The 2024 Academy Awards and coordinating award season have come to a close. While this is a time to relax, we are going to also look ahead and see how accurate we can be with the 2025 Oscar Predictions with most of these sight unseen. Following the dominance of Oppenheimer and Poor Things at the Oscars this year, what comes next? 

The Oscar race this year was dominated by studio films from Oppenheimer to Barbie to Poor Things, but we also had a great mix of films that were not only smaller, but not widely on our radars, including Academy Award winner Anatomy of a Fall. We think this year will feature some independent films most of us aren’t even aware of right now following the strikes impacting production schedules. While there are some big hot ticket items in the mix, we’re mentally keeping some space in this line up for some gems we don’t have on our radar quite yet…

See what we think below in some of the Academy Awards categories and come back next Spring to see how well we did….

Best Picture

Blitz
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emmanuelle
Joker: Folie à Deux
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Maria
Megalopolis 
The Piano Lesson
Sing Sing

Outside of this line up, there’s definitely some interest in big projects, such as Gladiator II, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Wicked, but I think it’s too soon to tell if those films are going to be major tech players or be able to get into the Best Picture race. We think there’s some space for films that may seem like actor or writer plays specifically (Queer, Emmanuelle, or Sing Sing) to break into the Best Picture race with massive support. Sing Sing has maintained so much momentum and stars Colman Domingo fresh off his first Oscar nomination this last season and feels like a good play in the race. Listen, am I going on a limb thinking a horror reimagining like Nosferatu could be in this mix? Yeah. But the release date, cast, and director feel almost like a calling to it is time for horror to make it back into the Best Picture lineup.

Best Director

Steve McQueen (Blitz)
Edward Berger (Conclave)
Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two)
Audrey Diwan (Emmanuelle)
Francis Ford Coppola (Megalopolis)

The director race has the potential to be stacked with former winners and nominees, finally nominate Denis Villeneuve for his masterful work in his Dune series, or feature so many beloved would-be first time nominees. Edward Berger was definitely close to getting nominated for his last feature film that over performed at the Oscars (All Quiet on the Western Front) and his latest film, Conclave, has quite the cast and crew to push him through into the Director race. Steve McQueen has deserved a Director Oscar for quite some time in my opinion and Blitz sounds like perhaps the film to finally get him that statue. Maybe, just maybe this is the year historical accuracy legend, Robert Eggers, can be in contention for a director nomination. While Nosferatu is a horror film, there is something to say about his career and that film’s release date. 

Best Actress

Jessica Lange (Long Day’s Journey Into Night)
Angelina Jolie (Maria)
Saoirse Ronan (Blitz)
Lady Gaga (Joker: Folie à Deux)
Tilda Swinton (The End)

Lead Actress always feels like one of the most exciting races at the Oscars and the 2025 race feels like it could be an all timer lineup when looking at the potential just on paper. Pablo Larraín could continue his female leads getting nominated with Angelina Jolie. Saoirse Ronan has a few projects dropping this calendar year, but Blitz feels like the most likely. Jessica Lange, who just appeared at the 2024 Oscars, is making a highly anticipated return to the big screen. While Lady Gaga could make her return to Award Season in the follow-up to the Oscar winning Joker. 

Lead Actor

Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)
André Holland (The Actor)
Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)
Daniel Craig (Queer)
Gary Oldman (Parthenope)

Lead Actor could see the return of Colman Domingo within one award season with his performance in Sing Sing that has been praised since it premiered at TIFF last year. André Holland has been in so many Oscar contenders over the years but getting a big leading role in an highly anticipated project could lead him to his first Academy Award nomination. Paolo Sorrentino directing Gary Oldman could see the former winner back in the Oscar race. We also have our eye on a few other actors with anticipated performances such as Barry Keoghan in Bird, Adam Driver in Megalopolis and Richard Gere in Oh, Canada. 

Supporting Actress

Naomi Watts (Emmanuelle)
Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson)
Isabella Rossellini (Conclave)
Natasha Lyonne (His Three Daughters)
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (The Nickel Boys)

With Supporting Actress, there’s a lot that could happen here if Kinds of Kindness is great, maybe Hong Chau returns to the category with her second nomination. But the release date and anthology format of the next Yorgos Lanthimos film makes it a real wait and see with the presence of each actor. Isabella Rossellini is long overdue for her first nomination and with her next performance being in an Edward Berger film, it seems like a possibility! After many rave reviews for her performance in His Three Daughters, we are definitely hopefully Natasha Lyonne could be in the Oscar race. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor continues to deliver Oscar worthy performances and we cannot wait to see if she can make it back in the Academy lineup in 2025. 

