The 96th Academy Awards have come and gone, as Christopher Nolan’s historical epic Oppenheimer dominated this year’s ceremony.
However, it’s never too early to look ahead to what next year’s Oscars could have in store for us (okay, maybe it is, but we’re doing it anyhow).
We’ve got some major filmmakers returning to the director’s chair this year, as well as some big sequels and promising indie dramas alike.
With 2024 already in full gear at the movies, we’ve taken a look at 25 films we think you should keep an eye on this year for the 2025 Oscars.
While this list is not definitive and will likely add films as the year goes on, this is our best glance a year out at what next year’s ceremony could offer.
Dune: Part Two
The one contender that’s already raking in the money and earning plenty of critical and audience love is Dune: Part Two, which we have a very good feeling will be in the field of 10 Best Picture nominees next winter.
Denis Villeneuve’s staggering follow-up should eclipse what the first film did at the Oscars, and we won’t be shocked if it actually contends for Best Picture and Best Director for Villeneuve. The film is just that good.
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Challengers
Speaking of a Zendaya film, her tennis-centric romantic thriller Challengers from filmmaker Luca Guadagnino got bumped to April of this year because of last year’s actors’ strike. Could it stick around for the awards race? We’re including it as a possibility, even if it might be more of a commercial play.
Release Date: April 26 (theaters)
I Saw the TV Glow
Emerging filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun’s latest project earned what really may be some of the year’s strongest reviews out of Sundance in January, and we’re really curious to see what A24 does with it once it hits theaters in May.
The Academy’s taste has expanded in recent years, so we’re very curious if Schoenbrun could register in Best Original Screenplay… or even further up the list. We’re incredibly hyped for the movie either way.
Release Date: May 3 (theaters)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
The last time filmmaker George Miller revisited the Mad Max universe, he directed one of the best films of the 2010s in Mad Max: Fury Road. That film was a major player at the Oscars, and this prequel starring Anya Taylor-Joy as a younger Furiosa could easily do the same.
It’s a surprisingly crowded year for prestige sequels, but the Academy may well make room for Miller if he matches the heights of Fury Road.
Release Date: May 24 (theaters)
Hit Man
Richard Linklater has been to the Oscars before, and his latest dramedy with Glen Powell earned some fantastic buzz out of Venice last fall. Netflix will have this one out in June, and we’re curious if it finds the right audience and gets some real credibility behind it ahead of awards season.
Release Date: June 7 (Netflix)
Inside Out 2
The first Inside Out film failed to get in Best Picture, but it did register a Best Original Screenplay nomination. Could its sequel go the distance? The first film was one of the best Pixar films ever, so we’re going to keep an eye on it.
Release Date: June 14 (theaters)
The Bikeriders
Featuring a starry ensemble led by Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon and Mike Faist, we’re very intrigued by Jeff Nichols’ latest drama about a biker gang in the 1960s.
The film got good reviews last fall at Telluride, but it got delayed and changed distributors since then. With a June release date, this one could find a big audience and revamp itself into a real awards contender.
Release Date: June 21 (theaters)
Horizon: An American Saga
Kevin Costner’s two-part Western epic may have trouble with the fact that voters will have to choose between two movies at once while voting, but oh well. We’re getting two new Westers from Costner, and we’re just thrilled that they’re a major part of the summer movie calendar.
We’ll see how they register with the Academy once we get there and if one is stronger than the other for Oscar considerations.
Release Dates: June 28 & Aug. 16 (theaters)
Flint Strong
Cinematographer Rachel Morrison makes her feature debut with a script from Oscar winner Barry Jenkins, set in the world of professional boxing. The film has an August release date, which isn’t typically when awardsy dramas come out.
However, the sheer creative talent behind the project (Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry and Judy Greer lead the cast) requires you to take this one seriously regardless of the release date. If this is as good as it could be, it won’t be shocking to see it moved a bit down the calendar.
Release Date: Aug. 9 (theaters)
Wolfs
A psychological thriller starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt directed by recent Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man director Jon Watt has us very intrigued in general, but it wouldn’t shock us if this one is a big hit at the box office and found itself in the awards conversation.
We’re curious if Sony/Apple will take it to the fall festivals before its late September debut, or if this is just going to be a really thrilling commercial play for the studios.
Release Date: Sept. 20 (theaters)
Joker: Folie à Deux
Joker was a legitimate Oscar behemoth, winning Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and registering nominations across the board. Will Todd Phillips’ sequel find the same success with the Academy?
We can’t rule that out, especially with Lady Gaga joining the film as Harley Quinn. It’s going to get people talking and make a ton of money at the box office, too. This one could debut at Venice like the original did in 2019.
Release Date: Oct. 4 (theaters)
Alto Knights
Robert De Niro playing two rivaling gangsters in a Barry Levinson film written by Nicholas Pileggi sounds like a major Oscar player on paper, but it’s a wee bit of a creative risk to have De Niro playing two leading characters at odds with each other like this.
Also, Levinson hasn’t directed an Oscar-nominated film since 1997’s Wag the Dog. We’re really fascinated by the film, even if its Oscar potential seems very hard to gauge right now. Maybe it’ll premiere at Toronto in September?
Release Date: Nov. 15 (theaters)
Gladiator 2
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel is really happening, as Paul Mescal steps into the lead role and is joined by Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger and returning cast members Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi.
We’re expecting big things from Gladiator 2, whose predecessor won Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe.
