It’s almost time to roll out the red carpet for one of the most popular awards events of the season, and there have been some fierce contenders for nominations this year. Managing editor Stella Shipman and arts editor Charlie Hickman of The Daily Iowan offer their predictions for the 2025 Oscar nominees in some of the most anticipated categories.

Stella Shipman

Best Picture: “Anora”; “The Brutalist”; “The Substance”; “Conclave”; “Emilia Pérez”; “Wicked”; “Dune: Part Two”; “A Complete Unknown”

Best Director: Sean Baker (“Anora”); Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”); Coralie Fargeat (“The Substance”); Jacques Audiard (“Emilia Pérez”); RaMell Ross (“Nickel Boys”); Edward Berger (“Conclave”)

Best Original Screenplay: “Anora”; “A Real Pain”; “The Substance”;            “The Brutalist”

Best Adapted Screenplay: “Nickel Boys”; “Wicked”; “Emilia Pérez”; “Conclave”

Best Actress: Mikey Madison (“Anora”); Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”); Demi Moore (“The Substance”); Karla Sofía Gascón (“Emilia Pérez”); Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”); Nicole Kidman (“Babygirl”)

Best Actor: Daniel Craig (“Queer”); Timothée Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”); Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”); Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”); Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”)

If it’s not already obvious from my lineups, Anora is my favorite film of the year and the first that comes to my mind for award-sweeping, but my predictions are in no way reflective of all the hard work and talent devoted to the films released this year. 

Charlie Hickman

Best Picture: “The Brutalist”; “Nickel Boys”; “Conclave”; “Emilia Pérez”; “Anora”; “Wicked”; “A Complete Unknown”; “Sing Sing”; “All We Imagine As Light”; “A Different Man”

Best Director:  Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”); Sean Baker (“Anora”); Jon M. Chu (“Wicked”); RaMell Ross (“Nickel Boys”); Payal Kapadia (“All We Imagine as Light”); Jacques Audiard (“Emilia Pérez”)

Best Original Screenplay:
“A Real Pain”; “The Substance”; “The Brutalist”; “A Different Man”; “Anora”;

Best Adapted Screenplay: “Conclave”; “Emilia Pérez”; “A Complete Unknown”; “Nickel Boys”; “Queer”

Best Actress: Mikey Madison (“Anora”);  Demi Moore (“The Substance”); Karla Sofía Gascón (“Emilia Pérez”); Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”); Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”)

This has been a weird year in movies, and I think the Oscars will reflect that. As you can see in my list, I think several films will barely make the cut with one or two nominations. I don’t think there is a clear frontrunner, which is exciting and will give some smaller, lesser-known films a chance to shine.