Zoe Saldana & Selena Gomez Netflix movie Emilia Perez, now streaming, is poised to be a major Oscar contender

Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez
Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez (Image credit: PAGE 114/WHY NOT PRODUCTIONS/PATHÉ FILMS/FRANCE 2 CINÉMA)

As we enter into the last few months of the year, Netflix enters its Oscar phase, where many of its big original movie premieres are the streamer’s most likeliest contenders for year end awards, most notably the Oscars. This year perhaps the odds on favorite to land some Oscar nominations is Emilia Perez, the crime musical that stars Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez and Karla Sofia Gascon, which is now streaming on Netflix worldwide after its Oscar qualifying run in US movie theaters.

Emilia Perez hails from acclaimed French director Jacques Audiard (The Prophet, Rust and Bone), based on the novel Ecoute by Boris Razon. The movie follows four women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness, including Emilia Perez (Gascon), a former drug lord that faked her own death in order to live as her authentic self, and Rita (Saldana), the lawyer that helped her pull it off. Gomez, Adriana Paz and Edgar Ramirez also star.

The movie is critically acclaimed (“Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes at 82%), has already won some impressive hardware (Audiard and the quartet of actresses in the movie were feted at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival) and is expected to be a competitor in a lot of races at the Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Actress (Gascon), Supporting Actress (Saldana, Gomez) and more.

The movie also has the chance to continue Netflix’s streak of having a movie nominated for Best International Feature Film (formerly Best Foreign language Film), which the streamer has nabbed in three consecutive years (and five of the last seven years), as Emilia Perez is France’s official selection for the award this year. If it won it would be the third Netflix movie in seven years to win the Oscar in this category, following Roma and All Quiet on the Western Front.

With all the buzz surrounding the movie, Emilia Perez could be the next big hit on Netflix, a subscribers have shown that they’re not opposed to foreign language movies on the streamer, even foreign language musicals (RRR was a big hit on Netflix). I’m certainly one subscriber who will be watching the movie as soon as I can, having missed it in its theatrical run up thus far.

This is just the start of Netflix’s Oscar push, as over the next couple of weeks it is set to premiere The Piano Lesson with John David Washington, animated contender Spellbound, Bill Nighy’s Joy and Tyler Perry’s The Six Triple Eight. There are also a number of Netflix movies from earlier this year that could be up for some Oscar consideration, including Hit Man and Mountain Queen.

To watch Emilia Perez, or any of these movies, you must have a Netflix subscription. You can watch the Emilia Perez trailer, though, right here:

Emilia Pérez | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube Emilia Pérez | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube
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Michael Balderston
Assistant Managing Editor

Michael Balderston is What to Watch’s assistant managing editor and lead movie writer, covering movies coming to theaters, writing movie reviews and highlighting new and classic movies on streaming services; he also covers a range of TV shows, including those in the Taylor Sheridan universe, Slow Horses, Only Murders in the Building, Jeopardy!, Saturday Night Live and more, as well as the best ways to watch some major US sporting events.

Based outside of Washington, D.C., Michael's previous experience includes writing for Awards Circuit, TV Technology and The Wrap.

Michael’s favorite movie of all time is Casablanca, while his favorite TV show is Seinfeld. Some 2025 favorites include One of Them Days and Black Bag for movies, and The Pitt on TV. Follow on Letterboxd to keep up with what I'm watching.

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