Universal Filmed Entertainment Group Scores Record 25 Academy Award Nominations - A Historic Milestone for the Studio

Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG) has earned a total of 25 nominations for the 97th Academy Awards®, marking the most collective nominations in the studio’s history. This year’s haul represents an increase from 2024, when UFEG garnered 18 nominations. The nominations span three of UFEG’s prominent feature divisions: Universal Pictures, Focus Features, and DreamWorks Animation (DWA).

For the third consecutive year, both Focus Features and Universal Pictures have received a nomination for Best Picture, a testament to their ongoing commitment to producing award-worthy films.

Universal Pictures’ Wicked and Focus Features’ Conclave are both contenders for Best Picture this year, joining the ranks of films like Oppenheimer (2023) and The Fabelmans (2023), which were nominated in previous years. Oppenheimer went on to win Best Picture at the 96th Academy Awards. Universal Pictures is the only major studio to have won Best Picture twice in the past decade, with Green Book also claiming the top honor in 2019.

Focus Features' Conclave tied the record for the most nominations ever received by a single Focus Features title, matching the eight nominations garnered by Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Milk (2008). In addition to the Best Picture nomination, Conclave has received several nods, including Best Actor for Ralph Fiennes and Best Supporting Actress for Isabella Rossellini.

This marks the fifth consecutive year that Focus Features has earned a Best Picture nomination, with previous entries including The Holdovers (2023), Tár (2022), Belfast (2021), and Promising Young Woman (2020). Over the course of its 23-year history, Focus Features films have been nominated for Best Picture a total of 17 times.

Dreamworks' The Wild Robot recieved three nominations, including one for Animated Feature Film. This marks the most nominations Dreamworks has ever received for a single film in its 30-year history, and ties the studio’s record for the most nominations in a single year.

DreamWorks Animation has been nominated for 20 Academy Awards^® and has won three total. The studio won twice for Animated Feature Film with Shrek (2001), winning the first ever Oscar^® in the category, in addition to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005). DreamWorks Animation’s The Prince of Egypt (1998) was awarded Original Song for “When You Believe.”

See the full list of nominations from Universal Filmed Entertainment Group below:

Universal Pictures’ Wicked earned 10 nominations including: 

• Best Picture – Marc Platt, producer
• Actress in a Leading Role – Cynthia Erivo
• Actress in a Supporting Role – Ariana Grande
• Costume Design – Paul Tazewell
• Film Editing – Myron Kerstein
• Makeup and Hairstyling – Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sara Nuth
• Original Score – John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
• Production Design – Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
• Sound – Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis
• Visual Effects – Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould 

Focus Features’ Conclave earned 8 nominations including:

• Best Picture – Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman, producers
• Actor in a Leading Role – Ralph Fiennes
• Actress in a Supporting Role – Isabella Rossellini
• Adapted Screenplay – Screenplay by Peter Straughan
• Costume Design – Lisy Christl
• Film Editing – Nick Emerson
• Original Score – Volker Bertelmann
• Production Design – Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter 

Focus Features’ Nosferatu earned 4 nominations including:

• Cinematography – Jarin Blaschke
• Costume Design – Linda Muir
• Makeup and Hairstyling – David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne Stokes-Munton
• Production Design – Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová

DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot earned 3 nominations including:

• Animated Feature Film – Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann
• Original Score – Kris Bowers
• Sound – Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo and Leff Lefferts