Oscar voting is 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 are the first, second and third 2025 Anonymous Oscar voters 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:
“Anora” is the best movie of the year. It was a very easy decision for me. I ran around the block when it was over, so excited. If the purpose of the Academy and the Oscars is to promote the film business, I personally don’t vote for something that would have small significance on the culture. We’re here to encourage people to go to the movies and remind them of what a rewarding experience it is and still can be. So, I looked for what rewarded the audience, what they saw, what they loved, and, yes, what affected me. “Wicked” was high up on my ballot. It made me cry, and my whole family loved it. Then I would say, “Dune: Part Two.” It’s a titanic achievement in filmmaking and made me tremble in the theater when it ended. Some people pick winners based on political statements or what aligns most with their values, but that’s not the point. These awards should where we reward excellence and what resonates. It’s all about achievement and how the work will stand the test of time. “Anora” was brilliantly edited, humane, and didn’t pull its punches. It may be an independent film but it’s a very successful independent film relative to its budget, and is as complete of a film as he’s (Sean Baker) ever made.
Best Director:
I wish I could’ve written in Denis Villeneuve. “Dune: Part Two” was unquestionably the finest achievement in directing this year. I don’t think people realize how hard it was what he did, or they take it for granted. He does it so elegantly and with such grace. Without him here, I voted for Sean. I will defend “The Brutalist” and what Brady accomplished, but Sean’s body of work and my love of the film itself pushed it over the edge for me.
Best Actress:
Duh…Mikey Madison IS “Anora.” Rewarding Demi makes for great television, and she was great in “The Substance,” and I’m perfectly happy with her winning if it comes down to that, but my heart is with Mikey.
Best Actor:
Within the first ten minutes of watching “The Brutalist,” Adrien Brody had already won the award. It’s hard to justify anyone else, even though I like all of those performances.
Best Supporting Actress:
I didn’t really go for “Emilia Pérez” like some others did, so I ended up voting for Ariana Grande. I wanted to reward “Wicked” somewhere, and I think her performance has been overlooked this season due to all the “Cannes fever” we’re always experiencing where these films premiere early, are anointed as the winners, and then everyone just seems to follow suit.
Best Supporting Actor:
Yura Borisov passed the “who the hell is that?!” test to such a degree that he elevated “Anora” the longer it went on, which made the third act of that film so great. He’s so gracious and sweet, and you can’t take your eyes off him, even when he’s in the background.
Best Original Screenplay:
“The Brutalist.” I’m voting for “Anora” elsewhere, and I wanted to show love to Brady and Mona because what they achieved was really incredible, and they deserve recognition somewhere.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
“Sing Sing” fell just short of being the best movie of the year for me. I can’t think of a movie that made me cry more than this one. I thought Clarence Maclin was a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actor, and they (A24) blew it not getting him nominated. So I voted for it here because it’s as much of a vote for him as it is for how much I adore that film.
Best Animated Feature:
Gints is such a cool guy. That movie is an example of what independent animation is all about, which is why I chose it. It was the one movie that wasn’t afraid to be a film. Well, that and “Memoir Of A Snail,” which, like “Flow,” was a film first and an animated movie second. The studio movies were a bunch of the same old storytelling you find in so many other animated movies and did not push the medium forward like those two films do. You can tell they wanted to do something like that with “The Wild Robot,” and there are moments of brilliance in it, but you can tell there was too much studio interference to make it more commercial, which waters it all down.
Best Documentary Feature:
I abstained out of respect for the documentary filmmakers because I didn’t see them all. “Will & Harper” deserved to be here, and there is some snobbery within the branch that kept it out, and it kind of fueled my frustration with the category this year. We should include movies that people are seeing. It was important and heartwarming. We can’t be so dogmatic and pearl-clutching about the nature of good taste in documentary filmmaking.
Best International Feature Film:
“I’m Still Here” is such an extraordinary film from an extraordinary filmmaker. I love movies from South America, and among all the nominees, this was the one that really stood out.
Best Cinematography:
This should go to Greig Fraser. I don’t care that they gave it to him before. Do it again! It should be a wrap, even though I’m aware it’s not. “Dune: Part Two” is gorgeous, and he deserves it.
Best Costume Design:
“Gladiator II” was such an immense production with so many costumes that it’s hard for me not to go with it for the sheer scale of it all alone. Not every aspect of that film landed for me, but the costumes, much like the first one, really stood out.
Best Film Editing:
I chose “Anora” here. This was the category where I came the closest to choosing “Emilia Pérez” because it was playfully edited throughout with some standout work. It was my favorite part of a movie that wasn’t my favorite.
Best Makeup & Hairstyling:
I gave it mostly to the fourth act of “The Substance.” I wish the film was a little shorter, but the work was so so good. When the buckets of blood started spraying, I was in heaven, having a blast. There’s so much great storytelling on display, and I’m glad Coralie Fargeat got recognized in the Best Director category this year because her vision is what made that movie.
Best Production Design:
I chose “Dune: Part Two.” Desert scouting is so underappreciated. Most people think you just go outside and shoot, but do they have any idea how hard it is to find the right sand dune at the perfect angle when the lighting is right? No, I don’t think so. So, people who knock the outdoor sequences don’t know what they’re talking about.
Best Original Score:
“The Wild Robot” is a big studio score that works for the movie and makes your heart soar. I like that this isn’t a minimal score but a big one with a memorable main theme you can hum when the movie is over.
Best Original Song:
“El Mal.” That movie isn’t the best, but there’s no denying that the song and Zoe’s performance of it were memorable.
Best Sound:
“Dune: Part Two.” Easily. When I walked out of my IMAX screening, I just staggered out of the theater, I think, because my body was still feeling the vibrations from the thunderous sound. It was epic on every level.
Best Visual Effects:
Paul Lambert is, for my money, the greatest living visual effects supervisor. What it took to pull off “Dune: Part Two” was so crazy, and it was really well done. The apes movies this year were great, too, but there’s no comparison.
***This voter, a member of the director’s branch, abstained from voting in the shorts as they didn’t get around to all of the nominees in time this year.***
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 are the first, second and third 2025 Anonymous Oscar voters we spoke with about their ballots. 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
