A tense man in a dirty vest stands in a dimly lit, rustic setting, with two people behind him—one holding a rifle. The dramatic, suspenseful atmosphere and warm lighting evoke the intensity of awards season films.

Last week, the Oscar nominations were finally revealed, celebrating the best films of 2025– and with the Golden Globes over and done with, the race is on for the most coveted awards in Hollywood on 15th March. There are the usual acting awards: Jessie Buckley looks poised to win for her performance in Hamnet, while Timotheé Chalamet might finally clinch an Oscar after missing out last year.

Meanwhile, will Leonardo DiCaprio‘s comedy thriller One Battle After Another win Best Picture- or will it be Sinners, which surprised on Thursday and got a record-breaking number of nominations? If you’re looking for a guide (and some predictions) to the awards race, here’s all you need to know:

Most Nominations: Sinners Makes Oscars History

Two men, both sweaty and distressed, hug each other tightly while looking ahead with expressions of shock and fear—a gripping scene reminiscent of awards season films. The dim sky behind them suggests early morning or dusk.

Vampire horror film Sinners, which stars Michael B. Jordan and is set in the American South in the 1930s, became a box office hit and received strong critical reviews when it was released last year. Ryan Coolger’s mesmerising direction and the script’s social commentary were singled out for praise, as was the music. Despite this, it wasn’t considered the frontrunner for the Oscars, perhaps because it was released back in April and isn’t traditional awards fare. But the Academy announced last week that it had been nominated a record-breaking 16 times- beating even Titanic’s number of 14. Some of the highest profile categories it was nominated in include Best Picture, along with Best Director (Ryan Coolger), Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan).

Will it win Best Picture? Possibly. It would certainly be a fun choice popular with audiences, and it’ll likely win at least a few awards (almost certainly Original Score)- but there have been cases in recent years where lots of nominations haven’t translated into lots of wins. It’s all to play for.

Best Actor: Fourth Time Lucky For Timothée?

A young man in glasses and a dark shirt holds a red table tennis bat, pointing it forward with a focused expression, as if ready for an awards season films showdown. He stands in a dimly lit setting with a blurred audience in the background.

He’s perhaps the most critically acclaimed male actor of his generation, and he’s clearly got an Oscar in his sights- but despite three previous nominations, Timotheé Chalamet is yet to hold up that golden statue. He missed out on becoming the youngest Best Actor winner last year when he was nominated (beaten by Adrien Brody, who coincidentally retains that record himself), but this time it may be “his year.” He’s already won for his Marty Supreme performance a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award. The film itself is considered a Best Picture, Original Screenplay and Director contender, which are traditionally good signs. Will he pull it off?

The other Best Actor nominees include Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) and Michael B. Jordan. Paul Mescal was absent from the list for his performance in Hamnet. Speaking of…

Best Actress: Jessie Buckley Is The Clear Favourite

A crowd of people in historical clothing stands closely together behind a wooden barricade, with a young woman in the centre clasping her hands and looking intently forward, evoking the drama found in awards season films.

If you had to call the race for one big category this year, Jessie Buckley for Best Actress seems surest. The Irish actress, who’s steadily built up a glowing reputation for her roles in the likes of The Lost Daughter, Women Talking and Chernobyl, wowed critics with her portrayal of Agnes Hathaway in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet. In the movie, Agnes (in real life, Anne) is the wife of William Shakespeare, who grieves after the devastating loss of her young son. Buckley also won the Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe, and remains the Oscar favourite.

The other Best Actress nominees include Emma Stone (Bugonia), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You) and Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue).

Best Picture: Can Anything Stop One Battle After Another?

A man with tousled hair and a goatee, like a character from awards season films, wears a checked jacket and holds a rifle, looking intently into the distance outdoors against a blurred background of sand or sky.

Despite Sinner’s nomination record and Marty Supreme’s Chalamet-powered acclaim, One Battle After Another is still the likeliest to win the biggest award of the night. A black comedy action thriller that follows a group of ex-revolutionaries evading a corrupt and unhinged police officer, One Battle had some of the year’s most memorable set pieces and characters. You know a film is special when even [profile-link]Leonardo DiCaprio’s[/profile-link] (very good) lead role isn’t the most talked about one: the likes of Chase Infiniti, Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor and Benicio del Toro gave great performances- and three of them are nominated for Best Supporting Actor/Actress.

It’s got all the ingredients for an Oscar winner, and topped many “best of the year” lists. Director Paul Thomas Anderson has also never made a Best Picture winning film despite previous work like Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood and The Master, so the Academy may decide to finally give him his due as it has with many directors in the past.

There’s plenty of other films nominated and categories we’ve not gone into here (and will come the big night)- but you’ll be able to tune into the ceremony (hosted by Conan O’Brien) on ITV1 and ITVX in the UK on 15th March.


Culture, Films & TV

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