It’s Monday morning…. very, very early Monday morning in the UK… and here is the updated post with the results of the 2025 Oscars. All updates made in red and will be updated as the broadcast goes on.
Outcome: A 12/23 for me which, like the BAFTAs, just scraped over 50%. Hey ho, it was Anora’s night.
Interestingly (well, I find it interesting), Sean Baker made Oscar history by winning four Oscars for the same movie – for Original Screenplay, Editing, Directing and Best Film. The only other person that has come close is Walt Disney who, in 1954, won four Oscars on the same night but for different films. (They were for best documentary feature (The Living Desert), best documentary short subject (The Alaskan Eskimo), best cartoon short subject (Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom), and best two-reel short subject (Bear Country)).
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Well, here we go. My annual triumph/utter humiliation* (delete as applicable on Monday morning) awaits with the Oscars 2025.
A reminder first of how the number of nominations fell for the different films in the different categories.
- “Emilia Pérez” – 13
- “The Brutalist” – 10
- “Wicked” – 10
- “A Complete Unknown” – 8
- “Conclave” – 8
- “Dune: Part 2” – 6
- “Anora” – 6
- “The Substance” – 5
- “Nosferatu” – 4
- “I’m Still Here” – 3
- “Sing Sing” – 3
- “The Wild Robot” – 3
- “A Real Pain” – 2
- “Flow” – 2
- “Nickel Boys” – 2
- “The Apprentice” – 2
But who will go home disappointed and who will take the biggest haul? It’s one of the most open fields for the Oscars in years, so it could go any which way. But here are the ones that I will be picking (and, as is traditional, betting on) to win on Sunday night. I have also selected my “Should Win” films – the films that, were it not for better politics/promotion – I think the Oscar should have gone to.
The hot links take you to my original review of the film. And as per normal, I will be updating this post with the results as they come in through Sunday night in the UK.
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Best picture
- “Anora” | Neon | dir. Sean Baker
- “Conclave” | Focus Features | dir. Edward Berger
- “The Brutalist” | A24 | dir. Brady Corbet
- “Wicked” | Universal | dir. Jon M. Chu
- “Emilia Pérez” | Netflix | dir. Jacques Audiard
- “A Complete Unknown” | Searchlight | dir. James Mangold
- “Dune: Part 2” | Warner Bros.| dir. Denis Villeneuve
- “The Substance” | Mubi | dir. Coralie Fargeat
- “Nickel Boys” | Amazon MGM | dir. RaMell Ross
- “I’m Still Here” | Sony Pictures | dir. Walter Salles
My personal favourite on this list is Nickel Boys (I know, it’s a Marmite movie, but I think its a masterpiece!). But Conclave is a very close second. I think it will be between “Anora”, “The Brutalist” and “Conclave”, but with “Conclave” having won the BAFTA and the SAG Ensemble Cast awards, I think the momentum is with it. Note that if this comes to pass, it would only be the 7th time in Oscar history that a film has won Best Picture without the director receiving a Best Director nomination. (The others were “Wings”: Directed by William A. Wellman in 1927/28; “Grand Hotel”: Directed by Edmund Goulding in 1931/32; “Driving Miss Daisy”: Directed by Bruce Beresford in 1989; “Argo”: Directed by Ben Affleck in 2012; “Green Book”: Directed by Peter Farrelly in 2018; and “”CODA”: Directed by Sian Heder in 2021.)
Will Win: Conclave
Should Win: Nickel Boys
Did Win: Anora.
Well, this was certainly Anora’s night. Congrats to my Flickering Dreams colleague Scott Forbes for backing ‘Team Anora’ and thrashing me in the competition…. again!!!
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Best director
- Brady Corbet “The Brutalist”
- Sean Baker “Anora”
- Jacques Audiard “Emilia Pérez”
- Coralie Fargeat “The Substance”
- James Mangold “A Complete Unknown”
The runes suggest that this is likely to be between Brady Corbet and Sean Baker, with Corbet having picked up the BAFTA and the Golden Globe. My money will be on Corbet: to make something like “The Brutalist” for less than $10 million is crazy and something to make Hollywood sit up and take notice. That should be rewarded.
Will Win: Brady Corbet.
Should Win: Brady Corbet
Did Win: Sean Baker.
Uh, oh. I feel an Anora Best Picture win coming up.
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Best actor
- Adrien Brody “The Brutalist”
- Ralph Fiennes “Conclave”
- Colman Domingo “Sing Sing”
- Timothee Chalamet “A Complete Unknown”
- Sebastian Stan “The Apprentice”
Adrien Brody seemed to have all the running on this, with the Golden Globe and then the BAFTA win. But then the SAGs went and put a spanner in the works by selecting Chalomet…. and there are a lot of acting voters in the Academy! Although I am an enormous fan of Ralph Fiennes’ performance in “Conclave”, I respect Brody’s role too and I think he will get it.
