‘Alien: Romulus’, ‘The Substance’ and ‘Nosferatu’ Made the 97th Oscars Shortlist

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced shortlists in ten major categories for the 97th Academy Awards this week, and you might be surprised to learn that a small handful of horror movies made the cut. The horror genre has a long history of being ignored by the Academy, but next year’s ceremony may prove to be an exception to the rule.

For the sake of full clarity before we begin, a movie making the Oscars shortlist means that it’s on the list for *potentially* receiving an official nomination for an Academy Award, with these shortlist selections soon being whittled down to the final list of actual nominees. Nominations voting begins on January 8, 2025, and concludes on Sunday, January 12, 2025.

With that out of the way, it’s still a big deal for any horror movie to make the Oscars shortlist, and five of this year’s best and brightest have indeed received recognition this year.

Here are the horror highlights from this wave of Oscars shortlist categories…

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

“The Apprentice”“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”“A Different Man”“Dune: Part Two”“Emilia Pérez”“Maria”“Nosferatu”“The Substance”“Waltzing with Brando”“Wicked”

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

“Alien: Romulus”“Babygirl”“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”“Blink Twice”“Blitz”“The Brutalist”“Challengers”“Conclave”“Emilia Pérez”“The Fire Inside”“Gladiator II”“Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1”“Inside Out 2”“Nosferatu”“The Room Next Door”“Sing Sing”“The Six Triple Eight”“Wicked”“The Wild Robot”“Young Woman and the Sea”

SOUND

“Alien: Romulus”“Blitz”“A Complete Unknown”“Deadpool & Wolverine”“Dune: Part Two”“Emilia Pérez”“Gladiator II”“Joker: Folie à Deux”“Wicked”“The Wild Robot”

VISUAL EFFECTS

“Alien: Romulus”“Better Man”“Civil War”“Deadpool & Wolverine”“Dune: Part Two”“Gladiator II”“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”“Mufasa: The Lion King”“Twisters”“Wicked”

Nominations for the 97th Academy Awards will be announced on Friday, January 17, 2025, and the show will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2025, televised on ABC and streamed on Hulu.

You can learn more about the shortlist over on The Academy’s official website.

‘Nosferatu’