Supporting Actor

Samuel L. Jackson (The Piano Lesson)
Harris Dickinson (Blitz) 
Ben Foster (Long Day’s Journey Into Night)
Stanley Tucci (Conclave)
Bill Skarsgård (Nosferatu)

Is this finally the season Samuel L. Jackson wins a competitive Oscar? We sure hope so! While the legendary performer won an honor Academy Award, we’re eager to see him back in the acting Oscar line up and aiming for a win! Legends and newcomers feel like they’ll stack up this Supporting Actor category with hopefuls such as Harris Dickinson, Ben Foster, and Stanley Tucci all in the running. We’re also curious if maybe Jesse Plemons is able to get back in the race if he has enough of a presence in Kinds of Kindness out this summer. Now, I took a major (personal) swing here with Bill Skarsgård in Nosferatu. There is not a confirmation he’s even in this category, but the framing of the iconic story could have him as a supporting character. With 3 films out in one year and a director known for getting raved about performances from legendary actors, maybe Skarsgård gets in the line up. 

Original Screenplay

Bird
Blitz
Dìdi
Kind of Kindness
A Real Pain

Original Screenplay is always one of the best categories at the Oscars filled with fresh faces and Academy favorites. We think we could see some incredible nominees to represent their overall talent, such as Andrea Arnold for Bird or Sean Wang for Dìdi, fresh off his first Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Short. We could also see some former winners and nominees with Yorgos Lanthimos as a co-writer on Kind of Kindness or Jesse Eisenberg for A Real Pain, which was a Sundance hit. We’re also keeping an eye on Academy Award Winner Barry Jenkins with Flint Strong as well as the legend Francis Ford Coppola for Megalopolis.

Adapted Screenplay

Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emmanuelle
The Piano Lesson
Sing Sing

In the next category, Adapted Screenplay, it’s a big game if this falls to cover the bigger films based on source material from Dune: Part Two to Joker: Folie à Deux. Or maybe the smaller films get covered here all the same as if they’re a Best Picture contender, such as Sing Sing or Emmanuelle, they should be here as well. A nomination I would love to see is Nosferatu as Robert Eggers has spent most of his career working on bringing his reimagining to the screen and that release date is very awards friendly. This would also be an incredible place to nominate the crowd favorite Hit Man for both Richard Linklater and Glen Powell. If Long Day’s Journey Into Night is as good as we think, this could be a place for the film to pop up as well.

Production Design

Blitz
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator Two
Nosferatu
Wicked

Once we’re in the craft categories, it’s time to think about Wicked. While we’re on stand by to see how great the film adaptation of this story is, Wicked was mostly practical sets and brought an iconic world to life just from what we’ve seen in the trailers. We may have to wait to see if it’s a Best Picture and above-the-line contender, Production Design feels like a deserving place for the film. Nosferatu may have trouble in above-the-line categories as well, but Robert Eggers is always committed to detailed, period accurate sets and the gothic story may feel at home here. Two sequels in this category? Dune: Part Two feels like an easy guess here, but after Napoleon was in this past season, Gladiator Two may be a big tech player as well. Keeping an eye on a prequel as well with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

Costume Design

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Wicked

Costume Design has typically followed a mix of Best Picture contenders and stand out costumes from genre films. This is why we think it’s best to keep an eye on films like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Gladiator Two, Wicked and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Dune: Part Two is not only the sequel to a former winner in the category but some of the best work in a high budget film that will most likely be in the Best Picture race. Some outliers that could be in above-the-line categories that could show up in the Costume race would be Queer, Kinds of Kindness, The Piano Lesson, and Joker: Folie à Deux.

Cinematography

Blitz
Dune: Part Two
Maria
Megalopolis
Nosferatu

Cinematography is always one of the most thrilling categories because the branch tends to honor the best work regardless if it’s in other races at the Academy Awards (i.e. El Conde this past Oscars). While we think most of the films listed above are in contention for other nominations next year, these all feel like films (without seeing them all) that could still be contenders here based on the nominees themselves and their careers.

Film Editing

Blitz
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Megalopolis
The Piano Lesson

Film Editing has become so thrilling over the last few years with surprise nominations, such as TÁR and Anatomy of a Fall. We think we could always get surprises here from smaller films that are not on our radar quite yet that would take the place of something that feels more ‘obvious’ such as Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga perhaps.

Sound

Dune: Part Two
The End
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Twisters
Wicked

2024 films feel a bit heavy with the more clear sound contenders with blockbusters such as Dune: Part Two and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Wicked feels like an easy on paper nomination, but what if something such as Civil War or Blitz contend from just great work or an over performance with nominations next year?

Original Score

Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emmanuelle
Flint Strong
Joker: Folie à Deux

With Original Score, it’s often a wonder of if someone is ‘in the club.’ With a new score coming from Michael Giacchino, who has in recent years been what many considered snubbed, as well as sequel scores from winners such as Hans Zimmer and Hildur Guðnadóttir, you have to wonder if this will be a category with many previous winners or newcomers. How many sequels can really get into Original Score?

Visual Effects

Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Mufasa: The Lion King
Twisters

Visual Effects seems it could very top heavy with contenders such as Dune: Part Two, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Twisters. While there’s always room for a surprise (Civil War? Tuesday?), it seems with films such as Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Mufasa: The Lion King, this category could be overruled by the big blockbuster.

While we left off quite a bit of categories, such as International Feature or Original Song, it’s always easier to guess what films we know of as we publish could end up in some of the technical and above-the-line categories. With Cannes still to come, we’ll see how the International Feature category will shape up or see if there’s a director not on our radar quite yet.