Will Win: Adrien Brody.
Should Win: Ralph Fiennes.
Did Win: Adrien Brody.
I’m sure Timothée will have his day soon… but not this year.
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Best actress
- Mikey Madison “Anora”
- Demi Moore “The Substance”
- Karla Sofia Gascon “Emilia Pérez”
- Cynthia Erivo “Wicked”
- Fernanda Torres “I’m Still Here”
It’s another very strong year for actresses, although Gascon has effectively ruled herself out of the running with the revelations about historical twitter digressions. So I think it has become a race between Demi Moore and Mikey Madison, with Fernando Torres as a dark horse. I think, on her home turf and because of the ‘story’, Demi Moore will win through. But Torres, I believe, gave the best acting performance of the lot.
Will Win: Demi Moore.
Should Win: Fernanda Torres.
Did Win: Mikey Madison.
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Actor in a Supporting Role
- Kieran Culkin “A Real Pain”
- Guy Pearce “The Brutalist”
- Yura Borisov “Anora”
- Edward Norton “A Complete Unknown”
- Jeremy Strong “The Apprentice”
This seems to be dialled in for Kieren Culkin. But I will repeat what I said in my eariler comments, I think his performance – although brilliant – is a little too close to “Roman Roy” (and possibly himself?!) I think a much subtler performance came from Ed Norton playing Pete Seeger.
Will Win: Kieran Culkin.
Should Win: Edward Norton.
Did Win: Kieran Culkin
Do you know how much I won on my £5 bet? 10p…. ten new pence! That’s how little surprise this one is.
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Actress in a Supporting Role
- Zoe Saldana “Emilia Pérez”
- Ariana Grande “Wicked”
- Felicity Jones “The Brutalist”
- Isabella Rossellini “Conclave”
- Monica Barbaro “A Complete Unknown”
Another hotly contested list. Will Isabella Rossellini “do a Judi Dench” and win for a film appearance of merely a few minutes? My personal favourite performance was Felicity Jones, but Zoe Saldana has all of the running even though the film has faltered in its chances.
Will Win: Zoe Saldana.
Should Win: Felicity Jones.
Did Win: Zoe Saldana.
A popular win and well deserved.
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Best animated feature
- “The Wild Robot” | Universal | dir. Chris Sanders
- “Inside Out 2” | Disney | dir. Kelsey Mann
- “Flow”| Janus | dir. Gints Zilbalodis
- “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl“ | Netflix | dir. Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham
- “Memoir of a Snail” | IFC | dir. Adam Elliot
“Flow” is one of only two films in this whole Oscar season that I have so far been unable to see. According to the bookies “The Wild Robot” has the running at the moment. But I’m “going British” and choosing the Yorkshire duo.
Will Win: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
Should Win: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
Did Win: Flow.
I thought I would be on a losing wicket with this one. But I didn’t expect to lose it to this one…! Sadly the ONLY ONE of the Oscar films that I wasn’t able to see.
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Best international feature
- “Emilia Pérez” | France | dir. Jacques Audiard
- “The Seed of a Sacred Fig” | Germany | dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
- “I’m Still Here” | Brazil | dir. Walter Salles
- “The Girl With The Needle” | Denmark | dir. Magnus von Horn
- “Flow” | Latvia | dir. Gints Zilbalodis
Again, I’m missing “Flow” in this list. But there are some really strong candidates in here. I loved “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” and “The Girl With The Needle” (ahead of “Emilia Pérez, which sadly may still win). But I’m going to edge “I’m Still Here” ahead of Perez for the win.
Will Win: I’m Still Here.
Should Win: The Seed of the Sacred Fig.
Did Win: I’m Still Here.
A great film and Brazil will now erupt!
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Best original screenplay
- “Anora” (Sean Baker)
- “The Brutalist” (Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold)
- “A Real Pain” (Jesse Eisenberg)
- “The Substance” (Coralie Fargeat)
- “September 5” (Tim Fehlbaum, Moritz Binder)
I think this will be a toss up between Anora and A Real Pain. It will be close I think, but I’ve plumped for the BAFTA winner, which is far and away my personal favourite.
Will Win: A Real Pain.
Should Win: A Real Pain.
Did Win: Anora.
A popular win.
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Best adapted screenplay
- “Conclave” (Peter Straughan)
- “Emilia Pérez” (Jacques Audiard)
- “A Complete Unknown” (James Mangold, Jay Cocks)
- “Sing Sing” (Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar)
- “Nickel Boys” (RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes)
I suspect “Conclave” will get this, and well deserved.
