By Kalena Reynolds | Staff Writer
As the 97th Academy Awards approaches, the eagerly anticipated ceremony on March 2 will bring monumental shifts in film. From “Anora” to “The Brutalist,” this year’s lineup will surely be the first of many changes within movie creation.
While Timotheé Chalamet is catching waves for his eclectic press run on his film “A Complete Unknown,” “The Brutalist” is also making headlines for the controversial use of AI in the film.
Whether you disagree with the headlines or not, here is a list of predictions for the top five categories at the Oscars.
Best Picture
The nominees for this category are “Anora,” “The Brutalist,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Conclave,” “Dune: Part Two,” “Emilia Pérez,” “I’m Still Here,” “Nickel Boys,” “The Substance” and “Wicked.”
Between “Anora” surpassing all expectations and “The Substance” once again highlighting Demi Moore’s acting props, the Best Picture nominees this year are inspirational and showcase the power of unique, creative outlooks.
After taking home Best Picture for drama at the Golden Globes, the A24 film “The Brutalist” is predicted to win Best Picture.
However, this theory doesn’t come without backlash from the film community. Editor David Jancsó, who worked on “The Brutalist,” said in an interview that AI was used in the movie to improve the actors’ accents when the characters spoke Hungarian in the film.
While “The Brutalist” is spearheading the intersection of AI and human creativity, critics are still undecided on whether or not the film’s success is beneficial or not to the movie community.
Best Director
The nominees for this award include Sean Baker for “Anora,” Brady Corbet for “The Brutalist,” James Mangold for “A Complete Unknown,” Jacques Audiard for “Emilia Pérez” and Coralie Fargeat for “The Substance.”
On trend with the 2025 Oscars reaching new heights, each director that has been chosen as a nominee for this year’s Oscars were also first-time Director Guild of America (DGA) nominees.
My prediction for the Best Director winner is James Mangold for “A Complete Unknown.” After acquiring a highly successful and lengthy resume for films like “Walk the Line” (2005), “Logan” (2017) and “Ford v Ferrari” (2019), an Oscars win is entirely overdue.
Best Actor
For Best Actor, the nominees are Adrien Brody for “The Brutalist,” Timotheé Chalamet for “A Complete Unknown,” Colman Domingo for “Sing Sing,” Ralph Fiennes for “Conclave” and Sebastian Stan for “The Apprentice.”
While the 2025 Oscars Best Actor nominees are some of the most diverse roles we’ve seen in recent years, it doesn’t go without saying that each individual up for the running showcased amazing acting chops by stepping into their characters and demonstrating incredibly complex emotional performances.
My predicted winner for the category of Best Actor at the Oscars is Adrien Brody for “The Brutalist.” Regardless of the controversy surrounding the film about the use of AI to enrich the actors’ accents, Brody shines through with nothing short of a phenomenal acting performance surrounding immigration and American troubles.
With that being said, Timothée Chalamet in “A Complete Unknown” is predicted to be in the top two spots for Best Actor. Chalamet spent five years preparing for the role of Bob Dylan and learning how to walk, talk, sing and play guitar like him. It would only be fitting to award the hard work and dedication that was put into the role.
Best Actress
The four candidates for this award are Cynthia Erivo for “Wicked,” Karla Sofía Gascón for “Emilia Pérez,” Demi Moore for “The Substance” and Fernanda Torres for “I’m Still Here.”
Probably one of the most eclectic and unexpected films of the year, Demi Moore in “The Substance,” has reached new heights as the body horror film stunned international audiences. While the film has created a massive amount of controversy for the bizarre storyline and unnerving body horror, Demi Moore has already won a well-deserved Golden Globe for her performance in the film and is predicted to take home the “Best Actress” award at the Oscars as well.
Best Original Screenplay
For Best Screenplay, “Anora,” “The Brutalist,” “A Real Pain,” “September 5” and “The Substance” are nominated.
Following the theme of eclectic films with complex character development, “Anora” is predicted to win Best Original Screenplay category at the Oscars. The film earned $540,000 for a $90,000 per-screen average, which is the best of 2024 and second-best since the pandemic.
