Best of 25, Part One: The Top 20

 

As Captain E.J. Smith of the RMS Titanic famously said, sometime after when that lady with the baby asked him where she should go after all the lifeboats had launched but just before the band's cello player nobly froze to death with bow in hand: well, sometimes all you can do is laugh.

Long-time followers of this space (and/or my life) may recall that last year's post found my wildly, giddily optimistic, ready to grab my best of the year lists, and by extension, the year to come, by the proverbial horns. One year later, I have to admit that that bull has made like all of the year's most memorable and frustrating villains--international ping-pong boards in Marty Supreme, acne and peer pressure in The (metaphorical) Plague,  the (actual) plague in Hamnet--and really knocked my ass for a loop. Call me Jessie Buckley's Shakespearean baby, because I too am ending this movie year dead (...too much? And/or spoilers? Ah, who are we kidding, you have met me and are also not going to watch Hamnet). An unrelenting string of professional setbacks, family catastrophes, and health issues have done their level best to suck the fun out of posting these lists this year, or to keep me from doing them entirely--I really don't have the time for this. Still, like Timothée Chalamet trying to decide whether or not to blow out his five-year-old nephew's birthday candles for him, thus proving that he is actually the most important boy of the day, birthdays be damned, I am going to throw caution and common sense to the winds and take my spotlight today, regardless of the consequences. Like poor Sammy's guitar in Sinners, you are going to have to drag this blog out of my cold dead hands before I don't carve an unreasonable time out of my dumpster-fire schedule to harass you about movies for an hour or two. And hey, if we're playing by Sinners rules, hands that are cold and dead can still make valuable contributions to society and have plenty of fun on the way. The Sinners vampires have their black mass, Amy Madigan's Weapons witch has her little bell and a can-do attitude, and I have this blog and a few hours to (not really) spare. Matches made, if not in heaven, somewhere where everyone still get a kick out of the proceedings, regardless of the rising body count.

As happens with suspicious frequency, the narrative of my year tends to map all too neatly onto my moviegoing year--perhaps not too suprising this year, as my "I have had too much going on and still live more than two hours away from a decent movie theater" storyline has translated into "I have not seen that many movies recently." And it's true: from last year's near-record of 101 movies at press time, I am sitting here in March on a paltry 76 movies. What's more (and more upsetting), I'm not sure how much I actually love any of them. I've got absolutely no idea which movie I'm going to name as the best of the year, but it's not like in previous years in which I've fallen in love with too many movies and can't decide which ravishing celluloid gentleman will earn my rose. This year, I just never fell head-over-heels in love with anybody. Sure, there are movies that I really admired--with reservations--and movies that I loved unconditionally--despite who they were as people. Maybe this movie year, like 2025, is one that I'm keen to put behind me. Or maybe I just missed too many movies? In my head, I might have just seen everything involved with The Testament of Ann Lee and casually slotted in the #1 spot unseen, and then I missed its one-week middle of the country pity release due to Circumstances, and have thus been left bereft and scrambling to replace the weird folk musical that I fell in love with in my head but could never match in reality. Isn't that always the way?

Still, I don't want to spend the entire time on a down note--just look at what's coming next! In 2026, I've only seen four movies, but three of them could easily feature into this year's top 20 had they been released earlier, and we've still got an embarrassment of riches coming down the pike. Steven Spielberg! Terrence Malick! Greta Gerwig! Robert Eggers! Ryusuke Hamaguchi! David Fincher! Cristian Mungiu! Jane Schoenbrun! An actual-ass Godzilla sequel! Another Christopher Nolan movie for me to preemptively claim looks dumb and bad and I hope Matt Damon has diarrhea today, just because! 2026 looks to be an absolute feast of cinematic riches that I can't wait to have in front of me, and I remain with the hope that 2026 the calendar year has the same riches in store for all of us.

...Check back in a year to laugh with me about that optimism after the coming apocalypses, I guess!

As is (now) the norm, I'll continue with my vaguely more streamlined effort, which I will have to eventually stop announcing as new; it's the way I've done it for the last four years running, which basically makes it canon from here on out. Time is precious, and I am already risking much (kind of) (how much is a PhD worth, anyway?) by taking this much of my time and yours, so I'll try to keep things a little more brief. This also means that I'll be copy-pasting my letterboxd reviews into this post, if I have them, so you are bound to see some repetition if you already follow me there. And if you don't, however am I to respect you as a person? Kidding (probably), but seriously--get Letterboxd! It's fun, breezy, and, for a social media site, delightfully light on Nazi propaganda. Make an account, find me <a href="https://letterboxd.com/jkuster/">here</a>, and spend the rest of your year weeping in joy and thanks.

So here's how we'll proceed: rather than listing all 76 movies I've seen this year (see above re: time, dire consequences), just ask if a movie you love is missing from these lists. Either I haven't seen it or I want to talk about why you liked it more than I did! I'll list my top 20 movies, the five worst ones, and the best scenes of the year, all accompanied by enough weight of enough careless typos and oversights to crush your average dissertation advisor (or so I've been told more than once). I am, despite myself and despite the ramifications of me taking the time to do all this, excited, and I hope you're excited too! If not, feel free to lie to us both about it, because you're here, which means you're in for the long haul, which means you've nothing to do but strap in and hope that whatever fresh hell I (and reality) am about to unleash upon you is at least funny.

Honorable mentions: though they didn't make my top 20, I'm still grateful for the theater kid mania of Griffin in Summer, the dead-eyed exhaustion of The Long Walk, and the full-tilt commitment and horrors of If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You.

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20. Twinless (dir. James Sweeney)

Obviously, we all have spec scripts on our computers that we've written as an excuse to make Dylan O'Brien kiss us, but if I knew that someone was handing out money for them, I might have pushed mine a little harder. Maybe the kind of movie that's more rewarding to think about afterwards than it is to watch, but I have thought about it an awful lot in the months since I've seen it. And I can't be too critical of something that so perfectly captures the only two extremes of emotion (sharing a giddy car singalong with a person you love and then watching them do the same thing with someone else while you sit forlornly in the backseat).

(on hulu, rentable)

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19. Plainclothes (dir. Carmen Emmi)

Really impressed by this one, the way its own aggressive surveillance of itself lashes out like a snapped piano string--a pincushion collage of a movie that refuses to let you embrace it too much, even in its biggest moments. Even that unbelievably romantic theater meet-up is followed a half-second later by a description of murdered kids and queer prosecution. Nothing gets to breathe, and why should it? A whole movie created around waiting for a grenade to explode after it's been rolled under your feet.

(rentable)

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18. Sentimental Value (dir. Joachim Trier)

Compressions of time, history, and memory (but is there any difference between any of those?) that matter most when people are looking at each other, or maybe when they refuse to meet each other’s eyes. Quiet, lived-in work tempered by some bits that are slightly less so (any movie that involves an older character clutching their heart and then lunging for a bottle of pills in the first fifteen minutes earns a demerit or two, and then another for lingering on the giant metaphorical crack in the house), but the cast is on fire. Happy to say that I actually barked with joy at those birthday dvds—every child’s life can be improved with an early and enthusiastic introduction to Michael Haneke. I guess he was saving Benny’s Video for middle school?

(rentable)

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17. The History of Sound (dir. Oliver Hermanus)

Should probably come as no surprise to anyone that I was wildly moved by the queer movie about folk songs and World War One. Oliver Hermanus still one of the preeminent painters with texture and light, Josh O'Connor still wielding one of the most open faces on the screen right now, counterpointed by Paul Mescal, who looks so constantly surprised and wounded to find himself open at all. Simultaneously frail and hardy, like a recording of someone's emotions pressed into wax.

(rentable)

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16. Marty Supreme (dir. Josh Safdie)

2025 might go down as the (movie) year for me in which aesthetics and experience never quite lined up. There were multiple moments in this movie that had me transfixed, eyes falling out of my head at the idea that humans could make things that look and sound like this, but I honestly can't tell if I actually care about what it was all serving. Maybe? Probably? Sometimes? Hard to say. Worth noting that a) any moments of real greatness in this are heavily indebted to the score and the production design, both creating and breathing life into this world at a level that nothing else onscreen can quite reach, b) holy *shit* is this a great movie for faces, and c) it's probably best to give Timmy the Oscar now so that he can stop making his entire onscreen/offscreen persona about how desperately he needs to be told that he's the world's most special boy and can go back to focusing on being an interesting artist/occasionally exhibiting recognizably human behaviors.

