This year’s 2025 Academy Awards ceremony will recognize actors, actresses and costume designers who worked hard to get here. The 97th Academy Awards Ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre and hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien this Sunday at 4 p.m. Streaming services such as Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV and local ABC stations will be airing the show live. Here, we predict who is likely to be announced as the winners on this year’s awards night.
Best Picture
“Dune: Part Two,” Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe And Denis Villeneuve, Producers
“Dune: Part Two” continues the story of Paul Atreides (played by Timothee Chalamet) on the planet Arrakis, which has become the battlefield between two nations, Atreides and Harkonnen. The plot tells about the land desired to be controlled by both nations which eventually becomes the land for the battle, it makes this movie very relevant to today’s political and societal situation. The film was much anticipated, creating even more anticipation for viewers expecting the third part.
Costume Design
“Wicked,” Paul Tazewell
With his magnificent work for the costumes in “Wicked,” Paul Tazewell preserved most of the color palettes and designs from the original Broadway show but added a little twist of his own. From the variety of patterns and textures down to the beads, Tazewell exceeded expectations when it came to the costumes. The way the colors perfectly matched each character’s persona, such as Glinda’s pink wardrobe bringing out her sparkly personality to Elphaba’s dark attire, giving her more of a mysterious look, is astounding.
Actress In A Leading Role
Demi Moore, “The Substance”
As an experienced actress who has been in the industry for years, Demi Moore is now nominated for the most prestigious award yet, Actress In a Leading Role, for her portrayal of Elizabeth Sparkle in “The Substance.” Sparkle, who is a former Hollywood star struggling with her self-image and aging, takes a mysterious substance from the black market that can make her young and beautiful again. In one of the most powerful scenes in the movie, Sparkle (Moore) is getting ready for a date and her insecurities get the best of her, which leads her to take off her makeup violently. She proceeds to have a mental breakdown and struggles with her physical appearance, thinking that she is not meeting today’s toxic beauty standards. Moore’s vivacious emotions throughout the film make her the winning contestant to receive the Academy Award.
Actor In A Leading Role
Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
Academy Award winner Adrien Brody is back and has been nominated for a second time for his role as László Tóth in “The Brutalist.” Tóth is an architect who survives the Holocaust and comes to the United States for a better life. The movie then follows his struggles of navigating through life living in a new country. In the movie, Brody is able to extraordinarily express his pure emotions, which leaves viewers in tears. With his phenomenal acting skills in the film, Brody is now this year’s top contender to receive the Academy Award.
Animated Feature Film
“Flow,” Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman
“Flow” has already won the Golden Globe Award for Animated Feature Film. It tells the story of a cat who survives a flood and needs to team up with other animals to get to the dry land on their small boat. The movie got a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, beating every other Oscar nominee.
Ravi Akbar Pasha Fuad • Feb 27, 2025 at 11:16 am
Best Picture: I think Anora or The Brutalist is going to take this award (most likely the former), and I could only see Dune 2 winning Best Visual Effects.
Costume Design: I agree with you, this would easily go to Wicked. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s costume designs have took a very long time to make, and I even saw a video of Erivo doing her green face paint makeup for Elphaba.
Animated Feature: I absolutely adored Flow with all my heart, and it’s a great story that not a lot of people heard of. True, it did beat “The Wild Robot” (which I am currently predicting to win the Oscar) where it needed to at the Globes, but sometimes the Globe winners don’t correlate with the Oscars unless they’ve won a BAFTA award. The BAFTA went to Wallace and Gromit (due to their high level of love for that franchise), and The Wild Robot swept all other award ceremonies. I could see Flow being a surprise winner, but I’m going to bite the bullet and say that Chris Sanders should earn his first Oscar, since he has two live-action remakes of his projects, Lilo and Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon releasing, and it would be a monumental moment if Wild Robot would be Sanders’ first win. Every other Animated Feature winner has been awarded to a critically acclaimed animation studio (Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, Sony/Marvel, Netflix, and Studio Ghibli) and Flow was more indie.