It was usually about this time of year when, if your heart desired, you could line up back-to-back weekend days to watch the Oscar nominations at the cinema before the big night. Nowadays, of course, more of the season's hottest releases are distributed by, or available on, streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV in the weeks leading up to Hollywood's biggest event.
Right now in the UK, you needn't leave the house to catch up on over half of the ten Best Picture nominees for the 97th Academy Awards, which take place on Sunday 2nd March 2025. While Oscars-favourite The Brutalist, Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Brazilian heartbreaker I'm Still Here and Pulitzer Prize-winning-novel adaptation Nickel Boys all require a trip to the cinema, three others are available under video service subscriptions and the other trio can be rented on your video service of choice. Between us, the What Hi-Fi? team has seen each one and, in our books, none deserve to be overlooked.
Further good news is that they are all available to stream in 4K, with some bolstering that AV experience with HDR and Dolby Atmos too.
Emilia Pérez (Netflix subscription)
4K, Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos
Despite the backlash surrounding Emilia Pérez's lead actress Karla Sofia Gascón and her historical offensive tweets, no manner of controversy can take away from the originality and creativity of Jacques Audiard's Spanish-language crime-drama-cum-operatic-musical, which tells the story of a notorious Mexican drug lord (Gascón) who, with the aid of a struggling lawyer (Zoe Saldaña), undergoes gender-affirming surgery and fakes her own death in order to start a new life as a woman.
OK, so the songs don't rouse enough for it to triumph as a musical, nor does the fresh storyline work on all levels. But on the whole, this innovative genre-blend is a pleasant surprise. What Hi-Fi?'s Robyn Quick says: "Emilia Pérez has gone from being hailed as a progressive release to being hated for various controversies, including the fact that it's a film depicting the lives of Mexicans made by no one from Mexico. For a musical, it's quite telling that there are no memorable songs or toe-tapping dance numbers for the whole run time. Despite its seemingly inclusive characters, Emilia Perez is undermined by its lack of interest in the culture it is portraying as well as its 'meh' soundtrack."
The Substance (MUBI subscription)
4K
Could Coralie Fargeat's body horror become only the second horror movie to take home a Best Picture Academy Award, joining 1991's cannibal classic Silence Of The Lambs in the history books? More likely perhaps is a triumph for Demi Moore in the Best Actress category for her fearless, career-reviving performance, but regardless of any Academy merit, Fargeat has followed up her 2017 debut, the stylised rape-revenge horror Revenge, with a violently visceral and compellingly grotesque slimy Hollywood satire, which body-horror guru David Cronenberg has unsurprisingly praised. The movie follows Elizabeth Sparkle (Moore), an aerobics-show Hollywood 'has-been' who resorts to a black-market cell-replicating substance that allows her to temporarily live within a younger and 'hotter' body (Margaret Qualley) – but not without dire consequences. Smart, subversive and boldly artistic, The Substance holds a mirror up to our ageist and beauty-standards-obsessed society and forces us to watch the cracks burst into shattered pieces.
Don't have a MUBI subscription? You can always sign up for a free trial of the best cinephile service out there, or you can also rent The Substance on Apple TV for £5.49 in 4K and Dolby Atmos.
Conclave (rent, from £5.49)
![CONCLAVE - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters October 25 - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JX9jasdi3ic/maxresdefault.jpg)
4K
What Hi-Fi?'s Harry McKerrell has nothing but praise for Edward Berger's acclaimed adaptation of Robert Harris’ 2016 novel. "Beneath the divine pomp and ceremony of Conclave lies an unmistakably human heart. Revolving around a cardinal’s investigations into the inner lives of a conclave of his contemporaries to select the next Pope after the incumbent pontiff’s passing, it would have been easy for Berger’s cinematic adaptation to have descended into mere papal pulp. What Berger has orchestrated, however, scratches far beyond the superficiality of scandal and closet skeletons.
"Eschewing heavy-handed church-bashing in favour of a more considered approach, Berger’s adaptation of Harris’ work benefits from its helmsman’s light, astute touch as Fiennes’ Cardinal Lawrence grapples with the very secular concerns of electing God’s next chosen representative. Grounded by Fiennes’ pinpoint central performance, Conclave is a mature, richly rewarding meditation on faith and identity that grabs you by the cassock and refuses to let go."
Conclave is available to rent from Apple TV for £5.49.
Dune: Part Two (NOW / Sky Cinema subscription)
4K
The cinematography is as epic as the franchise, with the vast, golden Jordanian desert the backdrop to the action-packed sci-fi adventure, with every frame a spectacular visual feat. You'll want to dim the lights and fine-tune the settings of your (hopefully large) TV before sitting down to watch Dune: Part Two at home. And let's hope you have a decent sound system too, because Hans Zimmer's score rivals the spectacle.
In this second instalment of Denis Villeneuve's space soap opera adaption of the eponymous 1960s novel, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chamalet) unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen to continue down the warpath in avenging his family. Any fears that the second part wouldn't live up to the landmark heights of the first will be alleviated within 30 minutes of viewing – its pace, vision, climaxes and character arcs are exceptional.
Don't have a Sky or NOW subscription? You can also buy Dune: Part Two on Apple TV for £13.99 in 4K, Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos. The 4K Blu-ray is also available for only £15.70 at Amazon.
Wicked (rent, from £15.99)
4K, Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos
Last year's favourite sing-a-long is now available to rent or buy from your preferred video service, allowing you to freely hit the soprano heights of Defying Gravity (or fall short of them, without the public shame) in the comfort of your living room. Provided you have the compatible kit, of course, you get the full 4K, HDR and Atmos treatment – as you would expect from such a rental fee – for that satisfying blast of Munchkinland colour and an equally rich sonic tapestry that isn't without plenty of dazzling overhead sound effects.
The first of a two-part adaptation of the Broadway musical phenomenon naturally goes back to the very beginning, telling the tale of how Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West meet, and the tragedy leading to their opposing reputations. We know the storyline, we know the songs and we know the world of Oz, so credit to director Jon M Chu for being able to splash every ounce of its on-stage magic across the big screen.
You can rent Wicked on Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video for £15.99 in 4K, HDR and Dolby Atmos.
Anora (rent, from £4.99)
4K, HDR10
Sean Baker's Palme d'Or winner has become a surprise frontrunner for the 2025 Oscar Best Picture, having just picked up top honours at the Critics Choice, Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America awards. Following the whirlwind relationship between a New York sex worker (Mikey Madison) and the son of a billion-dollar Russian oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn), Anora goes far beyond the depths of its somewhat corny "modern-day Cinderella story" conceit, audaciously fusing chaos and volatility into the classic Hollywood fairytale for an emotionally complex runtime that will have you shedding tears through both laugher and sadness.
You can rent Anora for £4.99 on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video in 4K and HDR.
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