Oscars

The 98th Annual Academy Awards – John Charet’s Picks and Predictions

by John Charet

The Academy Awards will air this Sunday on television and in honor of the occasion, I have decided to list my predictions and picks below. I have seen half of the 2025 films nominated for Oscars.

BEST PICTURE

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

My Prediction: One Battle After Another
My Pick: One Battle After Another

BEST DIRECTOR

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

My Prediction: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
My Pick: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
Unfairly Overlooked: Guillermo del Toro — Frankenstein

BEST ACTOR

  • Timothee Chalamet — Marty Supreme
  • Leonardo DiCaprio — One Battle After Another
  • Ethan Hawke — Blue Moon
  • Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
  • Wagner Moura — The Secret Agent

My Prediction: Timothee Chalamet — Marty Supreme or Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
My Pick: Timothee Chalamet — Marty Supreme or Michael B. Jordan — Sinners

BEST ACTRESS

  • Jesse Buckley — Hamnet
  • Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
  • Kate Hudson — Song Sung Blue
  • Renate Reinsve — Sentimental Value
  • Emma Stone — Bugonia

My Prediction: Jessie Buckley — Hamnet or Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
My Pick: Jessie Buckley — Hamnet or Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Unfairly Overlooked: Chase Infinity — One Battle After Another and Jennifer Lawrence — Die My Love

BEST 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

My Prediction: Benicio del Toro — One Battle After Another or Sean Penn — One Battle After Another
My Pick: Benicio del Toro — One Battle After Another or Sean Penn — One Battle After Another

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • Elle Fanning — Sentimental Value
  • Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas — Sentimental Value
  • Amy Madigan — Weapons
  • Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners
  • Teyana Taylor — One Battle After Another

My Prediction: Amy Madigan — Weapons
My Pick: Amy Madigan — Weapons

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

  • Blue Moon — Robert Kaplow
  • It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi, Nader Saivar, Shadmehr Rastin and Mehdi Mahmoudian
  • Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
  • Sentimental Value — Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier
  • Sinners — Ryan Coogler

My Prediction: Sinners — Ryan Coogler
My Pick: It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi, Nader Saivar, Shadmehr Rastin and Mehdi Mahmoudian or Sinners — Ryan Coogler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

  • Bugonia — Will Tracy
  • Frankenstein — Guillermo del Toro
  • Hamnet — Chloe Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell
  • One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson
  • Train Dreams — Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar

My Prediction: One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson
My Pick: One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson

BEST ANIMATED FILM

  • Arco
  • Elio
  • KPop Demon Hunters
  • Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
  • Zootopia 2

My Prediction: Any of the five.
My Pick: N/A

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

  • It Was Just an Accident (France)
  • The Secret Agent (Brazil)
  • Sentimental Value (Norway)
  • Sirat (Spain)
  • The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia)

My Prediction: Sentimental Value (Norway)
My Pick: It Was Just an Accident (France)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

  • The Alabama Solution
  • Come See Me in the Good Light
  • Cutting Through Rocks
  • Mr Nobody Against Putin
  • The Perfect Neighbor

My Prediction: Any of the five.
My Pick: N/A

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

  • All the Empty Rooms
  • Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
  • Children No More: “Were and Are Gone”
  • The Devil Is Busy
  • Perfectly a Strangeness

My Prediction: Any of the five.
My Pick: N/A

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

  • Butcher’s Stain
  • A Friend of Dorothy
  • Jane Austen’s Period Drama
  • The Singers
  • Two People Exchanging Saliva

My Prediction: Any of the five.
My Pick: N/A

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

Butterfly
Forevergreen
The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Retirement Plan
The Three Sisters

My Prediction: Any of the five.
My Pick: N/A

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

  • Bugonia — Jerskin Fendrix
  • Frankenstein — Alexandre Desplat
  • Hamnet — Max Richter
  • One Battle After Another — Jonny Greenwood
  • Sinners — Ludwig Goransson

My Prediction: Sinners — Ludwig Goransson
My Pick: One Battle After Another — Jonny Greenwood or Sinners — Ludwig Goransson

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

  • Diane Warren: Relentless — Song: Dear Me. Music and lyrics by Diane Warren
  • KPop Demon Hunters — Song: Golden. Music and lyrics by Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, 24, Ido and Teddy Park
  • Sinners — Song: I Lied to You. Music and lyrics by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson
  • Viva Verdi! — Song: Sweet Dreams of Joy. Music and lyrics by Nicholas Pike
  • Train Dreams — Song: Train Dreams. Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner. Lyrics by Nick Cave.

My Prediction: Sinners — Song: I Lied to You. Music and lyrics by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Gorannson
My Pick: Sinners — Song: I Lied to You. Music and lyrics by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Gorannson

BEST SOUND

  • F1
  • Frankenstein
  • One Battle After Another
  • Sinners
  • Sirat

My Prediction: F1 or Sinners
My Pick: Any of the five.

BEST CASTING

  • Hamnet — Nina Gold
  • Marty Supreme — Jennifer Venditti
  • One Battle After Another — Cassandra Kulukundis
  • The Secret Agent — Gabriel Domingues
  • Sinners — Francine Maisler

My Prediction: One Battle After Another — Cassandra Kulukundis or Sinners — Francine Maisler
My Pick: One Battle After Another — Cassandra Kulukundis or Sinners — Francine Maisler

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

  • Frankenstein
  • Hamnet
  • Marty Supreme
  • One Battle After Another
  • Sinners

My Prediction: Frankenstein or Sinners
My Pick: Frankenstein or Sinners

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • Frankenstein — Dan Lausten
  • Marty Supreme — Darius Khondiji
  • One Battle After Another — Michael Bauman
  • Sinners — Autumn Durald Arkapaw
  • Train Dreams — Adolpho Veloso

My Prediction: One Battle After Another — Michael Bauman, Sinners — Autumn Durald Arkapaw or Train Dreams — Adolpho Veloso
My Pick: Any of the five.

BEST MAKEUP

  • Frankenstein
  • Kokuho
  • Sinners
  • The Smashing Machine
  • The Ugly Stepsister

My Prediction: Frankenstein or Sinners
My Pick: Frankenstein or Sinners

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

  • Avatar: Fire and Ash
  • Frankenstein
  • Hamnet
  • Marty Supreme
  • Sinners

My Prediction: Any of the five.
My Pick: Sinners

BEST FILM EDITING

  • F1 — Stephen Mirrione
  • Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
  • One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen
  • Sentimental Value — Olivier Bugge Coutte
  • Sinners — Michael P. Shawver

My Prediction: One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen
My Pick: One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

  • Avatar: Fire and Ash
  • F1
  • Jurassic World Rebirth
  • The Lost Bus
  • Sinners

My Prediction: Avatar: Fire and Ash
My Pick: Any of the five.

I hope all of you dear readers enjoyed my predictions and picks 🙂