(available on demand, still in some theaters)

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15. The Plague (dir. Charlie Polinger)

I booked an appointment with my doctor to talk about my blood pressures ASAP after seeing this. 

Moves and sounds just like the upside-down underwater ballets it stages, everything familiar becoming an alien thing in the right unforgiving light. Maybe the year's most unconventional horror movie, and another in a line of movies that makes me so glad I didn't many male friends in middle school.

(rentable)

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14. Superman (dir. James Gunn)

I'm fundamentally incapable of being impartial about a Superman movie for at least six months after I watched it (still cringing about how many people I told to watch Man of Steel in theaters), but this one's heart's in the right place, and it has so many soft, warm touches (you show me a scene of a defeated Superman hurting in his teenage bedroom and I'll show you what it looks like when someone cries so hard they need medical attention) that I can overlook the James Gunn-ier aspects of it all. Sure, heartbreak may feel good in a place like this, but is there anywhere better to encounter earnest, corny goodness and kindness? Largely about vulnerability in all its forms, and what a neat and important thing it is. Is my enjoyment of this movie based on the fact that ‘The Mighty Crabjoys’ is such a good/dumb fake band name? i mean, not no.

(on Max, rentable)

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13. One of Them Days (dir. Lawrence Limont)

This had me at 'tumbleweave,' or, realistically, a lot earlier than that--maybe the funniest movie of the year, one that wears its heart companionably on its sleeve. More movies about friends supporting each other! More mid-range comedies with a strong premise and a great cast! I want the world for Keke Palmer, and I also want an Oscar for Keke Palmer's neon green business/party/violence jumpsuit-dress.

(on netflix, rentable)

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12. Wake Up Dead Man (dir. Rian Johnson)

Probably one of the best, most even-handed and empathetic portrayals of religion I've seen in a long time. It's refreshing to see something both make the case for why people are religious without laughing while still underlining how easy it is to weaponize those feelings. And the mystery is strong too,  though it's propped up by how great Josh O'Connor is. But one thing Rian Johnson's Knives Out trilogy has always understood--and executed--that in the best who-dun-its, the why and the how are always more fun than the who. Probably the best of the trilogy? At least the most emotionally satisfying and engaging.

(on netflix)

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11. No Other Choice (dir. Park Chan-wook)

Anyone who has tried to get a job post-Covid will nod aggressively as this movie's protagonists looks at his competition for a new job and starts side-eying all the things around him he could use for a light bout of murder. Hilarious, if a little on the nose, satire about getting ahead in a world that isn't terribly interested in what we owe each other, or to ourselves. Designed, shot, edited, and directed for filth--it looks and moves like a candy-striped freight train all too giddy to eat whoever's tied to the tracks. Also makes a strong case for introducing a 'best supporting plant' Oscar categort, because look at those things. 

(available on demand)

10. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (dir. Rungano Nyoni)

A dazzling representative for the 'art turning rage into exceptionally dark comedy' subgenre--a thriving one in 2025. Examines the hideous and absurd pretense of covering up abuse to protect a community. It's hard to think of an angrier ending (or full movie) from this year, or one that captures that anger and its community with as much specificity and warmth as this one. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll scream like a very specific bird in solidarity.

(on Max, rentable)

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9. It Was Just an Accident (dir. Jafar Panahi)

Maybe the real story of the cinematic year is the combination of rage and satire to create a whole movies that make you feel a little queasy? Another movie on this list (and not the last!) that tuns its discontents on the audience full-blast but still manages to make room for some lived-in absurdity amidst all the screaming. The image of a man tied to a tree and the image of a pair of security guards pulling out a credit card reader while demanding their bribe are inseparable from each other: mirror images of impossible situations that arise from trying to live normal lives in authoritarian worlds.

(on hulu, rentable)

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8. Happyend (dir. Neo Sora)

Seeking a friend for the end of the world--lovely, warm, painterly with its light, subdued and optimistic about the importance of continuing to be a person as the world marches into oblivion. For as low-key and unassuming as it is, Happyend feels like a mountain by its end, the seemingly inexorable crawls of both 21st century authoritarianism and the ugly process of growing up braided into one fragile and melancholy thread.

(on the Criterion channel, rentable)

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7. 28 Years Later (dir. Danny Boyle)

Flows from one moment to the next like a dream you would try to relate the next day, something terrifying followed by something half-speed and beautiful followed by a weird little detour you're going to leave out of the telling because you're not really sure what to do with it followed by something beautiful again, and then Jack O'Connell shows up in a wig and does some martial arts--typical dream stuff. But it all makes perfect sense in the moment, because the only logic it needs is the fact of its existence. Unbelievably neat that Boyle and friends took what could have been a dull-eyed cash grab and handed in something this strange, ambitious, and singular.

(on netflix, rentable)

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6. Final Destination: Bloodlines (dir. Adam B. Stein, Zach Lipovsky)

When I first saw this, I assumed it would be better than one or two of the big Oscar movies this year, but I really didn't anticipate it being better than almost all of them. I was completely unprepared for this to be an actually good movie, but so much of it hits. So tightly wound and controlled with some of the best kills of the series and a nasty and incorrigible sense of humor--who knew that seeing someone's prince albert piercing get ripped out was going to bring the world the respite it needed in these monstrous times? Hell, even the human drama works. This movie is kind of a miracle, the closest thing we might ever get to a live-action Looney Tunes movie (if Looney Tunes had buckets of blood), and I feel no remorse whatsoever for ranking it above most of the more ambitious and prestigious movies this year. The heart wants what it wants, and what my heart apparently wanted was a lovely and moving swan song for Tony Todd and a subplot about poor, hapless Paco, the sweet orphaned turtle of our dizziest daydreams.

(on amazon prime, rentable)

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5. Caught by the Tides (dir. Jia Zhangke)

Another miracle of a movie, filmed over the course of decades and cobbled together from outtakes from other movies. How does this work as well as it does? Never better than in its first third, a woozy stream of consciousness musical documentary(ish), before it slides into other narrative modes, but I loved it all anyway. Time, memory, and personal/national history laminated into the kind of conversation you could only have at karaoke or with a robot.

(on the Criterion channel, rentable)

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4. One Battle After Another (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)

I have gone back and forth on where to put this one more than any other--more than any movie I've ever had to place on a list, honestly. Probably the most electric movie I will ever have this many reservations about. When it hits the ground, it hits like a goddamn cannon and never stops. Staggering on a craft level, almost impossibly well-constructed with a for-the-ages ability to toggle between different tones and registers without losing a hair of its relentless, madcap pacing, wild (and wildly successful) in its passions and energies. But I'm still not sold on how it approaches some of its characters, the extent to which it understands their fears or motivations, or even wants to  engage with either of those things in a way that isn't framed by what they mean for Bob. One exchange, "you think he likes black girls?" "I love black girls! What do you think I'm doing here?", presented as an applause line rather than a writer/director tipping his hand a bit. The movie has thoughts about its villain fetishizing women of color and the idea of revolution, but I still can't quite figure out how self-aware its own fetishization of those people and ideas is. An incredible movie, but makes me feel a little weird more than once.

(on max, rentable)

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3. Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (dir.  Maïlys Vallade, Liane-cho Han)

I came in fully unprepared for this one--which is maybe the best way to go into a movie--and it knocked me flat on my face. Such a tactile, empathetic, woozy remembrance of things past and an exploration of the ways that remembering things can resurrect them. Hard to think of many movies that approach childhood in such an absorbing and evocative way, or with this level of color and artistry. Possibly a case of the right movie finding me at the right time and punching above its weight, but this hit me how it hit me. I went in just trying to do my Oscars due diligence, and ended up with one of the best movies of the year.

(rentable)

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2. Sinners (dir. Ryan Coogler)

Real lightning in a bottle (or a juke joint)--I can't even count the number of times I started smiling at the sheer audacity of it all. Special stuff. The overlays of history, memory, and generational violence draped over genre framework of a good old-fashion vampire music crime period drama siege movie. It's not perfect, but it's so unique, so searing and specific in its worldview, so immaculate in its crafts and so generous with its ensemble, that the flaws that are there hardly seem to matter. If this is the movie that 2025 ends up being remembered for, then it'll be a well-deserved legacy.

(Sidebar: I have never felt more personally called out by a movie than by the fact that one proof of characters' vampirism and newfound evil is that they're suddenly really into folk music.)

