Since its inception decades ago, the Academy Awards have expanded its reputation of cinematic excellence, which honors legendary achievements while making dreams a reality. The upcoming Oscar race features an unusual situation where primary category nominations will not be dominated by big names only.
The 2025 Academy Awards presented different choices for nominations compared to the 2024 competition, which was dominated by Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer along with the Best Actress duel between Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone.
This year’s nominees reflect the current evolving landscape of cinema, as it consists of character biopics to historical dramas. Let’s take a look at our predictions for some of the major categories that might shape the award ceremony.
Best Animated Feature: Flow
Nominees: Flow, Inside Out 2, Memoir of a Snail, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, and The Wild Robot
Latvia’s much-anticipated film in this category, featuring an entirely wordless yet quite touching heroic journey of a cat in a flooded world, produced with open-source software, Flow has already cast its spell over audiences in several major festivals and won over the usual glory at Golden Globes, LAFCA, and NYFCC award shows.
Although the category consists of strong nominees like The Wild Robot and the box-office blockbuster Inside Out 2, Flow provides something unique because of its storytelling without dialogue, which is a testament to the skills used for its animation.
The film also proves that such advanced animated storytelling doesn’t always need to be backed by big studios, and the film delivers its environmental message, which resonates with almost every modern viewer.
Flow is available to stream on Max.
Best Visual Effects: Dune: Part Two
Nominees: Alien: Romulus, Better Man, Dune: Part Two, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and Wicked
Dune: Part Two shows clear potential to win an Oscar for Best Visual Effects just like its previous installment did. Visually realistic depiction of the Arrakis world through perfect practical and digital fusion has established new benchmarks that deliver an authentic and fully immersive cinematic experience.
Among the nominees, Dune: Part Two holds the position of the most likely winner, although Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes shows its impressive performance capture technology, and Alien: Romulus also delivered with its horror element in the sci-fi genre.
Dune 2′s technical team’s attention to detail regarding the movements of the massive sandworm and the minute environmental effects of the desert planet is something that truly deserves this recognition from the academy.
Dune: Part Two is available to stream on Max.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Conclave
Nominees: A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Emilia Pérez, Nickel Boys, and Sing Sing
The most probable winner in this category is Conclave, which has properly transformed very complex source material into a dialogue-driven story that keeps its audiences hooked from beginning to end. The way the movie mixed theological and political themes and also maintained a dramatic tension demands acclaim.
Then again, the competition stays tough, with A Complete Unknown turning Bob Dylan’s life into a well-crafted movie and the success of Emilia Pérez in presenting its peculiar premise onscreen. However, regarding its ability to make complicated institutional politics quite engaging to audiences, Conclave earns a few extra points.
The movie has a sharp pace and interesting dialogue, which makes the atmosphere intense without manufactured drama. Conclave trusts its strengths, which are its story and characters, and such adaptations usually tend to get recognized by the Academy.
Conclave is available to stream on Peacock.
Best Original Screenplay: Anora
Nominees: Anora, The Brutalist, A Real Pain, September 5, and The Substance
Sean Baker’s screenplay in Anora manages to keep the subject relevant and timeless at the same time. The screenplay utilizes some innovative story structures along with sharp characterizations to draw viewers.
Though it stands in competition with the historical premise of The Brutalist or A Real Pain, which is a confined character study, Anora stands apart through voice and approach to storytelling.
The balance between rich subject matter and accessibility makes for insightful moments without loss of entertainment value. Sean Baker uses his screenplay to build tension through the development of characters.
Anora is available to buy/rent on Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Fandango.
Best actress in a supporting role: Zoe Saldaña
Nominees: Ariana Grande, Monica Barbaro, Felicity Jones, Isabella Rossellini, and Zoe Saldaña
Zoe Saldaña has been in the headlines for her performance since Emilia Pérez‘s Cannes premiere. Her performance is technically sound and emotionally relatable, which made sure to leave a lasting impact on the audience.
To mention a few of her fiercest competitions are Wicked, which is headlined by Ariana Grande, and the portrayal of Joan Baez by Monica Barbaro in A Complete Unknown.
