César nominations 2025: Who is the favourite to win France’s top cinema award?

The César Academy has announced the nominations for its 50th ceremony and unsurprisingly, this year's top nominees include Le Compte de Monte-Cristo, L'amour ouf and Emilia Pérez. 

Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, the hugely popular cinematic adaptation of the classic French novel by Alexandre Dumas, scored the most nominations with 14 nods.  

The film, directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellière, sold nine million tickets in France and stands as one of the favourites this year - especially when it comes to the Best Actor category, which Pierre Niney is the frontrunner for.  

Behind it is the romantic drama L’Amour ouf (Beating Hearts) with 13, and awards favourite Emilia Pérez with 12 nominations. 

All eyes will be on Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language musical, which has already won two Palmes, five European Film Awards, four Golden Globes and has beaten the nomination record for a non-English-language film at the Oscars. 

Elsewhere, five superb films make up the shortlist for Best International Feature: Palme d’Or winner Anora; Euronews Culture’s top film of 2024 The Seed of the Sacred Fig; the underrated and freshly Oscar-nominated The Apprentice; the mind-melting The Substance; and last year’s Oscar-winning The Zone of Interest. It’s worth pointing out that all five films debuted at the Cannes Film Festival.  

Only one month left to find out who will succeed Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall - which won six Césars last year, including Best Film. 

The 50th César Awards will take place in Paris at the Olympia on 28 February 2025. The ceremony will be presided over by Catherine Deneuve and American actress Julia Roberts will receive this year’s honorary César. 

Here are the main highlights of this year’s nominees:

Best Film 

• Le Comte de Monte-Cristo 
• Emilia Pérez 
• En Fanfare 
• L'histoire de Souleymane 
• Miséricorde

Best Director 

• Gilles Lelouche for L'amour ouf 
• Matthieu Delaporte & Alexandre de la Patellière for Le Comte de Monte-Cristo 
• Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez 
• Boris Lojkine for L'histoire de Souleymane 
• Alain Guiraudie for Miséricorde

Best Actress 

• Adèle Exarchopoulos - L'Amour ouf 
• Karla Sofía Gascón - Emilia Pérez 
• Hafsia Herzi - Borgo 
• Zoé Saldana - Emilia Pérez 
• Hélène Vincent - Quand vient l'automne

Best Actor 

• François Civil - L'Amour ouf 
• Benjamin Lavernhe - En Fanfare 
• Karim Leklou - Le roman de Jim 
• Pierre Niney - Le Comte de Monte-Cristo 
• Tahar Rahim – Monsieur Aznavour

Best Actress in a Supporting Role 

• Elodie Bouchez - L'amour ouf 
• Anais Demoustier - Le Comte de Monte-Cristo 
• Catherine Frot - Miséricorde 
• Nina Meurisse - L'histoire de Souleymane 
• Sarah Suco - En Fanfare

Best Actor in a Supporting Role 

• David Alaya - Miséricorde 
• Bastien Bouillon - Le Comte de Monte-Cristo 
• Alain Chabat - L'amour ouf 
• Jacques Develay - Miséricorde 
• Laurent Lafitte - Le Comte de Monte-Cristo

Revelation Award - Actress 

• Maïwenn Barthelemy - Vingt Dieux 
• Malou Khebizi - Diamant Brut 
• Megan Northam - Rabia 
• Mallory Wanecque - L'amour ouf 
• Souheila Yacoub - Planète B

Revelation Award - Actor 

• Abou Sangaré - L'histoire de Souleymane 
• Adam Bessa - Les Fantômes 
• Malik Frikah - L'amour ouf 
• Félix Kysyl - Miséricorde 
• Pierre Lottin - En Fanfare

Best Original Screenplay 

• Stéphane Demoustier - Borgo 
• Emmanuel Courcol & Irène Muscari - En Fanfare 
• Boris Lojkine & Delphine Agut - L'histoire de Souleymane 
• Alain Guiraudie - Miséricorde 
• Louise Courvoisier & Théo Abadie - Vingt Dieux

Best Adapted Screenplay 

• Matthieu Delaporte & Alexandre de la Patellière - Le Comte de Monte-Cristo 
• Jacques Audiard - Emilia Pérez 
• Michel Hazanavicus & Jean-Claude Grumberg - La plus précieuse des marchandises

Best International Film 

• Anora 
• The Seed of the Sacred Fig 
• The Apprentice 
• The Substance 
• The Zone of Interest

Best First Film 

• Diamant brut 
• Les fantômes 
• Le royaume 
• Un p'tit truc en plus 
• Vingt dieux