(on amazon prime, max, rentable)

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1. Weapons (dir. Zach Cregger)

You know what? Screw it--in a year in which it feels like I never truly lost my marbles for a movie, a year in which I had some unshakeable reservations about even my favorite movies (including basically all of the ones on this list so far), I am gonna give the number one spot to the movie that made me smile the most. And that might seem like a strange claim about this incredibly violent horror movie about suburban America's seedy underbelly, a pitch-black satire on the surveillance we enforce on each other in the name of keeping everyone safe, a tongue-in-cheek study in the ways that the most vulnerable members of a community can be exploited to maintain and justify its worse impulses. But this immaculately goofy movie manages to do all that while still being aggressively, profoundly, and intentionally ridiculous on a minute-to-minute basis--and it's still scary! The only movie I've seen this year (or in several years) that can make me shit my pants, bark with joy, and somberly reflect on the contemporary United States in the span of about 30 seconds. It might not be as weighty or ambitious as some of the other movies on this list, but this year I reserve the right to toss weight and ambition into the dumpster in favor of shit-eating joy. And where's it say that laughs and scares can't be weighty and ambitious in the same way that drama and politics are? Or, more accurately, where does it say that those things aren't inextricably tied together anyhow?

(on max, rentable)

And there's that! (He says, actual hours later.) In interest of brevity--and all the encroaching deadlines that threaten to crush me under their gargantuan weight--let's keep moving and dive into the best scenes of the year!

Note: I'll link to a clip where possible.

Note note: I generally avoid choosing endings for this list, but I'll mention if a scene contains big spoilers.

Best Scenes of the Year

10. Call On Me-Warfare

One hell of a cold open, pop-culture kitsch bridging the gaps between sex, the American military industrial complex, and the kids who act on both of those desires. Shame the rest of the movie ends up leaving those thoughts behind. (...Also a shame that this youtuber is so passionate about their Chase Infiniti edit that it covers up the last quarter of the scene, but this is the best video I've got.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd660jFl85c

9. Race in the Rain-100 Meters

This fairly standard sports anime decides to go absolutely bonkers with the rotoscoping and guitar for one scene, a race in the rain becoming myth for the characters' presents and futures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnLFUjbeJYA

8. Jonathan Bailey Gets to Meet a Dinosaur-Jurassic World: Rebirth

One recurring theme in this list is going to be not-stellar movies punching way over their weight for exactly one scene. Here, for the first time since 1993, a Jurassic Park movie made me feel an actual feeling! I could spend 100 hours watching Jonathan Bailey getting emotional about seeing dinosaurs for the first time. A rare moment of actual-ass majesty in a franchise that has largely given up on the idea of dinosaurs being something that someone would actually want to see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z16BanUYiKE

7. Theater Meet-Up-Plainclothes

Impossibly romantic and woozy, both characters tiptoeing around what they can and can't--or maybe want and don't want--to say or do, coming down on the side of a quick connection right before the movie gets out. Lovely stuff.

(no clip, sorry)

6. Do You Wanna Build a Snow Man?-The Naked Gun

Heaven help me, but I do love a movie that commits to a stupid bit, and this is the most committed and stupid bit I have seen in a long time. A romantic weekend getaway in a ski chalet comes to its obvious and inevitable conclusion. Just watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7ag2vXY9PY

5. Don't Drink the Water-Until Dawn

The movie around it is kind of atrocious, but there's a perfect five minute short film in the middle, all dopey setup and big-splash practical effects payoff. Don't drink the water!

(Note: despite its contents, this isn't really a spoiler, as the whole movie's about an endless death-loop.)

(Note note: this is super bloody--click at your own risk.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQS2dnRfHFQ

4. Vampire Black Mass-Sinners

What's better than being trapped in a warehouse by a bunch of vampires? If the vampires are also really passionate about folk music? Kind of deranged, gorgeous, and strange.

(Note: contains spoilers for quite a bit of what happens in Sinners)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWZZ4o9LubM

3. Car Chase-One Battle After Another

With the constant queasy ups and downs of the hills, OBAA's car chase finale feels like it's unlocked something totally new, a novel way to play with cameras and the landscape for a new kind of car chase. It's good even on a laptop, but this blew my goddamn mind on an Imax.

(spoilers for the end of One Battle After Another)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9Wh9sf2y-U

2. Dinner at the Skyview-Final Destination: Bloodlines

As much suspense and joy as you could plausibly possibly cram into six minutes about dozens of people falling to their death. This movie is so playful in its setups and violence, introducing gory punchline after punchline and piling them all on top of each other like Bugs Bunny at the opera. A display of editing, sound work, and the sheer giddy rush of making movies that you'd be hard-pressed to find from most the Oscar nominees this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k791IAOvmDk

1. Conjuring Spirits-Sinners

I thought about Final Destination for the top spot, but I can't deny this kind of generational big swing. Centuries of shared culture and history pressed together and let loose, reveling in the sheer joy of creation together. It's pretty stellar work, and I hope Ryan Coogler has been getting at least 18 high fives a day in recognition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7jo5Cr6WUA

And finally, the worst movies of the year! It doesn't do anyone any good to dwell on negativity, but but there's some giddy catharsis to be found in identifying the things that hurt you and then laughing at them together, leaving them in the Wal Mart bargain bin where they belong. So, in the spirit of moving into 2026 with high spirits and a clean conscience, let's spend a minute laughing at the movies that need to be laughed at. Note that I generally don't go see movies that are supposed to be awful (life is too short and I am too tired), so this can just as easily be seen as a list of most disappointing movies.

The Worst Movies of the Year

5. Beast of War-Whoever let the shark onto that H&M perfume campaign set is definitely going to get fired

4. Until Dawn-One perfect, gonzo scene surrounded by a bunch of glop barely piled into the shape of a movie. Fun practical effects, though!

3. Heart Eyes-totally exhausting and brainless (but not in the fun way). I like Mason Gooding and want to see him succeed, but at what cost?

2. Captain America: Brave New World-Look, I'm just saying that none of this would have happened during Uma Thurman's presidency. It is kind of nice, though, that every Captain America gets a hunky side piece to make googly eyes at.

1. Death of a Unicorn-Somehow, this is an A24 movie? Punishing in Unfortunately, someone wrote Will Poulter and Tea Leoni's names in a summoning circle with blond hair dye and I found myself transported unwillingly into the nearest theater showing this, as per the ancient rite.

And that's it for today! I will be back...sometime? to finish off the next two posts (acting/writing/directing and then craft categories). Sometime between tomorrow and two or three weeks from now, depending on how much I get done/how many more terrible choices I decide to make. Watch this space and see where my priorities lie! In the meantime, what do you think? Is my list too populist? Is Final Destination better than every best picture nominee (it is, and if you don't think so, you should be banned from theaters for the next 9000 years, obviously)? Whatever your picks are, I hope they've brought you some joy. And if this is the fresh hell I've wrought, I suppose there are worse hells (and at least a few of them are nominated for best picture).

Oscar Nominations 2025: There's a New King in Town, and That New King Sure Hopes You Enjoy Vampire Musicals

You know what? I'll take it. Sure, there are problems, and sure I still don't like Frankenstein and Hamnet, and sure, I still think F1 as a best picture nominee is one of the dumber things to happen on this very dumb continent, and sure, I will be summoning all the Academy voters' children, Weapons-style, as punishment for snubbing it (almost) across the board, but hey. It's not easy to put together a strong set of Oscar nominees, and this year the Academy (mostly) figured it out.

Obviously, the main story of the morning is Sinners absolutely destroying the previous all-time record for nominations, getting 16 to All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land's measly 14. It was nominated in every single category for which it was eligible, a feat only equalled by Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1966 (at least according to the internet). I'm generally of the opinion that no movie, however good, is the best of the year at absolutely everything, but I can't point to any Sinners nominations that particularly upset me, and I do think it's pretty groovy that the new all-time Oscar champion is a vampire horror musical/historical drama with an almost all-POC cast and crew. Someone resurrect Ernest Borgnine, tell him his vision for the Academy is dead, and then send him back to the grave after pooping in his hair or something. Though the big Sinners morning is fun, its massive haul helps underline a significant problem with the way that the Academy has been conducting itself for the past 10-ish years. Simply put, voters just aren't watching as many movies as they used to. The ten best picture nominees all enjoyed significant nomination counts, and then nothing outside of that crowd could garner more than two. All told, there are 35 movies nominated for Oscars this year (not counting shorts). If you remove the movies nominated only in animated film, international film, and documentary (categories that normally see--and are designed for--multiple nominees that won't be recognized anywhere else), that number shrinks to 27. Of those 27, only 15 movies got nominated more than once. As for categories, every single category this year (other than animated film and documentary feature, which, as mentioned above, are designed for lone nominees) has at least one best picture nominee in it--every single one. Of those, only four categories (actress, visual effects, makeup, and original song) have more than one nominee that isn't also nominated for best picture.

