Our look at the upcoming 97th Academy Awards continues with the Best Picture race. Over the last few weeks, we have examined the acting categories, and while some of the movies featuring those performances are at the forefront, several others are vying for the top prize. With the Academy shifting to the ten nominees, we break down the current ten movies and a few on the outside, looking in while predicting who will win the Oscar.
The Best Picture race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in recent years. The last three Oscar races with Oppenheimer, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Coda were all collective favorites heading into the day of the awards. This season, we are seeing several different movies take home Best Picture in Critics groups, and with each of them nominated at the Critics Choice and Golden Globes, we could be in for a real treat.
2025 Oscar Predictions: Best Picture
1 - Wicked
2 - Conclave
3 - Anora
4 - The Brutalist
5 - Dune: Part Two
6 - Emilia Perez
7 - A Real Pain
8 - Nickel Boys
9 - A Complete Unknown
10 - Sing Sing
I have begun to drink the Wicked Kool-Aid. Over the last few weeks, I've been watching critics groups insert themselves into this race, with not many of them taking the film overly seriously. While that could deter many from wanting to predict it as a winner, I am looking at the list of movies in the picture, and Wicked continues to pop up as what could win.
Wicked currently ranks third among the Vegas odds behind The Brutalist and front-runner Anora. To me, The Brutalist's runtime may be a slight factor in its not landing well on the Academy's preferential ballot. I could be 100% wrong and might be in the long run, but it feels like a movie that will win plenty of Critic's Group Best Picture while coming short the night of the Oscars.
The movie that has been shaking up people's rankings is Conclave. According to many within the industry, it's the current front-runner, and rightfully so because it plays as a movie that would win Best Picture. That said, I see it more as a movie that would've won Best Picture over a decade ago. It wouldn't shock me that Conclave gets many nominations and walks away with no wins. Overall, of the four films I talked about, one of them will likely be taking home Best Picture, and for now, I believe it's Wicked.