Hollywood’s most anticipated event is rapidly approaching, and the awards season is in full swing. This year’s Oscars feels particularly intriguing since there are so many noteworthy performances. We’re breaking down our predictions for the biggest categories and our opinions on the nominees. Who is most likely to win, who should win, and who might just surprise everyone when the envelopes are open?
The first category we are starting with is Best Picture. The nominees are Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune 2, Emila Perez, I’m Still Here, Nickle Boys, The Substance, and Wicked. Wicked might be one of our favorite films this year, as it is not only visually stunning, but also emotionally resonating. It showcases the range of its actors’ and actresses’ capacity and talents. That said, we think it’s unlikely to win the award for Best Picture, as there are many major competitors. Additionally, traditional musicals have not usually won Best Picture like La La Land, West Side Story, or Les Miserables. Instead, they won Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Director— which brings us to Emila Perez. A lot of hate surrounds this movie, but we don’t think it’s that bad. The cinematography is incredible, and the acting is phenomenal; however, we don’t think it has what it takes to win Best Picture, especially with many great movies in this category. Nickle Boys is an excellent film that deserves its nominations, but Fernanda Torres’ outstanding performance in I’m Still Here was noteworthy as well. While it hurts to say, we don’t believe they will be taking home the award. Who will be the winners of the 2025 Oscars? Our top four films, from least to most favored, are: Dune 2, I’m Still Here, The Substance, and The Brutalist. The Brutalist has swept Best Picture at other award shows like the Golden Globes, but I’m Still Here and The Substance will also put up a great fight for this category and others.
The Best Actress has many worthy candidates, including Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo, Emilia Pérez’s Karla Sofia Gascón, Anora’s Mikey Madison, The Substance’s Demi Moore, and I’m Still Here’s Fernanda’s Torres. Cynthia Erivo gave a great performance, showcasing her singing skills on the big screen. Mikey Madison also had a compelling performance, but in comparison to all the other fantastic performances, she might get overshadowed. Fernanda Torres gave a fantastic performance in I‘m Still Here and is a highly respected Brazilian actress. She took home the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama. Our top pick for the winner, though, is Demi Moore. We believe that either her or Torres will take the award; it will be fun to see these two battle it out for the prize!
The most competitive category of the night might just be the Leading Actor, as there are many outstanding performers.The nominees are Ralph Fiennes (Conclave), Sebastian Stan, (The Apprentice), Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), and Adrien Brody (The Brutalist). Each actor brings a powerful portrayal of their roles, making it hard to decide who will win. Ralph Fiennes plays a pivotal role in Conclave, showing how well he can bring out the character’s inner emotions and the moral nuances during the suspenseful process of electing a new pope. In a recent behind the scenes interview with Universal Pictures All-Access, Stanley Tucci addressed that the biggest challenge in this role was that “most of it is behind his eyes, he doesn’t say what he feels…he’s a man of spiritual integrity and I like the drama in the challenges he faces to make it proceed ethically and morally and transparently.” Sebastian Stan plays the main character, Donald Trump, in The Apprentice. In a recent interview in Late Night with Seth Meyers, Stan stressed the difficulty in advertising this movie and how he was very hesitant about taking part in this role, as he doesn’t look like Donald Trump. He relayed how that a lot of research went into helping him portray Trump as accurately as he could (apart from the prosthetics and the looks). Much like Ralph Fiennes and Sebastian Stan, Timothée Chalamet’s character is also based off of a real person in A Complete Unknown. Chalamet brings his unique interpretation to the iconic figure of Bob Dylan. He expresses the experience of playing a real life character in the interview with BBC News Radio 1, describing his character as being, “dignified…pointy and humbling about all coming together and bringing life to something that actually happened…series of years and cultural happenings that influence culture today”. A Complete Unknown really brought a better understanding of Bob Dylan’s cultural influence. Chalamet really captures the complexities of the famous singer-songwriter during a time in his career when it was changing. His rise to fame and changing sense of identity are key themes of the film. Colmon Domingo expressed a very powerful, emotional, and riveting role in Sing Sing, playing John “Divine G” Whitfield. His character was wrongfully put in prison and rediscovers meaning through a prison theater program, Rehabilitation through the Arts. Domingo described the film in his interview with The Daily Show as “conveying the power of art –and when you pour it into a human being what blossoms.” He also shared his own experience of being in the arts and how it really helped him come alive and find his voice. Due to his own immigrant heritage, Adrien Brody’s most recent film, The Brutalist, is a very personal story that spans several decades and tells a complex story of love and aspiration. The film revolves around a jewish architect, Laszlo Toth, who survived the horrors of World War 2 and had to rebuild after going through poverty. He is then hired to build a Community Center in his “Brutalist Style” Adrien Brody on “The Brutalist”. Throughout the film, we really see Brody capture his character truly to the fullest. Brody has already won several awards for his work in The Brutalist, including Best Actor at the Golden Globes and BAFTA.
Our prediction for the leading actor was very challenging to decide, as there are many influential and outstanding performances. We really hope Colman Domingo wins, as he shows a lot of admiration for his role in Sing, Sing. The next person who we think will win is Adrien Brody, but hopefully not— he’s already won. We also think that Timothée Chalamet might win. If so, he will be the youngest actor to win the Oscars. Though their films were captivating, Ralph Fiennes (Conclave), Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice), we don’t think they stand a great chance given the competitive environment and politics of the academy. All these actors put so much effort in these films, though, so we wouldn’t be surprised if our predictions are wrong.
Lastly, the original score category celebrates one of the most essential yet often under-appreciated elements of filmmaking: music that shapes emotion and storytelling. The scores nominated are those from Emilia Pérez, Conclave, The Wild Robot, Wicked, and The Brutalist. This was a surprise to many, as two major movies were snubbed: Challengers and Dune 2. Its arguable that these two films had the most compelling soundtracks of the year, and if they were in the running, they would absolutely be our top choices. Wicked obviously will be a top contender because it’s an absolute powerhouse of a musical score that has proven timeless; it’s been on Broadway for some 20 years. Emilia Perez will be hard to beat given that it swept at the Golden Globes, but after listening to the soundtrack, we feel it is not all that it’s cracked up to be. The score is dull, with weak vocal performances and overall unmemorable songs. Conclave’s score further elevated the movie and showed the suspenseful and dramatic nature of the story. While it’s good, it’s just not groundbreaking and might struggle against soundtracks with more cultural or emotional impact. Similar to Conclave, The Brutalist provides a fitting score for the plot of the movie, but it just is not as memorable as something like Wicked. The Wild Robot has a cute and emotionally deep soundtrack that captures the heartwarming story. But, like the others, it doesn’t have that same wow factor as Stephen Schwartz.
Well, that’s a wrap for our predictions of the 2025 Oscars– the most competitive event! With many outstanding performances, compelling films, and breathtaking music, we are excited to see if our predictions are correct!
Tune in this Sunday, March 2 at 7 p.m. E.T. to watch the Oscars, airing live on ABC and Hulu.
