The Oscar Nominations for this years 98th Academy Awards were announced earlier today. Let’s go through each category and see who got nominated, who I think will win and if there are any snubs that should’ve snuck in.
BEST PICTURE
The nominees are Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners and Train Dreams.
With how award season has played out so far, it became a relatively easy 10 to predict. The only surprise for me was F1 making the cut, particularly ahead of It Was Just An Accident. It also does mean that a more typical blockbuster type film makes the list. This is also the most amount of films that I’ve already seen with only The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value that I have left to watch.
The winner is going to be a close run battle between One Battle After Another and Sinners, and has been the whole season. It reminds me of La La Land vs Moonlight several years ago. I think we could be heading to a similar fate, and I currently think Sinners is going to cause a little upset and take home the Best Picture win, but I think it’s extremely close.
BEST LEADING ACTOR
The nominees for Best Actor in a leading role are Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo diCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Michael B Jordan (Sinners) and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).
No particular surprises, the 5 nominees have been in the circulation for the entire award season so far. And as the season progresses the Oscar is getting closer and closer to Timothee Chalamet’s hands, proving third time is the charm for him. I don’t see any upset happening here.
BEST LEADING ACTRESS
The nominees for Best Actress in a leading role are Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), Rose Byrne (If I had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value) and Emma Stone (Bugonia).
The only difference to my own predictions was Kate Hudson getting in ahead of Chase Infiniti, it was a gamble on my end due to it being Infiniti’s debut performance in One Battle After Another. I felt like the lack of speaking about Song Sung Blue wasn’t going to help Hudson, but everyone has been praising her performance.
Similar to Best Lead Actor, there’s been a few certainties in this race. Jessie Buckley feels like the only absolute guarantee and has been winning every award under the sun this season so far, and won’t stop.
BEST DIRECTOR
The nominees for Best Director are Chloe Zhao (Hamnet), Josh Safide (Marty Supreme), Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value) and Ryan Coogler (Sinners).
Four of the nominations felt like a guarantee, it was only Joachim Trier that I had not making the cut as I had Jafar Panahi making the list instead for It Was Just An Accident.
I think as a part of a recognition to Paul Thomas Anderson and his catalogue of work, and also having not yet won an Oscar. It’s a race between him and Coogler, and I likely think whoever wins here won’t win Best Picture to make up for it.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
The nominees for Best Actor in a Supporting Role are Benecio Del Toro (One Battle After Another), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Delroy Lindo (Sinners), Sean Penn (One Battle After Another) and Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value).
Another one that’s a two horse race likely between Stellan Skarsgard and Jacob Elordi. Stellan is definitely the strong favourite, but I just have a feeling there could be an upset and that Elordi would shock everyone and take it home. Put your money on Skarsgard, but watch out for Elordi.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role are Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners) and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).
Two predictions wrong for me here. One of the biggest surprises across all the nominees is the snub of Ariana Grande, she’s actively been out there and had nominations in other award shows, but Wicked For Good also failed to pick up any nominations at all is a huge surprise. The other gamble I took was Odessa A’zion getting in for Marty Supreme ahead of both Sentimental Value ladies.
Another two horse race which I think ultimately will go to Teyana Taylor ahead of Amy Madigan, but again that could change as we getting close to Oscars night.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The nominees for Best Original Screenplay are Blue Moon, It Was Just An Accident, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value and Sinners.
Only one wrong prediction for me here, which again was a gamble. I predicted (hoped) for Weapons to get a nomination here ahead of Blue Moon, but I’m not overly surprised.
This will be the first time we see Ryan Coogler on the stage picking up his first Oscar for the screenplay for Sinners.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay are Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet, One Battle After Another and Train Dreams.
With Guilermo del Toro not making the cut for Best Director, him sneaking into the Screenplay category doesn’t feel like a huge surprise, but is the only difference I have from my predictions which included No Other Choice, a film that was snubbed altogether. I also would’ve liked to have seen Rian Johnson pick up a nomination for Wake Up Dead Man, but I knew that train was grinding to a halt a while ago.
Like Ryan Coogler, I think this will be the first time we see Paul Thomas Anderson on the stage picking up his first Oscar.
BEST CASTING
The nominees for Best Casting are Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent and Sinners.
