Emilia Pérez earned over a dozen nominations — and garnered serious Oscars controversy — at the 97th Academy Awards for several reasons. Released on Netflix in 2024 after a successful film festival run, Emilia Pérez is a French musical about a Mexican cartel leader goes into hiding by transitioning into a woman. The film has struck a chord with the voting members of the Academy of Motion Arts & Sciences, leading it to become the most nominated film at the 2025 iteration of the ceremony, which is all the more impressive considering the strength of its compeтιтion.

Emilia Pérez is also the source of some of the Oscar season’s most controversial discussion. Several aspects of the film coming under fire during the course of the award campaign. Despite this, the film remains a strong contender at the Academy Awards, and will likely earn some Oscar recognition for Netflix. Here is how Emilia Pérez stacks up against Academy Award history, how it gained so many Oscar nominations, and if it can keep up the momentum amid public scrutiny.

Emilia Pérez’s 13 Oscar Nominations Is One Of The Highest Totals Of All Time

Emila Perez Is Tied For The Second Most Oscar Nominations

Emilia Pérez is tied for the second most nominations at a single Academy Award ceremony, even though it may not be able to translate that early success into Oscar gold. Emilia Pérez was already predicted to be a strong contender in the Oscar pool ahead of the nominations for the 97th ceremony, but no one expected the film to rack up over a dozen nominations. While three films have reached that point, Emilia Pérez is the ninth film to earn 13 nominations at the Oscars.

Emilia Pérez is up for several different types of awards at the 97th Academy Awards, ranging from the marquee acting categories to behind-the-scenes categories like Sound, Film Editing, and Makeup & Hairstyling. This suggests a broad support for the film on the whole from the Academy voters, as opposed to only picking up attention for a specific aspect of the production. This is the tenth nomination for the streaming service for Best Picture, a category they have yet to win at the time of writing. Emilia Pérez could be the film that reverses that streak.

Emilia Pérez Benefited From Early Awards Success & Netflix’s Campaigning

Emilia Pérez Has Been An Oscar Frontrunner Since It Was Screened At The Cannes Film Festival

Emilia Pérez has been an early contender for the 97th Academy Awards since the early days of the award season. A successful premiere and jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival was a boon for the producers on the film, which placed the movie on the film industry’s radar. The undeniably memorable material ensured the film remained in voter’s minds, even as other films were released across the course of the year. Netflix’s PR department has been hard at work on For Your Consideration campaigns all across Los Angeles.

This ensured voters within the industry were frequently reminded of the film’s colorful visuals and historic potential as it stars the first openly transgender performer to be nominated in an acting category. Ad campaigns, publicity events, and high-profile screenings carried the film into the award season, where it has racked up awards at several precursor ceremonies like the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs. This suggests that Netflix’s campaigning on behalf of the film ensured its place among the nominations, with the successful precursor awards suggesting Emilia Pérez has true Oscar potential.

Emilia Pérez’s Poor Reception & Controversies Didn’t Impact Its Oscar Nominations

Emilia Pérez Has Kept Up Momentum Despite Serious Award Roadblocks

That momentum has been increasingly blunted, however. Despite holding a respectable 72% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, Emilia Pérez has also generated plenty of controversy. While it has plenty of defenders, Emilia Pérez has generated the most mixed negative reception among the critical corner of the industry. As reported by ABC News, LGBTQ advocates have been mixed on Emilia Pérez, with some saying the film recycles offensive stereotypes and serves as a tone-deaf representation of the trans communities. On top of that, the film’s portrayal of Mexico has also come under fire.

As a result, the high number of nominations for Emilia Pérez received negative attention when they were announced. The controversies only grew when racially-charged social media posts from star Karla Sofía Gascon resurfaced and threw her Oscars campaign into disarray. However, it’s clear the film resonated with the Academy Award voters on some level despite the prior controversies. While this second complication could cost the film some momentum, it has retained staying power in award season thanks to victories for Zoe Saldaña. It’s possible that Emilia Pérez‘s award season problems came too late to derail its Oscar success.