As of February 25, 2025, I've now finished watching the film for every nominee for every category for the 2025 Academy Awards. This is the 2nd year in a row I've accomplished this feat. This year, the total number of films nominated was 50. What does that mean? Not much. Haha. It just means I like watching films and that I'm interested in finding out what the Academy finds worthy of a nomination. I also find it a fun challenge to watch all the nominated films before the awards ceremony. The ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 2nd, with Conan O'Brien as host. Below, I provide my predictions with who I think will win the award in every category along with who I personally think should win.
Best Picture
“Anora”
“The Brutalist”
“A Complete Unknown”
“Conclave”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Emilia Pérez”
“I’m Still Here”
“Nickel Boys”
“The Substance”
“Wicked”
Who I think will win: Anora
Who I think should win: Conclave
Best actor in a leading role
Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”
Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”
Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”
Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”
Who I think will win: Adrien Brody
Who I think should win: Timothée Chalamet
Best actress in a leading role
Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”
Karla Sofía Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”
Mikey Madison, “Anora”
Demi Moore, “The Substance”
Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”
Who I think will and should win: Demi Moore
Best actor in a supporting role
Yura Borisov, “Anora”
Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”
Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown”
Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist”
Jeremy Strong, “The Apprentice”
Who I think will win: Kieran Culkin
Who I think should win: Jeremy Strong
Best actress in a supporting role
Monica Barbaro, “A Complete Unknown”
Ariana Grande, “Wicked”
Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”
Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave”
Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”
Who I think should and will win: Zoe Saldaña
Best director
Sean Baker, “Anora”
Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”
James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown”
Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”
Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”
Who I think will win: Sean Baker, Anora
Who I think should win: James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
Best cinematography
“The Brutalist”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Maria”
“Nosferatu”
Who I think will win: The Brutalist
Who I think should win: Dune, Part Two
Best international feature film
“I’m Still Here”
“The Girl with the Needle”
“Emilia Pérez”
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
“Flow”
Who I think will win: Emilia Perez
Who I think should win: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Best adapted screenplay
“A Complete Unknown”
“Conclave”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Nickel Boys”
“Sing Sing”
Who I think will and should win: Conclave
Best original screenplay
“Anora”
“The Brutalist”
“A Real Pain”
“September 5”
“The Substance”
Who I think will win: A Real Pain
Who I think should win: The Substance
Best live action short film
“A Lien”
“Anuja”
“I’m Not a Robot”
“The Last Ranger”
“A Man Who Could Not Remain Silent”
Who I think will win: Anuja
Who I think should win: A Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Best animated short film
“Beautiful Men”
“In the Shadow of the Cypress”
“Magic Candies”
“Wander to Wonder”
“Yuck!”
Who I think will win: Wander to Wonder
Who I think should win: In the Shadow of the Cypress
Best animated feature film
“Flow”
“Inside Out 2”
“Memoir of a Snail”
“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”
“The Wild Robot”
Who I think will win: The Wild Robot
Who I think should win: Memoir of a Snail
Best documentary short
“Death By Numbers”
“I Am Ready, Warden”
“Incident”
“Instruments of a Beating Heart”
“The Only Girl in the Orchestra”
Who I think will win: Death by Numbers
Who I think should win: Incident
Best documentary feature film
“Black Box Diaries”
“No Other Land”
“Porcelain War”
“Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”
“Sugarcane”
Who I think will and should win: No Other Land
Best original song
“El Mal,” from “Emilia Pérez”
“The Journey,” from “The Six Triple Eight”
“Like a Bird,” from “Sing Sing”
“Mi Camino,” from “Emilia Pérez”
“Never Too Late,” from “Elton John: Never Too Late”
Who I think will win: “El Mal,” from Emilia Pérez
Who I think should win: “The Journey,” from The Six Triple Eight
Best original score
“The Brutalist”
“Conclave”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Wicked”
“The Wild Robot”
Who I think will and should win: The Brutalist
Best makeup and hairstyling
“A Different Man”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Nosferatu”
“The Substance”
“Wicked”
Who I think will and should win: The Substance
Best costume design
“A Complete Unknown”
“Conclave”
“Gladiator II”
“Nosferatu”
“Wicked”
Who I think will and should win: Wicked
Best editing
“Anora”
“The Brutalist”
“Conclave”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Wicked”
Who I think will win: Conclave
Who I think should win: Wicked
Best sound
“A Complete Unknown”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Wicked”
“The Wild Robot”
Who I think will and should win: Dune, Part Two
Best production design
“The Brutalist”
“Conclave”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Nosferatu”
“Wicked”
Who I think will and should win: Wicked
Best visual effects
“Alien: Romulus”
“Better Man”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”
“Wicked”
Who I think will win: Dune, Part Two
Who I think should win: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Other movies that I thought should have been considered for Best Picture include Saturday Night, Sing Sing, and The Seed of the Sacred Fig
I personally found the Animated Feature and International Feature to be the strongest categories this year.
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