Predictions for the 2025 Oscars

Several major categories feel like genuine toss-ups with just days to go.

Background photo is Dune: Part Two, with The Brutalist in the bottom left, I'm Still Here top right and Sing Sing bottom right.

A chaotic awards season caps off with the Oscars on Sunday, March 2. Look beyond the fog of controversies and you’ll find races between truly fantastic entries. This year’s Best Picture nominees provide an ambitious, diverse range of films, spanning blockbusters, indie gems, science fiction, Brazilian history, fantasy, and historical reexaminations. Several key races - including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best International Film - feel like genuine toss-ups with just days to go. Buckle up. 

Below you’ll find my winner predictions and personal picks for most categories. 

Note: I didn't offer picks for the following categories (didn't get around to all of the nominated entries within each): Best Documentary Short, Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short, Best Original Song.

Best Picture

Predicted winner: Anora

What I’d like to see win: Dune: Part Two

• Anora

• The Brutalist

• A Complete Unknown

• Conclave

• Dune: Part Two

• Emilia Pérez

• I'm Still Here

• Nickel Boys

• The Substance

• Wicked

Best Director

Predicted winner: Sean Baker

Who I’d like to see win: Brady Corbet 

• Jacques Audiard - Emilia Pérez

• Sean Baker - Anora

• Brady Corbet - The Brutalist

• Coralie Fargeat - The Substance

• James Mangold - A Complete Unknown

Best Actor

Predicted winner: Adrien Brody

Who I’d like to see win: Timothée Chalamet

• Adrien Brody - The Brutalist

• Timothée Chalamet - A Complete Unknown

• Colman Domingo - Sing Sing

• Ralph Fiennes - Conclave

• Sebastian Stan - The Apprentice

Best Supporting actor

Predicted winner: Kieran Culkin

Who I’d like to see win: Jeremy Strong

• Yura Borisov - Anora

• Kieran Culkin - A Real Pain

• Edward Norton - A Complete Unknown

• Guy Pearce - The Brutalist

• Jeremy Strong - The Apprentice

Best Actress

Predicted winner: Demi Moore 

Who I’d like to see win: Fernanda Torres 

• Cynthia Erivo - Wicked

• Karla Sofía Gascón - Emilia Pérez

• Mikey Madison - Anora

• Demi Moore - The Substance

• Fernanda Torres - I'm Still Here

Best Supporting Actress

Predicted winner: Zoe Saldaña

Who I’d like to see win: Felicity Jones

• Monica Barbaro - A Complete Unknown

• Ariana Grande - Wicked

• Felicity Jones - The Brutalist

• Isabella Rossellini - Conclave

• Zoe Saldaña - Emilia Pérez

  
  

Best International feature

Predicted winner: I'm Still Here

What I’d like to see win: I'm Still Here

• I'm Still Here - Brazil

• The Girl with the Needle - Denmark

• Emilia Pérez - France

• The Seed of the Sacred Fig - Germany

• Flow - Latvia

Best Animated Feature

Predicted winner: Flow (I'm torn here and think The Wild Robot still can win, but Flow’s Best International Film nomination gives an additional boost in this category)

What I’d like to see win: The Wild Robot

• Flow

• Inside Out 2

• Memoir of a Snail

• Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

• The Wild Robot

Best Documentary Feature

Predicted winner: No Other Land

What I’d like to see win: No Other Land

• Black Box Diaries

• No Other Land

• Porcelain War

• Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

• Sugarcane

Best Adapted Screenplay

Predicted winner: Conclave

What I’d like to see win: Sing Sing

• A Complete Unknown - Jay Cocks and James Mangold

• Conclave - Peter Straughan

• Emilia Pérez - Jacques Audiard

• Nickel Boys - RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes

• Sing Sing - Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar

Best Original Screenplay

Predicted winner: Anora

What I’d like to see win: A Real Pain

• Anora - Sean Baker

• The Brutalist - Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold

• A Real Pain - Jesse Eisenberg

• September 5 - Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David

• The Substance - Coralie Fargeat

Best Original Score

Predicted winner: The Brutalist

What I’d like to see win: The Brutalist

• The Brutalist

• Conclave

• Emilia Pérez

• Wicked

• The Wild Robot

Best costume design

Predicted winner: Wicked

What I’d like to see win: A Complete Unknown

• Wicked

• Nosferatu

• A Complete Unknown

• Conclave

• Gladiator II

Best Make-up and Hairstyling

Predicted winner: The Substance

What I’d like to see win: The Substance

• A Different Man

• Emilia Pérez

• Nosferatu

• The Substance

• Wicked

Best Production Design

Predicted winner: Wicked

What I’d like to see win: Dune: Part Two

• Wicked

• The Brutalist

• Dune: Part Two

• Nosferatu

• Conclave

Best Sound

Predicted winner: A Complete Unknown

What I’d like to see win: Dune: Part Two

• A Complete Unknown

• Dune: Part Two

• Emilia Pérez

• Wicked

• The Wild Robot

Best film editing

Predicted winner: Conclave

What I’d like to see win: Anora

• Anora

• The Brutalist

• Conclave

• Emilia Pérez

• Wicked

Best Cinematography

Predicted winner: The Brutalist

What I’d like to see win: The Brutalist (Dune: Part Two would be my No. 2 pick)

• The Brutalist

• Dune: Part Two

• Emilia Pérez

• Maria

• Nosferatu

Best visual effects

Predicted winner: Dune: Part Two

What I’d like to see win: Dune: Part Two

• Alien: Romulus

• Better Man

• Dune: Part Two

• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

• Wicked

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Didn't make predictions for the following categories:

Best Original Song

Never Too Late - Elton John: Never Too Late

El Mal - Emilia Pérez

Mi Camino - Emilia Pérez

Like A Bird - Sing Sing

The Journey - The Six Triple Eight

Best live-action short

Anuja

I'm Not a Robot

The Last Ranger

A Lien

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

Best animated short

Beautiful Men

In the Shadow of the Cypress

Magic Candies

Wander to Wonder

Yuck!

Best documentary short

Death by Numbers

I Am Ready, Warden

Incident

Instruments of a Beating Heart

The Only Girl in the Orchestra