Oscar voting is officially over for the 97th Academy Awards, and now we are just patiently waiting until the awards are handed out on March 2nd. Will Mavity and I spoke with several Academy voters about what they are voting for and why. We’ll be posting some of those thoughts for your amusement in the lead-up to the Oscars (because that’s all this is at the end of the day). Here is the first 2025 Anonymous Oscar voter ballot we spoke with. Remember, as you read these, they represent only a tiny fraction of the 10,000+ people who vote on the Oscar winners. While these may help provide some insight into how voters make their selections, they are far from the be-all-end-all of what will win the Oscars and should be taken with a grain of salt.
Best Picture:
It probably has no chance of winning, but “Nickel Boys” was my favorite. So that would go at number 1. Then “Anora” was number 2. “The Brutalist” was number 3. I had “Conclave” at number 4. “The Substance” at number 5. “I’m Still Here” at number 6. Then “Dune: Part Two” at number 7, “Wicked” at number 8, “A Complete Unknown” at number 9, and “Emilia Perez” in dead last at number 10.
Best Director:
Very very close for me, but I went with Sean Baker. What Brady Corbet did was impressive, and I like that movie very much, but I liked “Anora” as a film just a bit more.
Best Actress:
This was the hardest vote, but I chose Mikey in the end. I think she gave the best performance, but if I could, I’d give this in a 3-way tie to her, Moore, and Torres.
Best Actor:
I didn’t even realize Arien Brody was the youngest winner at the time of his first Oscar win. He’s done so much good work since then. I know some people feel that once you win an Oscar, it should be someone else’s turn later on, but I feel if it’s the best of the year, then it’s the best of the year, even if they’ve been rewarded. And what Brody did with that character was nothing short of masterful.
Best Supporting Actress:
While I don’t think the second half of “The Brutalist” is as strong as the first half, Felicity Jones was easily the best part of it for me.
Best Supporting Actor:
Yura Borisov made such a strong impression during the home invasion scene, but then his performance got even better and better as the film went on with these tiny glances, small gestures, and a deep sense of empathy. It’s a tricky part to pull off, considering he doesn’t have “big” acting moments as some of the others do in this category, which made me respect the work that much more.
Best Original Screenplay:
“Anora” is my favorite of the bunch, so I’m going with that. Not to mention, it was funny, sad, uplifting, tense. It’s a tonal balance throughout that I think Baker nailed with such precision that to make all of that chaos feel so organized is trickier than people give it credit for.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
I’m going with “Nickel Boys.” Not just because it’s my favorite of the nominees, but what Ross and Barnes did in adapting that novel, I think, far and away exceeded anyone’s expectations.
Best Animated Feature:
I believe “The Wild Robot” is going to win, but my heart is with “Flow.”
Best Documentary Feature:
This one was tough for me. It was between “No Other Land” and “Sugarcane.” I can sense there is a surge within the documentary community for “Porcelain War,” but the other two are so amazing. I think the craft of “Sugarcane” is what tipped the scale for me just a bit. It really checked all the boxes of what you look for in an exceptional documentary film.
Best International Feature Film:
I caught up with “I’m Still Here” last weekend but thought it was extraordinary, so I went with that one. “Flow” would be a great choice, too, but Salles’s film has so much going for it in terms of its topic, how it was told, the acting from everyone involved, and the overall momentum it has at the moment.
Best Cinematography:
What “The Brutalist” pulled off with their limited resources was so challenging, and it looks incredible on the big screen in a classical sense that we rarely see anymore. It really appealed to me because it reminded me of films I grew up watching from that era of filmmaking. That someone can pull that off today on such a small budget is worthy of the win.
Best Costume Design:
“Wicked.” Without question.
Best Film Editing:
This may surprise some, but I felt that for all the complaints that it’s three and a half hours long, “The Brutalist” was brilliantly edited. I didn’t feel that length at all, and there were moments, such as the montage before the intermission, where I felt this rush of adrenaline because of its editing.
Best Makeup & Hairstyling:
“The Substance.” I absolutely loved every gory, disgusting second of it. I was laughing so hard at how over the top the ending was but the work was remarkable.
Best Production Design:
I really liked many of the designs throughout “The Brutalist,” and once again, considering their limited resources, they made $10 million look like $50 million. You can tell they were very smart about where they placed the budget, and most of it, I imagine, had to go into some of these sets and designs.
Best Original Score:
There are some good choices here, but the “The Brutalist” score really stayed with me and felt like such an essential aspect of why that whole experience of watching this in a theater was so powerful.
Best Original Song:
I admit I was not a huge fan of many of the songs this year. I’m really not a fan of “Emilia Perez’s” music but that one seems to be getting all the love. I ended up listening to them all on their own outside of the films while I filed out my ballot, and I ultimately voted for the one from “Sing Sing” because I liked it the most. It’s a good movie too! I wish more people saw it because it is quite lovely and not at all what I was expecting heading into it. Clint and Greg are doing some really great work in the independent scene.
Best Sound:
How could you not go with “Dune: Part Two?” I don’t understand why this wasn’t given more nominations (*** I mention how “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” dipped in nominations compared to “The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring” ***). Oh yeah, they’ll likely go crazy for the third one whenever that comes out. But for this one, watching this in the movie theater, the whole room felt like it was shaking. And you have to come up with sounds for things that don’t even exist in our world. Just great work all around.
Best Visual Effects:
Like Best Sound, it has to be “Dune: Part Two.”
***This voter, a member of the documentary branch, abstained from voting in the Best Animated and Live Action shorts as they didn’t get around to all of the nominees in time this year.***
Best Documentary Short:
I was able to see all of the nominees for this one, and I chose “I Am Ready, Warden.” To me, it had the best craft of the nominees, and I feel like it told a complete story in its short runtime that not only had something important to say but told it with such weight that it left such a heavy mark on me when it was all over.
Please let us know your thoughts on our X account and be sure to listen to our final Oscar predictions podcast episode coming this Sunday. Here is the first 2025 Anonymous Oscar voter ballot we spoke with. Please click here for more important upcoming dates this awards season and here for the most recent tally of awards season winners for the current year.
You can follow Matt & Will and hear more of their thoughts on the Oscars & Film on Twitter at @NextBestPicture& @mavericksmovies