Will Win: Conclave.
Should Win: Conclave.
Did Win: Conclave.
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Best production design
I think this will go with Wicked.
Will Win: Wicked.
Should Win: Dune Part 2.
Did Win: Wicked
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Best costume design
I think this will go with Wicked too.
Will Win: Wicked.
Should Win: Wicked.
Did Win: Wicked
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Best make-up and hairstyling
This could be a Wicked hat-trick but I think more likely to go with “The Substance”.
Will Win: The Substance.
Should Win: The Substance.
Did Win: The Substance.
As expected.
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Best visual effects
I find the Planet of the Apes films amazing. But I think Dune Part 2 will get this.
Will Win: Dune Part 2.
Should Win: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Did Win: Dune Part 2
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Best film editing
- “Anora” | Sean Baker
- “Wicked”| Myron Kerstein
- “The Brutalist” | David Jancso
- “Conclave” | Nick Emerson
- “Emilia Pérez” | Juliette Welfling
Although this is one that Emelia Perez might pick up….
Will Win: Conclave.
Should Win: Conclave.
Did Win: Anora.
Sean Baker’s going to need a bigger shelf.
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Best cinematography
- “Nosferatu” | Jarin Blaschke
- “The Brutalist” | Lol Crawley
- “Dune: Part 2” | Greig Fraser
- “Emilia Pérez”| Paul Guilhaume
- “Maria” | Edward Lachman
I would love to see this go to “Nosferatu” but “The Brutalist” will be strong competition. I’ve stuck my neck out on this one.
Will Win: Nosferatu.
Should Win: Nosferatu.
Did Win: The Brutalist.
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Best documentary feature
- “No Other Land“ | Cinetic Media
- “Sugarcane” | Variance
- “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat“ | Kino Lorber
- “Black Box Diaries” | MTV
- “Porcelain War” | Picturehouse
(I’ve seen “Sugarcane” but am yet to find time to write the review). “No Other Land” stands or me from the ones I’ve seen as the most extraordinary. I really hope it wins this one.
Will Win: No Other Land
Should Win: No Other Land
Did Win: No Other Land.
Excellent. Everyone should see this one.
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Best sound
Will Win: Dune: Part 2
Should Win: Dune: Part 2
Did Win: Dune: Part 2
Quite right this won. Even if you went to another film, this was the film you always heard going on next door!
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Best original score
Will Win: The Brutalist.
Should Win: The Brutalist.
Did Win: The Brutalist.
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Best original song
- “Mi Camino” | “Emilia Pérez”
- “El Mal” | “Emilia Pérez”
- “Like a Bird” | “Sing Sing”
- “The Journey” | The Six Triple Eight
- “Never Too Late” | Never Too Late
It’s a sorry set of songs this year, so maybe this is the year when Dianne Warren sneaks through at last? I quite like Elton’s “Never Too Late” and “Like a Bird”. But would really be unhappy if those tuneless Emilia Perez dirges win through.
Will Win: The Journey.
Should Win: The Journey.
Did Win: El Mal.
Oh no! Sorry, but I really dislike these Emilia Pérez songs.
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Best live action short
(All short films reviewed in this post.)
- “Anuja”
- “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent”
- “I’m Not a Robot”
- “A Lien”
- “The Last Ranger”
These are a terrific shortlist of great films, and I really enjoyed all of them. “I’m Not a Robot” was my personal favourite, with “The Last Ranger” close behind. But I have a feeling the Academy will go for “Anuja”.
Will Win: Anuja.
Should Win: I Am Not A Robot.
Did Win: I Am Not A Robot.
So pleased this won. I really should go with my gut on these things rather than try to overthink them!
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Best animated short
(All short films reviewed in this post.)
- “Beautiful Men”
- “In the Shadow of the Cypress”
- “Magic Candies”
- “Wander to Wonder”
- “Yuck!”
I really liked “Magic Candies”. But my favourite and I think the one most likely to win is the anarchic “Wander to Wonder”.
Will Win: Wander to Wonder.
Should Win: Wander to Wonder.
Did Win: In the Shadow of the Cypress
Another surprise result. This IS very good but not helping my stats tonight.
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Best documentary short
(All short films reviewed in this post.)
- “Death by Numbers”
- “I Am Ready, Warden”
- “Incident”
- “Instruments of a Beating Heart”
- “The Only Girl in the Orchestra”
Another really impressive set of films. My favourite was “Instruments of a Beating Heart” , but I am selecting “I Am Ready, Warden” to pick up the prize.
Will Win: I Am Ready, Warden.
Should Win: Instruments of a Beating Heart.
Did Win: The Only Girl in the Orchestra
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