On March 2, 2025, the 97th annual Academy Awards ceremony will be held, hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien at the Dolby Theater. After being delayed twice due to the Southern California wildfires, the Oscar nominations were announced on January 23. By comparing the Oscar list of nominees to the 2025 Golden Globe winners and the 2025 BAFTA nominees, I came up with winner predictions based on five categories: Best motion picture, Performance by an actress in a leading role, Performance by an actress in a supporting role, Performance by an actor in a leading role, and Performance by an actor in a supporting role.
Best Motion Picture
Across all three award ceremonies’ nominees for this category, there were two films that appeared in each roster, The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez. Emilia Pérez has gained mass attention by dominating the Oscar’s nominations with thirteen nominations in total. No matter how much applause this film will receive for its lead actress being the first openly Transgender person up for an Oscar, the large majority of movie goers didn’t actually enjoy the film itself at all. The Brutalist, however, was an incredibly well-crafted and respectable periodic drama that gave the audience over three hours of intriguing content. So, although the critics seem to be fond of pushing Emilia Pérez to win, I’d really like to see The Brutalist win Best motion picture.
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Only Demi Moore’s performance in The Substance was nominated in all three award ceremonies, with her taking home the Golden Globe. Nominated alongside Moore is actress Cynthia Erivo for her performance in Wicked, who I think would take the win if it weren’t for one thing. Even though it was nominated, I don’t believe Wicked is going to win any category awards until next year when Wicked: Part Two comes out. It would be a smart choice to wait for the Wicked franchise to round itself out and fully flourish before giving it premature awards. I’d also like to consider the fact that not only was Moore’s Golden Globe win her first ever major industry award, but this is also her first Oscar nomination! It would be so beautiful to see her receive her first two awards after an entire career of being snubbed, so I believe Demi Moore will win the category.
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Similarly, in this category Zoe Saldaña was the only name to appear in each ceremonies’ nominations for her role in Emilia Pérez. To keep it short, Zoe took home the Golden Globe, and I believe she will most likely be taking home this Oscar as well.
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Between Adrian Brody in The Brutalist and Sebastian Stan in A Different Man, both won Golden Globes and were nominated for the BAFTA’s but only one actor, Brody, took home both awards. Overall, The Brutalist has been acknowledged for its excellence continuously in each of the annual industry award ceremonies, so I do believe Brody’s chances of winning this year’s Performance by an actor in a leading role Oscar award are extremely high. In the future, however, I would personally love to see Sebestian Stan up for this category award again; his performance in each film he’s featured in this year has been so well developed and authentic and deserves this high recognition.
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
For this category we have a well-deserved wipe out of Kieran Culkin nominations and wins across the board. Culkin’s role in A Real Pain was immensely important for the audience’s connection to the film and understanding what it says about the vast range of human coping. In Vogue’s recent article, “All the Moments You Missed From the 2025 BAFTAs”, by Hayley Maitland, she highlights a telling moment from the BAFTAs on Culkin’s success stating, “Kieran Culkin beat Jeremy Strong… to win best supporting actor again, with Jesse Eisenberg accepting the former’s statuette. “It’s confirmed what I always thought,” the A Real Pain director said of collecting five trophies on Culkin’s behalf recently.” Kieran Culkin is notably described as someone who is great at what he does because he does it with a certain passion and determination that make the craft, and that is exactly who deserves this Oscar.
As the 2025 Academy Awards ceremony approaches, controversial opinions and expectations are at a high! With the diverse range of contenders, this year’s ceremony is sure to have a win for everybody to celebrate. Whether favorites triumph or get snubbed, one thing is promised: the Oscars will once again captivate audiences worldwide and honor those who put their effort and talent into the entertainment industry.
