Final Oscar Predictions: Who Will Win and Should Win at the Academy Awards

'The Brutalist' and 'Conclave' are predicted to win the most statuettes, but' Anora' will claim the night's top prize.

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.


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Oscars Commentary (Updated: Feb. 26, 2025): Oscar-winning actor Christopher Walken once said, โ€œAt its best, life is completely unpredictable.โ€ He might as well have been talking about the current Academy Awards race.

In a year defined by industry upheaval, social media scandals and political turbulence, Hollywoodโ€™s biggest night is shaping up to be the grand finale of a season rife with chaos and brilliance. Just a few weeks ago, Variety โ€” along with much of the industry โ€” had its sights set on six possible best picture winners. Now, as the dust settles, the field has narrowed to three: โ€œAnora,โ€ โ€œThe Brutalistโ€ and โ€œConclave.โ€

Topping the nomination tally is Netflixโ€™s crime musical โ€œEmilia Pรฉrez,โ€ which made history with 13 nods โ€” the most ever for a non-English-language film. But a once-soaring campaign has taken a nosedive, thanks to resurfaced offensive tweets from lead actress Karla Sofรญa Gascรณn. With the filmโ€™s best picture hopes now all but evaporated, the streamer is left hanging on to its best bets: supporting actress frontrunner Zoe Saldaรฑa and best original song contender โ€œEl Mal.โ€ Those aside, โ€œEmiliaโ€ risks joining โ€œThe Turning Pointโ€ (1977) and โ€œThe Color Purpleโ€ (1985) as the most-nominated films to leave Oscar night empty-handed.

One thing is certain: The best picture lineup is a marathon โ€” clocking in at a record 24 hours and 45 minutes in total. Start watching them back-to-back, and you might just finish in time for the after-parties. The longest of the bunch? Brady Corbetโ€™s โ€œThe Brutalist.โ€ But its projected Oscar haul ranges wildly โ€” anywhere from zero to five wins. That kind of unclear projection has been shown before (see โ€œElvisโ€), and not always with favorable results.

And then thereโ€™s Edward Bergerโ€™s Vatican thriller โ€œConclave.โ€ With its middlebrow appeal to older Academy voters, it could pull off an โ€œArgoโ€-style coup โ€” a best picture triumph without a best director nomination. With BAFTA and SAG wins under its belt โ€” the same combo that propelled โ€œShakespeare in Loveโ€ (1998) to an upset over โ€œSaving Private Ryanโ€ โ€” it could be the ultimate spoiler.

That brings us to โ€œAnora,โ€ which has had an erratic trajectory and only peaked in the past few weeks, after DGA and PGA victories. Over the past decade, a screenplay win at one of the precursors has been integral to securing a best picture win. โ€œAnoraโ€ has lost at the BAFTAs, the Golden Globes and Critics Choice. Should it fail to lock up a writing prize at the Oscars, it will need surprise BAFTA winner Mikey Madison to repeat if it wants to follow the playbook of โ€œNomadland,โ€ which won best picture, directing and actress.

Read Varietyโ€™s final Oscar predictions below. You can see the rankings on each category page. The 97th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 2, and hosted by Conan O’Brien.


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*** = PREDICTED WINNER
(All predicted nominees listed below are in alphabetical order)