Who's going to win an Academy Award on Sunday? Here are my predictions.
Update: I got 18 categories correct out of 23. I missed all three shorts categories, animated feature and actress in a leading role. On the lat two, I was happy to be wrong — my preferences were for “Flow” and Mikey Madison in those categories.
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I’ve been predicting the Academy Awards for decades, and usually do fairly well with my prognosticating skills — even though I’m handicapped by actually having seen the movies, which sometimes gets in the way of me picking an inferior movie that’s going to win. (For example, there was no way on earth I would follow the obvious signs and allow myself to predict “Green Book” was going to win Best Picture, because I disliked it so intensely.)
So here, for what they’re worth, and for the record, are my predictions for 2025:
Best Picture
Will win: “Anora”
Should win: “The Brutalist”
Director
Will win: Sean Baker, “Anora”
Should win: Sean Baker, “Anora”
Actor in a leading role
Will win: Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
Should win: Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”
Actress in a leading role
Will win: Demi Moore, “The Substance” Mikey Madison won this category for “Anora”
Should win: Mikey Madison, “Anora”
Actor in a supporting role
Will win: Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”
Should win: Yuri Borisov, “Anora”
Actress in a supporting role
Will win: Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”
Should win: Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Perez”
Screenplay - adapted
Will win: “Conclave”
Should win: “Nickel Boys”
Screenplay - original
Will win: “Anora”
Should win: “September 5”
Cinematography
Will win: “The Brutalist”
Should win: “Nosferatu”
Costume Design
Will win: “Wicked, Part One”
Should win: “Wicked, Part One”
Film Editing
Will win: “Anora”
Should win: “The Brutalist”
Makeup & Hairstyling
Will win: “The Substance”
Should win: “The Substance”
Production Design
Will win: “Wicked, Part One”
Should win: “Nosferatu”
Original Score
Will win: “The Brutalist”
Should win: “The Wild Robot”
Original Song
Will win: “El Mal,” from “Emilia Pérez”
Should win: None of them — it’s a really weak field this year. If I had to pick, I’d say “The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight,” so Diane Warren can finally win her Oscar and will retire.
Sound
Will win: “Dune, Part Two”
Should win: “Dune, Part Two”
Visual Effects
Will win: “Dune, Part Two”
Should win: “Dune, Part Two”
Animated Feature
Will win: “The Wild Robot” “Flow” won in this category.
Should win: “Flow”
Documentary Feature
Will win: “No Other Land”
Should win: “No Other Land”
International Film
Will win: “I’m Still Here”
Should win: “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
Animated Short
Will win: “Magic Candies” “In the Shadow of the Cypress” won this category.
Should win: “Magic Candies”
Documentary Short
Will win: “Incident” “The Only Girl in the Orchestra” won this category.
Should win: “Incident”
Live-Action Short
Will win: “A Lien” “I’m Not a Robot” won this category.
Should win: “I’m Not a Robot”