolitan Police said Omololu Akinlolu, 38, will appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
Better known by his stage name HoodyBaby, the American rapper has been charged in connection with an alleged assault at the Tape nightclub in central London in February 2023.
Brown, 36, was charged on Thursday with grievous bodily harm with intent and was remanded in custody by judge in Manchester until 13 June.
He is accused of attacking music producer Abraham Diaw with a bottle during the incident in February.
During a hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Friday, Brown watched intently as brief details of the case against him were outlined by prosecutor Hannah Nicholls.
She accused Brown of committing “an unprovoked attack with a weapon in a nightclub full of people”.
Brown spoke to confirm his name and date of birth, but did not enter a plea.
He will appear for a plea and trial preparation hearing in London on 13 June.
Brown – known for hits such as “Loyal”, “Run It” and “Under the Influence” – was arrested at a hotel in Manchester in the early hours of Thursday by detectives from the Metropolitan Police.
The Grammy Award-winning singer was due to tour the UK in June and July, with dates in Manchester, Cardiff, London, Glasgow and Birmingham.