But what makes Saldaña’s performance the most notable is that it brings out a dimension to a somewhat straightforward role. After winning a Golden Globe and SAG Award in 2025, it seems almost impossible not to add an Oscar to her collection.
Emilia Pérez is available to stream on Netflix.
Best actor in a supporting role: Kieran Culkin
Nominees: Yura Borisov, Kieran Culkin, Edward Norton, Guy Pearce, and Jeremy Strong
Benji in A Real Pain, played by Kieran Culkin, took the actor’s reputation a step higher than what he made for his role in Succession. His acting perfectly mixes humor and sadness, which makes his character feel more relatable.
There is still some tough competition in this category. Like Jeremy Strong’s role in The Apprentice and Guy Pearce’s in The Brutalist seem to provide a tough time for the choice of the winner. But Culkin’s natural, easy-flowing charisma separates him a bit from the rest.
After winning the Golden Globe, Culkin seems to be the frontrunner by a long distance. At its best, his performance shows that sort of supporting work that elevates the whole movie but still creates its special individual moments.
A Real Pain is available to stream on Hulu.
Best actress in a leading role: Demi Moore
Nominees: Cynthia Erivo, Karla Sofía Gascón, Mikey Madison, Demi Moore, and Fernanda Torres
Demi Moore plays the role of an aging actress who struggles to remain relevant in the industry in the movie The Substance. Moore is able to be both vulnerable and strong in her character, who has to deal with very personal as well as professional obstacles.
The category features some fantastic works like those of Mikey Madison in Anora and Fernanda Torres in I’m Still Here, both deserving of award recognition. But Moore’s performance stands out especially, perhaps for its universal subject matter, which is also deeply personal to many.
Moore’s Golden Globe win has made her a solid choice, but some might doubt if the Academy will recognize a horror-adjacent film performance, although she has transcended the genre.
The Substance is available to stream on Mubi.
Best actor in a leading role: Adrien Brody
Nominees: Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Colman Domingo, Ralph Fiennes, and Sebastian Stan
Adrien Brody is favored for his role as László Toth in The Brutalist, a touching and human portrayal of a Hungarian architect through post-war America. Drawing the contrasts of both a creative soul and a man with a troubled spirit, his performance paints a picture of an artist in exile.
Among the nominees in this category, the rising global star Timothée Chalamet is also a popular name for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Another popular choice could be Ralph Fiennes for his role in Conclave.
But Brody stands out for maintaining the balance between the technical and emotional aspects of his role. The role also gave him the opportunity to explore his range as an actor.
The Brutalist is available to buy/rent on Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Fandango.
Best Director: Brady Corbet
Nominees: Sean Baker (Anora), Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), James Mangold (A Complete Unknown), Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), and Coralie Fargeat (The Substance)
In The Brutalist, Brady Corbet showed his ability to control the complex material amid the film’s huge scope and intimate character moments. His direction brought out remarkable performances from the ensemble cast while ensuring cohesion of visual and thematic vision across the film’s lengthy 210-minute running time.
On the other hand, some great work has been offered by other first-time nominees, including Sean Baker’s naturalistic approach in Anora and Jacques Audiard’s stylish direction of Emilia Pérez.
However, Corbet’s ambitious scope and precise execution separate his work from the pack. Moreover, after his Golden Globe and BAFTA win, Corbet has also become a favorite in this category.
Best Picture: The Brutalist
Nominees: Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance, and Wicked
Despite strong competition from Emelia Pérez with its innovative approach to musical storytelling and Anora with its personal character study, “The Brutalist” emerges with a unique blend of technical perfection and emotional resonance. Themes of artistic integrity, identity, and power greatly resonate with audiences today.
The Brutalist is a deep study of post-war American architecture through a personal lens and stands as a Best Picture candidate par excellence. The film’s 210-minute length allows the required time for exploring its themes and also keeps the viewer engaged throughout.
The talks about using AI for its accent work have hardly reduced its Oscar chances. The film’s all-around storytelling, acting, and technical execution continue to make it a strong favorite for the Academy Award.
With the 2025 Academy Awards set to honor yet another year of innovative and diverse filmmaking, these predictions somewhat indicate the extraordinary quality of work produced during a transformative time in film history.
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