In short: if you're not included in the top 10 of the year, it's getting near impossible to be nominated for an Oscar. Each year for the past few years, the top 10 have dominated, and everything else has to fight for scraps. That's not great, and I've absolutely no idea what the solution is, but something eventually has to give, right? 

Well, luckily for us, the ten movies that dominated the nominations this year are a pretty eclectic and exciting bunch. I'm not convinced that they need to get 78 of the 95 possible nominations (not counting animated, international, and documentary categories) between them, but that's what happened, so all we can do is unpack them and cast a worried glance at next year.

But enough of that--let's look at the nominations! I'll put an asterisk next to the nominations I predicted correctly.

Best Picture
Bugonia*
F1
Frankenstein*
Hamnet*
Marty Supreme*
One Battle After Another*
The Secret Agent*
Sentimental Value*
Sinners*
Train Dreams*

Despite the fact that I'm a big fan of Hamnet, Frankenstein, and F1 (spoiler alert for my best of the year awards: I just don't know what people see in Hamnet, sorry), and that I'm just gutted that Weapons didn't make it, this still strikes me as the kind of top 10 list the Oscars should be putting together: a wide variety in genre, tone, and background, pleasantly international, and (largely) made up of good movies. It's a tough target to hit, but I think they've mostly hit it. This is the third year in a row (and third year in Academy history) that two non-English language movies have been up for the big prize, which suggests that the trend is here to stay--and good for it! Even with Weapons gone, we still see three horror or horror-adjacent movies, which is definitely a first. Hell, only six horror movies have ever been nominated for best picture before now (The Exorcist, Silence of the Lambs, The Sixth Sense, Black Swan, Get Out, and The Substance) (some people count Jaws, but they are wrong). Going from that to one third of the nominees in one year is a massive leap. The obvious question here is how far Sinners can go, and to what extent its record will affect its chances. Does its huge nomination count mean it's going to sweep come Oscar night, or is it going to pull a La La Land (...this being the only time those two movies will be directly compared to each other) and have its record tally ignite a backlash that tanks its chances? I still think One Battle After Another has this in the bag, but I'm open to new ideas.

Early winner prediction: One Battle After Another

Director
Paul Thomas Anderson-One Battle After Another*
Ryan Coogler-Sinners*
Josh Safdie-Marty Supreme*
Joachim Trier-Sentimental Value
Chloe Zhao-Hamnet*

Well, the cool kids international slot holds in this category still (another welcome trend that's probably here to stay), with Trier edging out the likes of Kleber Mendonca Filho/The Secret Agent, Jafar Panahi/It Was Just an Accident, and Oliver Laxe/Sirat (...which, like, looking at that list, it's hard not to feel a little bummed that he's the one who prevailed, but here we are). Not a bad lineup, my against the grain feelings about Chloe Zhao and some of her baffling choices notwithstanding. Still, she becomes only the second woman to receive a second nomination for best director, which is cool, even if I wouldn't necessarily have done it for this film in particular. Really, we're spoiled here: either Paul Thomas Anderson or Ryan Coogler is going to walk away with an Oscar in six weeks, and how cool a sentence is that?

Early winner prediction: Paul Thomas Anderson-One Battle After Another

Actress
Jessie Buckley-Hamnet*
Rose Byrne-If I Had Legs I'd Kick You*
Kate Hudson-Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve-Sentimental Value*
Emma Stone-Bugonia*

All hail the eldritch tyranny of Kate Hudson! Yesterday, I predicted that hers would be the kind of failed nomination that we all pretended was never going to happen the second it didn't. Well, she sure showed me, and now I have to put the effort in to go see Song Sung Blue, so I guess it's Hugh Jackman who really wins in the end. Still, unseen Hudson aside, this is a pretty phenomenal category in which I'd be happy to see anyone win (but obviously it should be Rose Byrne, because Rose Byrne should have won every prize available on the planet at least six times by now.) 
(Meaningless sidebar: every time something happens to someone with a last name of Hudson, I automatically start singing Katherine Ryan's song about Mayor Peter Hudson with their name filled in and it's ruining my life.)

Early winner prediction: Jessie Buckley-Hamnet

Actor
Timothée Chalamet-Marty Supreme*
Leonardo Dicaprio-One Battle After Another*
Ethan Hawke-Blue Moon*
Michael B. Jordan-Sinners*
Wagner Moura-The Secret Agent*

Haven't seen Blue Moon, but otherwise this category feels just fine. Especially thrilled for Michael B. Jordan, who's been turning in stellar work for ages but always escaping Oscar's attention, and Wagner Moura, whom I will forever follow into hell (among other places) in gratitude for Futuro Beach. Fun fact: if Timmy wins this, he'll be the second youngest best actor winner of all time, older only than Adrien Brody when he won in 2002 for The Pianist.

Early winner prediction: Timothée Chalamet-Marty Supreme

Supporting Actress
Elle Fanning-Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas-Sentimental Value*
Amy Madigan-Weapons*
Wunmi Mosaku-Sinners*
Teyana Taylor-One Battle After Another*

Overjoyed for Weapons' one little nomination, but one a nomination--arguably my favorite performance of the year? I also don't hate seeing Elle Fanning finally getting the Oscar attention she's been dancing around since Super 8 all these years ago. You go, Elle Fanning! Lilleaas, Mosaku, and Taylor (hell yes Teyana Taylor, go get it) are also great choices. Is this the strongest category of the morning? It might be.

Early winner prediction: Teyana Taylor-One Battle After Another

Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro-One Battle After Another*
Jacob Elordi-Frankenstein*
Delroy Lindo-Sinners
Sean Penn-One Battle After Another*
Stellan Skarsgard-Sentimental Value*

Aaaaaghaghaghaggh FINALLY Delroy Lindo! One of the most overlooked actors out there (at least with Oscar), and one of the best of his generation, probably, so it is about goddamn time the Academy finally throws some love his way. Otherwise a strong lineup, too. I don't love Frankenstein, but Jacob Elordi is far and away the best part of it (in fact, he might be the only one on the entire cast not giving a terrible performance), and I'm always here for beautiful haunted scarecrows doing weird shit for Oscar's benefit. For a category that's almost invariably the dullest acting category each year (and let's be honest, this year is no exception), it's a good group.

Early winner prediction: Stellan Skarsgard-Sentimental Value

Original Screenplay
Blue Moon
It Was Just an Accident*
Marty Supreme*
Sentimental Value*
Sinners*

Again let me sound my sad little Weapons horn and dream about what could have been, but I haven't seen Blue Moon--the movie that presumably beat it to the finish line--so I suppose I can't gripe too much. Otherwise, a strong (if expected) crop of nominees. Thank goodness It Was Just an Accident wound up with something after it missed in picture and director. Still, given Sinners' supremacy this year, it's hard to imagine anything else winning.

Early winner prediction: Sinners

Adapted Screenplay
Bugonia*
Frankenstein*
Hamnet*
One Battle After Another*
Train Dreams*

Remember when I mentioned earlier that either Paul Thomas Anderson or Ryan Coogler would win an Oscar this year, and how neat that would be? Well, the writers clearly agree, as both of them are going to walk away with a screenplay Oscar before they even get the chance to slap each other around in the best director race. Which is the only saving grace I see here, as this category is bleak. I honestly think that Frankenstein and Hamnet are some of the worst screenplays of the year, all of my One Battle reservations (of which I have considerably more than the average moviegoer, it seems) come from its screenplay, and Train Dreams is fine at best. At least we've got Bugonia's hilarious and horrifying weaponization of corporate inspirational jargon to cling to. Still, this is--by some margin--the worst category of the morning.

Early winner prediction: One Battle After Another

Production Design
Frankenstein*
Hamnet*
Marty Supreme*
One Battle After Another*
Sinners*

Kind of a shock to see Wicked miss here (maybe they figured they'd rewarded it last year?), and it's a fun mix of nominees, despite Hamnet's inclusion for its morose porridge walls and, like, trees, I guess. One Battle is a neat inclusion, even if it might have gotten in more through its strength as a best picture contender than for its sets alone, and I love Marty Supreme getting some love, but this will be a cage match between Frankenstein and Sinners.