Release Date: Nov. 22 (theaters)
Wicked: Part One
The new Wicked film looks to be one of the true events on the film calendar, as the first part of Jon M. Chu’s adaptation opens this November. As long as the film is good, it should have no problem with the Oscars. It’s the exact kind of movie the Academy usually loves to honor.
Release Date: Nov. 27 (theaters)
Mufasa: The Lion King
While 2019’s live-action remake of The Lion King kind of stunk, this prequel film about the rise of Mufasa (Simba’s dad) is directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, so we’ll include it for that reason alone.
Release Date: Dec. 20 (theaters)
A Real Pain
Jesse Eisenberg’s sophomore feature features an incredibly moving script and a dynamite performance from Kieran Culkin as one of two cousins on a trip to Poland to honor their late grandmother.
Searchlight picked this one up out of Sundance, and we’re expecting it to be one of the studio’s real Oscar contenders. Watching for the script and Culkin’s performance in particular feels like a good idea.
Blitz
We thought McQueen’s latest film might’ve opened last year, but 2024 looks like the best bet for this one to debut. The World War II drama set during the German bombings of the United Kingdom should be a major Oscar player.
We’re imagining this one hits the fall festival circuit before opening in theaters later in the year. It really sounds like the type of film that could go all the way, but we won’t know for sure until we see it.
Megalopolis
Francis Ford Coppola is back, and he’s got his long-gestating passion project Megalopolis coming out later this year. This could either be an all-timer or a disaster, but we’re leaning on the former out of sheer excitement.
It’s going to be a must-see either way, and it should be a major Oscar contender as long as it’s, y’know, a good movie.
Maria
Filmmaker Pablo Larraín is reteaming with his Spencer writer Steven Knight for this biopic about famed opera singer Maria Callas. Angelina Jolie will play Callas in what should be a massive comeback role for the former Oscar winner. Could she take home her second trophy next year? Larraín directed Natalie Portman to a nomination for Jackie, so it’s very possible.
Bird
A24 will be releasing Andrea Arnold’s latest film sometime this year, with hot stars like Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski leading the cast.
This feels like the exact kind of film that could thrive with the expanded international voting body, as Arnold is a beloved British filmmaker who is past due an Oscar nomination.
We Live in Time
John Crowley’s 2015 film Brooklyn was one of that year’s biggest Oscar contenders, but his last film, an adaptation of The Goldfinch, failed to register with audiences and critics.
Perhaps his next film, an original romance starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, will bring him back to the Oscars? It sounds like it’ll have plenty of momentum for it with the cast alone. This sounds like something that would probably debut at the fall festivals.
Kind of Kindness
Yorgos Lanthimos is becoming an Oscar regular, with his 2023 film Poor Things nominated for multiple Academy Awards at this past Oscar ceremony. His next film should debut this year, an anthology project with Emma Stone at the top of its ensemble cast.
The anthology nature of it has never typically done as well at the Oscars, but Lanthimos should always be taken seriously with the Academy.
The Outrun
Saoirse Ronan earned raves for her performance in The Outrun as a recovering alcoholic returning to her home, and she’s been nominated four times already in her career (Atonement, Brooklyn, Lady Bird, Little Women). We’re expecting her to earn her fifth nomination next year if all goes well.
The End
Acclaimed documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer makes his narrative debut with The End, which is described as an “apocalyptic musical” about a wealthy family living in an underground bunker.
NEON will be distributing this one, with Tilda Swinton, George MacKay, Moses Ingram and Michael Shannon leading the cast. This one feels primed for a possible Cannes debut, and we’re expecting big things from it.
Here
Robert Zemeckis reunites with his Forrest Gump team of Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and screenwriter Eric Roth for an adaptation of the graphic novel Here.
While some of Zemeckis’ recent films haven’t necessarily been Oscar-ready, this one feels like it could be a huge deal if all breaks even with it.
Way-Too-Early 2025 Oscar Predictions
Best Picture: A Real Pain, Bird, Blitz, Dune: Part Two, Gladiator 2, Here, Megalopolis, The End, We Live in Time, Wicked: Part One
Best Director: Andrea Arnold (Bird), Steve McQueen (Blitz), Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two), Francis Ford Coppola (Megalopolis), Jon M. Chu (Wicked: Part One)
Best Actor: Barry Keoghan (Bird), Paul Mescal (Gladiator 2), Glen Powell (Hit Man), Adam Driver (Megalopolis), Andrew Garfield (We Live In Time)
Best Actress: Saoirse Ronan (The Outrun), Angelina Jolie (Maria), Nathalie Emmanuel (Megalopolis), Florence Pugh (We Live in Time), Cynthia Erivo (Wicked: Part One)
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain), Franz Rogowski (Bird), Michael Shannon (The End), Forest Whitaker (Megalopolis), Denzel Washington (Gladiator 2)
Best Supporting Actress: Jodie Comer (The Bikeriders), Erin Kellyman (Blitz), Lady Gaga (Joker: Folie à Deux), Tilda Swinton (The End), Ariana Grande (Wicked: Part One)
Best Original Screenplay: A Real Pain (Jesse Eisenberg), Bird (Andrea Arnold), Blitz (Steve McQueen), Megalopolis (Francis Ford Coppola), The End (Joshua Oppenheimer, Rasmus Heisterberg)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Dune: Part Two (Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts), Gladiator 2 (David Scarpa), Flint Strong (Barry Jenkins), Here (Eric Roth, Robert Zemeckis), Wicked: Part One (Winnie Holzman)
