Nominations voting is from January 8-12, 2025, with official Oscar nominations introduced January 17, 2025. Remaining voting is February 11-18, 2025. And eventually, the 97th Oscars telecast shall be broadcast on Sunday, March 2 and air reside on ABC at 7:00 p.m. ET/ 4:00 p.m. PT. We replace our picks by awards season, so hold checking IndieWire for all our 2025 Oscar predictions.
Prefer it or not, the state of the film enterprise is at a degree the place the Finest Tailored Screenplay dialog begins round which main sequels are Oscar contenders. Even with its tepid important response, it’s onerous to not throw βInside Out 2β on the checklist when the primary one acquired a Finest Unique Screenplay nomination and gained Finest Animated Function in 2016. Plus, the Pixar movie has been essentially the most profitable 2024 theatrical launch thus far, popping out at a time the place box-office analysts have been able to throw within the towel on the 12 months.
βDune: Half Twoβ additionally received the 12 months off to an excellent begin, considerably outgrossing its predecessor and receiving higher critiques. Even with the Writing departmentβs hesitation round nominating sequels, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve and screenwriter Jon Spaihts, beforehand nominated for βDune,β are more likely to get credit score once more for his or her assured tackle a sci-fi novel as soon as thought of unadaptable.
Each βGladiatorβ and βJokerβ acquired screenplay Oscar nominations, so sight unseen each βGladiator IIβ and βJoker: Folie Γ Deuxβ make the checklist of scripts with Academy Award potential. However as confirmed by βFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga,β a poor efficiency on the field workplace may shortly dampen these odds.
Curiously, contenders βHit Manβ and βSing Singβ performed on the 2023 Toronto Worldwide Movie Pageant alongside βAmerican Fiction,β which gained this Oscar class in March. Much like Twine Jeffersonβs Viewers Award winner, each movies are main crowdpleasers that proved they’ll maintain months of awards conversations and stability humor and coronary heart with their spin on real-life occasions.
Given what number of current winners are literary variations of supply materials printed within the final couple a long time, it’s secure to place an upcoming movie like βThe Nickel Boys,β a Colson Whitehead adaptation, or Marielle Hellerβs adaptation of Rachel Yoderβs widespread 2021 novel βNightbitch,β on checklist of screenplays that more likely to be on awards votersβ radars. Nonetheless, desirous about the movies that truly gained this class, like βJojo Rabbit,β βLadies Speaking,β or βAmerican Fiction,β it might be extra useful to adapt smaller novels reasonably than ones that gained main literary prizes. Many who see βConclaveβ or βThe Wild Roboticβ gainedβt even know the movies are based mostly on books, and that may very well be to their profit.
Potential nominees are listed in alphabetical order; no movie shall be deemed a frontrunner till we now have seen it.
Frontrunners:
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence βDivine Eyeβ Maclin, and John βDivine Gβ Whitfield (βSing Singβ)
Dave Holstein, Meg LeFauve, and Kelsey Mann (βInside Out 2β)
Richard Linklater and Glen Powell (βHit Manβ)
Jeff Nichols (βThe Bikeridersβ)
Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve (βDune: Half Twoβ)
Contenders:
Joslyn Barnes and RaMell Ross (βThe Nickel Boysβ)
Peter Brown and Chris Sanders (βThe Wild Roboticβ)
Audrey Diwan and Rebecca Zlotowski (βEmanuelleβ)
Robert Eggers (βNosferatuβ)
Marielle Heller and Rachel Yoder (βNightbitchβ)
Winnie Holzman (βDepravedβ)
Barry Jenkins (βThe Fireplace Insideβ)
Claire Keegan and Enda Walsh (βSmall Issues Like Theseβ)
Justin Kuritzkes (βQueerβ)
Nico Lathouris and George Miller (βFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagaβ)
Todd Phillips and Scott Silver (βJoker: Folie Γ Deuxβ)
Eric Roth and Robert Zemeckis (βRight hereβ)
David Scarpa (βGladiator IIβ)
Peter Straughan (βConclaveβ)
Malcolm Washington, Virgil Williams, and August Wilson (βThe Piano Lessonβ)