Early winner prediction: Frankenstein

Costume Design
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein*
Hamnet*
Marty Supreme*
Sinners*

I'm sorry WHAT. Friends, the second they announced that Avatar nomination, my brain started melting and has been unable to reconstitute itself. Seriously, I have not thought of anything but this nomination since it happened and I imagine I won't think about anything else for the rest of my life. How did this happen? What does this mean? Who are we, really? I can only assume that the voters here, like many people, found that Varang, fire villainess extraordinaire, awoke some new and strange feelings inside them, and they explained them away by assuming that it surely was her assortment of CGI beads that they found so intriguing. Seriously though, this does set a strange precedent, as it's the first time in Academy history (that I can recall) that this category has seen a nominee whose costumes were entirely computer-generated. (I'm not counting Edie Falco's military fatigues, but who is, really?) It begs the question: when will we start seeing animated films in the other craft categories? If movies like Avatar, a 'live-action' movie in name only, can make it here (or in production design and cinematography, for that matter), what's to stop the next Disney movie from doing so? 

Early winner prediction: Frankenstein

Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash*
F1*
Jurassic World: Rebirth*
The Lost Bus*
Sinners

Ah yes, the Academy's eternal quest to force me to engage with Matthew McConaughey, whatever the cost. Here I come, The Lost Bus! I hope you're dumb as shit! Fun fact: this is the first Oscar nomination for the Jurassic Park franchise since 1997...despite the fact that five of them have come out since then. Still, dinosaurs, Jonathan Bailey's glasses, etc. We can spend the morning in thanks. As shocking as it sounds, this category feels primed to see Avatar lose. Movies that aren't nominated for best picture almost never beat movies that are in this category, and Avatar's going against the newly minted king of the Oscar world. Pulling out a win wouldn't be impossible, but it's looking less likely than it did 24 hours ago.

Early winner prediction: Sinners

Makeup and Hairstyling
Frankenstein*
Kokuho
The Smashing Machine*
Sinners
The Ugly Stepsister*

Pleaseantly weird and gory category this year, even if it does mean that I now have to watch The Smashing Machine, which makes me want to become the smashing machine. I've been burying a juicy lede for a while now, only to whip it out when the time is right, and I guess the right time is when we're all thinking about Wicked's nightmarish yassified scarecrow makeup: Wicked got entirely shut out this morning. From 10 nominations last year and two wins to nothing whatsoever. I'd have thought, at a minimum, it was safe in costume design, but no such luck. Maybe the Academy didn't feel like rewarding the same crew twice for (largely) similar work, maybe the film's poor critical response and middling box office hurt it, maybe everyone is sick of two-parters that are blatant cash grabs. Either way, from 10 nominations to nothing: truly the Icarus tale of our times.

Early winner prediction: Frankenstein

Film Editing
F1*
Marty Supreme*
One Battle After Another*
Sentimental Value
Sinners*

As usual, the category that follows the best picture race most closely--year in and year out, a total snooze-fest. Being nominated for this category is pretty closely entwined with best picture, so have a good look at the nominees: your eventual best picture winner is almost definitely coming from this list. I suppose that means that Hamnet's best picture chances are mostly dead (as if its slightly fumbled nomination tally this morning hadn'd already suggested that), but I can't say I'm disappointed.

Early winner prediction: One Battle After Another

Cinematography
Frankenstein*
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another*
Sinners*
Train Dreams*

I should have made the smart move and picked Marty Supreme's retro lensing for this slot, but no, I had to continue my personal beef with Edward Berger. Well color me relieved, because now I don't ever have to watch any of his movies ever again (until next year at the Oscars, I assume). This is a fine, if largely uninspired category. I'll never understand how people are looking at Frankenstein's cinematography and thinking 'oh yeah, that's the height of the craft,' but that's the world we live in, I guess? Train Dreams is essentially Kidz Bop Terrence Malick, but it's pretty enough for being that, and the other nominees are great choices. Also fun: this remains the only category that has yet to be won by a woman, but solid Sinners frontrunner Autumn Durald Arkapaw is probably set to end that.

Early winner prediction: Sinners

Original Score
Bugonia
Frankenstein*
Hamnet*
One Battle After Another*
Sinners*

Sure, throw in Jerskin Fendrix's Bugonia wailing in there, for the kids. Every year I'm reminded that the Academy and I have wildly different tastes in music and that I just have to make my peace with that, but this is fine, I guess (or, more specifically, One Battle and Sinners are fantastic and the others are somewhere on a spectrum from 'nice' to 'wait, this had original music?' to 'why has this happened to me, a humble citizen of the world'). Exceptionally dumb that Marty Supreme's movie-elevating score didn't make it, or 28 Years Later's crazy and original work, though only one of those ever really had a chance.

Early winner prediction: Sinners

Sound
F1*
Frankenstein*
One Battle After Another*
Sinners*
Sirat*

Preemptively thrilled for Sirat: I haven't seen it, but it seems like the kind of bonkers extravaganza that I'd pick for this category, another one in which my taste and the Academy's tend to diverge (we get it Oscar, you like loud cars and singing, dare to dream). I suppose the rest of the list is fine (hooray for loud cars and Oscar Isaac shrieking into the CG abyss), if a little bland. I will take a second, however, to laud for the Academy for not choosing violence against me, specifically, this year and foregoing the Mission: Impossible nomination in this category. Given I haven't particularly enjoyed the entries in the franchise that everyone else is pretty quick to label as some of the best movies of the decade, I was absolutely dreading this almost three-hour action slog whose most effusive fans had described as 'not great.' Thanks, Academy, for sparing me that grisly fate!

Early winner prediction: Sinners

Original Song
"Dear Me"-Diane Warren: Relentless*
"Golden"-KPop Demon Hunters*
"I Lied to You"-Sinners*
"Sweet Dreams"-Viva Verdi!
"Train Dreams"-Train Dreams

Yesterday, I made a joke about the kinds of nominees in this category that shift everyone's perception of reality before saying that our reality couldn't handle a Viva Verdi! nomination, and so I guess this is my fault, now the timeline is irreparably broken, my bad. A day may come when the courage of the Academy fails and Diane Warren slinks into the shadows, an hour in which I no longer have to mention Diane Warren's gruesome blood pact with Moloch the Deceiver and the end of days she invites to feed her Oscar hunger, but it is not this day. This day, I roll my eyes, make a joke about how what's really relentless is the Academy's Diane Warren obsession, and look forward to seeing Return of the King this weekend. But seriously, this is her tenth Oscar nomination in a row. Her tenth! That's an entire decade of having to watch weepy little movies just to hear the power ballad over end credits. Who will save us from this madness?

Early winner prediction: "Golden"-KPop Demon Hunters

Casting
Hamnet*
Marty Supreme*
One Battle After Another*
The Secret Agent
Sinners*

Gaze on the first ever Oscar nominees for best casting and sigh quietly to yourself about the precedent they set! I worried yesterday about how casting could be come like editing, a category that exists mostly to rubber-stamp best picture nominees, and they didn't exactly prove me wrong here. Still, The Secret Agent is a very fun, deserving, and somewhat left-field choice here. At least we avoided Frankenstein, a movie that almost shot the moon for poor casting choices (its only coup was to ask which currently famous actor has made his name on being spooky and beautiful and wouldn't need lifts to portray a 7' monster, and then picked the one person in Hollywood who matched that description). Also, parroting a take I saw on bluesky: it does raise some questions about how this award functions and what its values are when Sentimental Value misses here, despite literally its entire principal cast getting acting nominations. (...not saying I wanted to see it here, but it is a little strange, right?)

Early winner prediction: Sinners

Animated Film
Arco*
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters*
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain*
Zootopia 2*

Can't comment too much here, as I've only seen two of the nominees (and found both of them perfectly nice but not exceptionally noteworthy), but it's worth pointing out that my (probably foolhardy) guess that Pixar would miss out came to nothing. Time to trot out to theaters (by which I mean 'press play on my laptop') to the movie whose claim to fame is, as far as I can tell, de-queering itself to make more money!

Early winner prediction: KPop Demon Hunters

International Film
It Was Just an Accident-France*
The Secret Agent-Brazil*
Sentimental Value-Norway*
Sirat-Spain*
The Voice of Hind Rajab-Tunisia

Gutted for Park Chan-wook/No Other Choice, which came up empty-handed this morning, but pleased at an otherwise strong lineup (I haven't seen Sirat or The Voice of Hind Rajab, but have only heard good things). Somewhat telling and a bit of a bummer that only five of the fifteen movies shortlisted in this category came from Europe, but three of those five ended up on the final list. Still, it's probably hard to argue with what's here. Shed a tear for poor France, though. Although they hold the record for most nominations in this category, they haven't won in over 20 years and keep trying to end that drought. Now, they can look forward to a second consecutive year of their buzzy Cannes winner losing to a 70s-era political thriller from Brazil (and not unjustifiably).

Early winner prediction: Sentimental Value-Norway (just kidding, France will have to lose to Brazil again some other time)

Documentary Feature
The Alabam Solution*
Cutting Through Rocks*
Come See Me in the Good Light*
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
The Perfect Neighbor

As usual, I don't have much to say here; I haven't seen any of these movies, nor have I seen any of the movies that were snubbed. It is a somewhat atypical year, in that the perceived frontrunner actually made the lineup this year, meaning the desperate scramble for a new winning narrative has been cancelled. Kind of a shame! It's always fun to have to pick a new winner in the last six weeks of the campaign. 

Early winner prediction: The Perfect Neighbor

Of the non-specialized categories (i.e. not animated, international, or documentary), I've seen most of the nominees already, only missing Blue Moon, Song Sung Blue, The Lost Bus, The Smashing Machine, Kokuho, Diane Warren: Relentless, and Viva Verdi!. Most of those should be readily available to watch before the Oscars, but I--like every Oscar completionist out there--will now have to panic-search for a way to see Kokuho and Viva Verdi!, the latter joining a long and proud list of movies that no one dared to release in any way until the best original song category forced their hand. As for the specialized categories, both animated film and documentary feature could present significant hurdles for seeing everything before the Oscars. I'll give it my best shot, but I'll make myself no promises.

Predictions-wise, I did surprisingly well, only missing more than one nominee in makeup, original song, and documentary feature, and totally nailing actor, adapted screenplay, production design, and sound. Not too bad, considering how silly some of my choices were.

For those counting at home, here's a list of the most nominated movies:

1. Sinners-16 (still can't get over that tally)
2. One Battle After Another-13
3. Sentimental Value-9
4. Marty Supreme-9
5. Frankenstein-9
6. Hamnet-8
7. Bugonia-4
8. The Secret Agent-4
9. Train Dreams-4
10. F1-4

And here's a few movies that weren't nominated for anything: Wicked: For Good, No Other Choice, Sorry, Baby, Jay Kelly, The Testament of Ann Lee, Wake Up Dead Man, A House of Dynamite, Is This Thing On? Sprinsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, Rental Family, Roofman, Nuremberg, The Kiss of the Spider Woman, After the Hunt, Die My Love, The Phoenician Scheme, Hedda, Superman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Thunderbolts, 28 Years Later, The History of Sound, Caught by the Tides, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, The Long Walk, Final Destination 6: Bloodlines, One of them Days, Griffin in Summer, My Father's Shadow, Predator: Badlands, Twinless, Friendship

You win some, you lose some.

And there we have it! How to you feel? I'm in a surprisingly good place, but you might not be (any Jay Kelly die-hards in the house?). What makes you thrilled? Furious? As always, no matter how the nominations shake out, I love the Oscars and all the silly things they entail, and always treat nominations day like it's Christmas morning. It's silly and stupid, but some things ought to be.

Oscar Predictions 2025: The Oscars Want You to Feel Fear, or: The Sun Will Soon Explode, A Children's Primer

"The pictures you've been using for your Oscar stuff lately have been deranged"--a close family member

Is everything fundamentally broken and is the world a hollow shell of what it once was? Yes, but consider: what if also no?

Maybe I should start from the beginning, or barring that (as I am unwilling, and possibly unable, to transcribe the history of history, the written word, visual media, and California-based awards bodies in the amount of time it will take me to finish listening to the Marty Supreme soundtrack), I'll start about a year back. In my Oscar prediction post from last year, I mentioned how the narrative of the Oscars tends to map onto the narrative of the year at large--or at least it lets me shamelessly project it there whilst clasping my tinfoil hat and dreaming of a better tomorrow. If 2025 was a morass of uncertainty and disappointment in a world spinning off its axis, the movie year followed suit (and was, arguably, the more serious issue). Prestige releases floundered, guaranteed box-office hits collapsed underneath their own weight--just imagine, the new Avatar has only made about $300 million in profit so far, are these the end times?--and people looked for escape by getting as weird with it as they could. To paraphrase the 2018 version of Susy Bannion, that wisest of all the dancing sages: the world's a mess. Why are people so ready to believe that the worst is already over?

I'm deploying this exceptionally cheerful and not at all overblown framing device to account for the fact that our potential crop of Oscar nominees this year is a strange and unruly bunch that mirrors the world around it--how else to explain that a full seven of the twelve most likely best picture nominees are horror movies or political thrillers? (And then, to the side, Brad Pitt is driving his little race car, because newly-50-something Gen Xers also need to be loved and validated.) Hell, even the biggest, baitiest prestige hits involve a prominently featured child corpse, Geza Röhrig getting honey licked off his hirsute torso inside a concentration camp, and an immigrant getting thrown to his death for no reason, just for fun. It's a strange mix of movies--implausible even--that can partly be attributed to a seeming dearth of quality prestige fare and partly to a fast-growing and more adventurous body of voters in the Academy, but has to, at least in part, reflect how the Academy, like liquids and cats, changes shape to fit the shape of its container. 

All of this is to say that it's time to buckle up, because either things are going to get weird or the failed prestige films are going to do their best impression of Hamlet's dad and come crawling back early in the morning after dying at a nice banquet thrown to try and bolster their popularity and scream at us about how Bradley Cooper will die before he releases a movie that your mother wouldn't be willing to call 'nice.' Guillermo Del Toro's superhero update of Frankenstein hitting double-digit nominations? Why not? That sleeper horror hit about missing kids muscling past James goddamn Cameron and his nightmare cadre of blue enforcers to get into best picture? Bring it on! A gory vampire musical and a perma-stoned paranoid satire/thriller/family drama/action movie/showcase of Benicio Del Toro's stellar white pants both tying or breaking the record for most nominated movie of all time in the most implausible battle to the death since my sister and I bought a gallon bucket of dessert that just turned out to be whipped cream piled on a half inch of limpid sponge cake? Anything is possible! I have dusted off very special insanity socks and am prepared for madness.

Oscar nominations come out tomorrow morning, just in time for me to send a link of this post to my dissertation advisor as an explanation for why I deserve not two, but ten PhDs, one for each field pertaining to one of the best picture nominees (because what is less worthless than on humanities PhD than ten humanities PhDs?), and all of my speculation will become meaningless, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? Oscar predictions flow like water, and it's always a joy to pretend to swim before Diane Warren drowns you in her annual Oscar paddle pool, thus fulfilling the blood sacrifice with Lord Upuhaut, the mighty wolf of darkness that (presumably) controls the Academy's music branch. Do note that I tend to let my sillier impulses take over (he says, not 20 words after invoking Diane Warren's blood ritual), which means that I'm not always aiming for sheer accuracy. There are plenty of websites to help you nail every category, but I'm here to make you consider what would happen if the Academy wanted to demonstrate their eldritch power by making you watch The Electric State and The Ballad of a Small Player in a fit of horrible completism. Worse things could happen, and probably will tomorrow morning, so let's get to it!

(note: all predictions are listed in order of likelihood, so the first movie listed is the most likely, the second is the next most likely, etc.)

Best Picture
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Frankenstein
Sentimental Value
Train Dreams
The Secret Agent
Weapons
Bugonia
Alternate: It Was Just an Accident

The through-line of the next eighteen categories is going to be asking, again and again, how many nominations One Battle After Another and Sinners can rack up. I mentioned that both could tie or break the nomination record (currently 14), and that wasn't a joke--most predictions I've seen have at least one hitting that threshold. I, however, am laboring under the delusion that most movies that threaten to hit that number find a way of fumbling it at the finish line (think The Shape of Water coming up empty in both Visual Effects and Makeup, Barbie falling flat on its face, etc.). So every category from here on out will be a rationalization of why I think each of those will get exactly 13 nominations (...spoiler alert). Elsewhere, this category feels like it ought to be volatile, but for the total lack of compelling challengers to oust any of these movies out of the top 10. I'd say anything Train Dreams and after doesn't feel totally safe, but what's going to replace them? It Was Just an Accident could, but then we'd have a full third of the nominees being in a language other than English, which feels implausible (there only having been two years so far in Academy history with two non-English language best picture nominees). F1, Wicked: For Good, and Avatar: Fire and Ash are all holding the line for blockbusters with middling to poor reviews that are nevertheless trying to fail up in the most spectacular fashion, and I wouldn't be shocked to see F1 make it (that is, shocked from a prognosticating standpoint--I remain eternally baffled as to what people see in this dumb little car movie). Beyond that, it's more international movies (like No Other Choice and Sirat) that don't have the juice to muscle past the other, bigger international contenders, indies like Blue Moon, The Testament of Ann Lee, and Sorry, Baby, none of which never took off like they needed to, and fallen Oscar bait like Jay Kelly and Is This Thing On?, which, come on, seriously. (Watch, now Bradley Cooper will ride triumphantly into the Dolby again on a horse made out of Golden Globes and I will be forced to eat my special insanity socks.) As I said in the intro, chaos reigns, which means that Oscar voters are going to have to make time for Aunt Gladys's murder tree and Jesse Plemons bludgeoning people while covered in bees.

Director
Paul Thomas Anderson-One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler-Sinners
Chloe Zhao-Hamnet
Josh Safdie-Marty Supreme
Kleber Mendonca Filho-The Secret Agent
Alternate: Jafar Panahi-It Was Just An Accident

Bucking the conventional wisdom here, which suggests that Panahi or Joachim Trier/Sentimental Value will take the perennial cool international spot, but The Secret Agent's topical as hell, its popularity has been surging, and Filho's star is on the rise. Plus, as last year showed us, the Academy can go absolutely feral for 70s-set Brazilian political dramas when given the opportunity. I'm doing my level best to manifest Frankenstein's failure wherever possible (I've collaged a dream board that consists of nothing but Dr. Frankenstein becoming a successful mid-level pediatrician while his monster works in a cubicle, wondering what might have been), but don't be surprised to see Guillermo Del Toro slide in here, despite my best efforts.

Actress
Jessie Buckley-Hamnet
Rose Byrne-If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Emma Stone-Bugonia
Renate Reinsve-Sentimental Value
Jennifer Lawrence-Die My Love
Alternate: Chase Infiniti-One Battle After Another

That's right, kids--I'm kicking off my 'One Battle/Sinners in the dreaded 6th place' promotional campaign by assuming that the Academy still loves Jennifer Lawrence enough to welcome her back into the fold, despite the odds (anyone remember her nomination for Joy, because I sure do). Obviously Infiniti is the likelier choice, or Amanda Seyfried's righteous warbles in The Testament of Ann Lee, but I'm going to assume that the Academy cohort that gave Lawrence four nominations in five years is just happy to see her out and about again. I've seen plenty of arguments for Kate Hudson sneaking in with late-stage mom hit Song Sung Blue, but that feels like the Last Showgirl-esque kind of narrative that feels wildly plausible before the nominations which everyone pretends they never believed the second nominations are announced.

Actor
Timothée Chalamet-Marty Supreme
Leonardo Dicaprio-One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke-Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan-Sinners
Wagner Moura-The Secret Agent
Alternate: Joel Edgerton-Train Dreams

These five seem somewhat inevitable to me--the first four look like a done deal, and I can hardly argue for a Wagner Moura snub when I've got a surprise Secret Agent best director nomination. I'll admit that I've had the terrible suspicion that Michael B. Jordan will be ignored--once again--for stellar work in genre fare, but haven't been brave or sad enough to actually predict it. If that happens, or if I'm wrong about The Secret Agent's popularity, my heart would like to believe that Plemons gets in for his latest (and maybe career-best) DPwaVed (deranged person with a vision) performance (see, it sounded like depraved, I accept venmo). But my brain tells me that the shuffling twilight beast made up of four terrible prestige limbs (Joel Edgerton/Train Dreams, Dwayne Johnson/The Smashing Machine, Jeremy Allen White/Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, Oscar Isaac/Frankenstein) takes it instead. Tremble, mortals. (Sidebar: once, while struggling to name my favorite actors for a cinephile friend, I said "I dunno, Joel Edgerton, I guess?" and my friend said "are you serious?" and then we had to change the subject so he could continue to respect me. Poor Joel. He doesn't deserve to be a leg of the shuffling prestige beast, but here we are.)

Supporting Actress
Teyana Taylor-One Battle After Another
Amy Madigan-Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku-Sinners
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas-Sentimental Value
Ariana Grande-Wicked: For Good
Alternate: Odessa A'zion-Marty Supreme

Wildly volatile category here, in that I wouldn't be shocked by any of the above women failing to get the nomination. A'zion could easily slip in, as could Elle Fanning in Sentimental Value. Is Taylor's role too small, especially in the face of the Academy's love of rewarding lead performances here? Is a horror villain really going to get in, even if she gives one of the best performances of the year? Are Mosaku and Lilleaas not well-known enough, is Wicked's critical belly flop going to take her out of the running? Should we expect something totally bananas, like a Regina Hall/One Battle After Another surprise or Nina goddamn Hoss finally getting a nomination for Hedda? Really interesting, potentially surprising category, which usually means that the most obvious answer is the right one, so there you have it.

Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro-One Battle After Another
Sean Penn-One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgard-Sentimental Value
Jacob Elordi-Frankenstein
Paul Mescal-Hamnet
Alternate: Delroy Lindo-Sinners

Really the victim of my own rules here. Every molecule in my dumb little body says that Sinners will score a nod here, either for Lindo or Miles Caton, but that'd push it to 14 nominations, and for whatever reason I don't believe that can happen, so we're all stuck with Paul Mescal glumly to be or not to be-ing directly into the camera. Strangely stunted category, though--is there anyone other than those seven men who has even a chance?

Original Screenplay
Sinners
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
It Was Just An Accident
Weapons
Alternate: The Secret Agent

Another really interesting category here, one primed for some upsets. Despite its sudden an inexplicable loss of momentum, I anticipate It Was Just an Accident scoring here over other, buzzier potential best picture nominees, and I have to believe that Weapons is clever and memorable enough to overcome the horror bias (my god you guys, my dumb heart yearns so desperately for a big morning for Weapons). Is it silly not to include The Secret Agent in the top five after being so giddy about its chances everywhere else? Probably! Are Sorry, Baby and Blue Moon the more obvious and writerly options? It's possible! Anything goes, which means that my dumb heart is gonna go for what it wants.

Adapted Screenplay
One Battle After Another
Hamnet
Train Dreams
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Alternate: No Other Choice

A severely unpopulated field this year--after these six, it's like, Wake Up Dead Man and then Nuremberg, heaven help us. I'd like to imagine that Park Chan-wook finally gets the Oscar success that's been eluding his career for decades now, but somehow, against all odds, a Frankenstein adaptation that has a character turn to the camera and say "you're the real monster, Frankenstein!" is going to be lauded for its writing prowess. The mind reels.

Production Design
Frankenstein
Sinners
Wicked: For Good
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Alternate: Hamnet

Sure it might seem strange to you, a filthy casual, for me to burn up one of my precious One Battle nominations on production design, since I'm only allowing it 13 nominations. But let's look at its competition, assuming the first four are safe (which is maybe a big if; am I too bullish on Marty Supreme? Is Wicked going to tank?). I can't shake the feeling that Hamnet is going to stumble a little on nominations morning, and here's a good place to do it, as the film mostly takes place outside and/or in a series of gray rooms. I'm going out on a limb and predicting that Avatar: Fire and Ash will be almost entirely shut out (sorry, James, guess you forgot to put an awards setting on your submersible), The Fantastic Four: First Steps would be a great nominee here, but Marvel movies almost never get nominated for anything but visual effects unless they're Black Panther, and things like The Phoenician Scheme and Hedda feel like long shots anyway. No, I think One Battle's sweep carries it into this category, contemporary setting be damned.

Costume Design
Frankenstein
Sinners
Wicked: For Good
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Alternate: Hedda

I'm weirdly confident about these five. Most people are opting for a lone nominee here, Hedda or Kiss of the Spider Woman or The Testament of Ann Lee, but we live in an Oscar ecosystem that eats lone nominees for breakfast, so look to the prestige period dramas to carry the day. I almost jumped for a international bolt from the blue--The Ugly Stepsister or Kokuho, for example--but lost my nerve at the last second. Still, if that happens, remember that you heard it here first and that I totally predicted it in my (and your) heart.

Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Superman
The Lost Bus
Jurassic World: Rebirth
Alternate: The Electric State

In this, the most vexing of categories, I have elected to split a particular gordian knot. Surely there has been some hand-wringing about whether Avatar would lose this award to a best picture nominee--F1, Sinners, or Frankenstein, say--given that non-best picture nominees almost never win this category over best picture nominees. Well, friends, I have solved this particular conundrum by assuming that there won't be any best picture nominees here. Sinners has the kind of supporting effects that critics' awards love that the Oscars don't, and Frankenstein was almost totally iced out (heh) by the Visual Effects Society awards, so we'll toss those two out. That makes it an unholy slap-fest between movies that made no one smile: Jurassic World, The Electric State, and Tron: Ares. I choose to walk in the light of the lord, which is to say I assume that voters will remember Jonathan Bailey's slutty little glasses fondly and give them their day in the sun.

Makeup and Hairstyling
Frankenstein
Wicked: For Good
The Smashing Machine
Nuremberg
The Ugly Stepsister
Alternate: Marty Supreme

Another volatile category--isn't it refreshing to have an actual-ass competition this year? I could see any potential nominee but Frankenstein missing, and any potential nominee in the previously announced shortlist getting in. Still, if I'm predicting that Sinners and One Battle After Another won't break any records, then they have to miss here--which makes sense to me, as horror effects almost never get in and a One Battle nom would be indicative of a groupthink-y sweep in the one category that most frequently resists nominating best picture contenders just because they're best picture contenders. It's tempting to assume that Timothée's horrible little mustache will be immortalized in the annals of Oscar history, but I'm going for the things this branch more commonly loves--fat suits and showy prosthetics--to win the day.

Film Editing
One Battle After Another
Marty Supreme
Sinners
F1
Hamnet
Alternate: Frankenstein

I tried again and again to make room for something more fun, something with slightly neater editing, like No Other Choice, Weapons, or The Secret Agent, but again and again came up against the seemingly invincible adage that this category will always just grab best picture contenders out of a lineup and skip off with a song in its heart--the most boring lineup is usually the correct one. And, I suppose, F1 is already occupying the showy editing slot (you can tell it's got the best editing because the cars go fast).

Cinematography
Sinners
One Battle After Another
Train Dreams
Frankenstein
The Ballad of A Small Player
Alternate: Hamnet

Today I choose chaos, and chaos today foresees a world in which the Oscars continue to force me to engage with Edward Berger movies, The Ballad of a Small Player coming out of nowhere to personally antagonize me. The smarter money is obviously a big best picture player like Hamnet or Marty Supreme, or maybe a littler best picture player like F1 or Bugonia, but nope, I'm going with the future in which the Academy punishes me, specifically. (Will I also be punished for not picking Nouvelle Vague, given this branch's predilection for black and white? It's not impossible, but I will persevere.)

Original Score
Sinners
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
Hamnet
Alternate: F1

Marty Supreme's wacky 80s synths might be too wacky and 80s for this branch, one which has never really warmed up to the simple joys of a middle-aged divorcée beating the shit out of a row of buttons, but the heart wants what it wants. It would probably be wise to consider branch favorites Hans Zimmer (F1) or Nicholas Britell (Jay Kelly), or wacky upstarts like Sirat or Bugonia, but I'm sticking with the weepy buttons, and no one on this earth can stop me.

Sound
Sinners
F1
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Sirat
Alternate: Avatar: Fire and Ash

Another category that finds me absurdly confident, despite Avatar and Wicked being much more traditional nominees and Mission: Impossible and Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere offering the general kinds of action/music hijinks that usually succeed here. But this category has (tragically) been trending toward big contenders lately, which gives Frankenstein an edge, and Sirat was too successful throughout awards season and on the Academy shortlists to think that it won't appear anywhere, so here it is! (Y'all, what even is Sirat? No one is willing to give an answer other than 'it's weird and upsetting, you'll love it' and I am so hyped.)

Original Song
"Golden"-KPop Demon Hunters
"I Lied to You"-Sinners
"Dear Me"-Diane Warren: Relentless
"Dying to Live"-Billy Idol Should Be Dead
"Our Love"-The Ballad of Wallis Island
Alternate: "Last Time (I Seen the Sun)-Sinners

Divinely ridiculous of me to shun the other Sinners song and both new Wicked tracks in favor of some lesser-known contenders, but I am, if nothing else, divinely ridiculous, and this is my party. Besides, this category has shown us time and time again that a) any older music superstar that pens something for a movie during the year is likely to get recognized, b) this category has no problem sweeping bigger contenders out of the way for nominees that make you go "I'm sorry, what?" (forever remembering that brisk winter morning in January of 2010 when our perceptions of reality all had to collectively shift to accommodate Paris 36 springing suddenly and fully formed into being, just in time to make us all wonder what a "Loin de Paname" was). ...So like, given that logic, I should be predicting a Viva Verdi! nomination, but I don't want to fly too close to the sun.

Casting
Sinners
One Battle After Another
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Frankenstein
Alternate: Weapons

It's a new category! That's right, for the first time in my Oscar prediction career, and only the second time in my lifetime, there's a new category to consider, and I'm going to commemorate this momentous occasion by making the most boring predictions possible. There's been lots of discussion about whether this branch is going to go their own way or just rubber stamp the biggest best picture contenders. While I would like to imagine that they'll be weird like the makeup and visual effects branch and will get a Weapons/Wicked/Sirat/Secret Agent/Sinners lineup or something equally delightful, I'm going to assume they'll make the duller choice until they prove me wrong. Prove me wrong, casting directors! You can make the world a stranger, more beautiful place! Choose courage and don't nominate Frankenstein! (Honestly though, if Frankenstein gets in I will simply choose death.)

Animated Film
Kpop Demon Hunters
Zootopia 2
Arco
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Endless Cookie
Alternate: Elio

Speaking of flying too close to the sun, I'm predicting that Pixar misses out here (which has only happened to six of the twenty-eight eligible movies it has released since this category's inception) in favor of a weird little Canadian movie that no one is talking about. But hey, this category's really been going its own way lately. Sure, if I'm replacing Pixar, it'd make more sense to pick a buzzier indie title like Scarlet or A Magnificent Life, a buzzier mainstream movie like In Your Dreams or The Bad Guys 2, or even Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle, the improbable anime box-office smash whose title would surely go down as one of the longest in Oscar nominee history, but nope, I'm sticking with the animated Canadian documentary. We really can all be giants if we choose to be.

International Film
Sentimental Value-Norway
The Secret Agent-Brazil
It Was Just an Accident-France
No Other Choice-South Korea
Sirat-Spain
Alternate: The Voice of Hind Rajib-Tunisia

The same five movies have garnered the nominations in this category from basically every awards-giving body, and sure, I know all the cool kids are predicting a high-profile snub in favor of something smaller like Hind Rajib, Left-Handed Girl, Sound of Falling, Palestine 36, Belen, or whatever, but I am going to be the even cooler kid by predicting that the biggest surprise in this category is that there are no big surprises.

Documentary Feature
2000 Meters to Andriivka
The Alabama Solution
Come See Me in the Good Light
My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 -- Last Air in Moscow
Cutting Through Rocks
Alternate: The Perfect Neighbor

Screw it: every year, this category sets us up with an obvious nominee/winner, and every year, this category yanks that obvious nominee out from under us like a particularly documentary-enthused Lucy to our hapless Charlie Brown. It's clear that critics and audiences just don't mesh with this branch's very specific tastes, so I'm leaving undeniable frontrunner The Perfect Neighbor out of the running. In favor of what? Haha like I'd know, I haven't seen any of these movies. As I said last year (and, I assume, will say every year from now on): Behold! The darts I have thrown.

And there you have it! For those of you playing along at home, here are the movies I'm predicting will get the most nominations:

Sinners-13
One Battle After Another-13
Frankenstein-10
Hamnet-9
Marty Supreme-9

I'm not sure how confident I feel about any of these, but how confident do I feel about anything other than the fact that one day the sun will explode? Confidence is overrated--I'm here to encourage the Oscars to be a little dumb about it all.

As always, I know it's silly to spend this many words on Oscar nominations without having talked about my own picks, and those are surely on the way (assuming, of course, that I survive/and or finish my dissertation revisions in a timely fashion, which is maybe the biggest if in a universe of massive, floating ifs, like if the opening crawl from Star Wars were just a celestial cloud of uncertainty). For now, I'll say that if I could guarantee any outcome, it'd be for Weapons to have a big morning (if only for the novelty, but also because it deserves it), and if I could prevent any nomination, I'd opt for an Adapted Screenplay apocalypse in which Frankenstein and Hamnet--arguably two of the worst screenplays of the year--are consigned to the hell they belong. Hey, throw in Train Dreams and One Battle After Another. Complete Adapted Screenplay overhaul! Make that category unrecognizable!

And that's it for now! In about 13 hours, all thes epredictions will mean nothing, which is just how I like it. I'll be back in the morning to unpack the fresh horrors that await, but until then, feel free to share your hopes and dreams, so that they can join mine in the Academy garbage chute tomorrow morning!