Another category I got two wrong predictions. I had Sentimental Value and Frankenstein making the cut ahead of Hamnet and The Secret Agent.
Being a new category for this year, and not an area I know too much about, it’s a safe bet to say it’s between the big two again. I think One Battle After Another currently has the edge in this one, but once again it could easily go to Sinners.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
The nominees for Best International Feature are The Secret Agent, It Was Just An Accident, Sentimental Value, Sirat and The Voice of Hind Rajab.
No nominations at all for No Other Choice is a shame, and I only had that swapped in for Sirat as my only wrong prediction here.
With the overall love that the Academy has given Sentimental Value I think it’s likely that Joachim Trier’s film will take home this award.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The nominees for Best Animated Feature are Arco, Elio, KPop Demon Hunters, Little Amelie or the Character of Rain and Zootopia 2.
After Ne Zha 2 blew up the box office internationally I had a slight prediction that it would sneak into the nominations in a category often overlooked by the Academy, instead Little Amelie or the Character of Rain makes the list (honestly, hadn’t heard of it before they announced it).
KPop Demon Hunters took the world by storm breaking records on Netflix, and likely starting a franchise. Purely for cultural impact, I can see KPop Demon Hunters taking the award.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The nominees for Best Cinematography are Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sinners and Train Dreams.
Another two wrong predictions for me, Bugonia and F1 not making the list instead of Marty Supreme and Train Dreams. In my defence, I only watched Train Dreams the other day and should’ve added that one in.
Sinners‘ Director of Photography, Autumn Durald Arkapaw has made history as the first woman of colour to be nominated in this category, and I think she’ll go one better and take the award home as well. Sinners is the main film on the list that I look at and can just go wow for certain shots.
BEST EDITING
The nominees for Best Editing are F1, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value and Sinners.
One Battle After Another, I believe, will take home the award for Best Editing, and deservedly so, my mind goes particularly to the fantastic edited chase scene towards the end of the film which helps build tension.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The nominees for Best Production Design are Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another and Sinners.
Guilermo del Toro’s unique Gothic style lends itself perfectly to this type of film and stands out ahead of the other nominees. A category his films tend to standout in.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The nominees for Best Costume Design are Avatar: Fire and Ash, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme and Sinners.
Similar to production design, this category feels made for Frankenstein, but I think Sinners has an outside chance of causing an upset thanks to the well appreciated Ruth E Carter, who, with this nomination, has become the most nominated woman of colour.
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
The nominees for Best MakeUp and Hairstyling are Frankenstein, Kokuho, Sinners, The Smashing Machine and The Ugly Stepsister.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the entire nominations was The Ugly Stepsister picking up a nomination here, deservedly so but didn’t feel like it was on anyone’s radar.
A third win in these craft categories for Frankenstein seems very likely, especially when you consider the work for the creature itself.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The nominees for Best Visual Effects are Avatar: Fire and Ash, F1, Jurassic World: Rebirth, The Lost Bus and Sinners.
It’s very surprising to me that The Lost Bus managed to make the cut here ahead of the likes of Superman and Frankenstein.
Avatar: Fire and Ash winning this one might actually be the biggest guarantee of the night.
BEST SOUND
The nominees for Best Sound are F1, Frankenstein, One Battle After Another, Sinners and Sirat.
The use of the sound of cars and the engine, and all the other little pieces really add to the film, and F1 will take home what will likely be the film’s only Oscar.
BEST SCORE
The nominees for Best Score are Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet, One Battle After Another and Sinners.
I never understand how Hans Zimmer isn’t just nominated every year, and don’t understand why his score for F1 didn’t make the cut.
Ludwig Goransson is one of the most unique composers working, he has a fantastic attitude and has a great relationship with Ryan Coogler. I predict he will walk home with his 3rd Oscar this year.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
The nominees for Best Original Song are Dear Me (Diane Warren: Relentless), Golden (KPop Demon Hunters), I Lied To You (Sinners), Sweet Dreams of Joy (Viva Verdi) and Train Dreams (Train Dreams).
Few things in life are more certain than Diane Warren picking up an Oscar nomination, but what goes in hand with that is how certain I am that she won’t win yet again. It’s hard to deny the impact of Golden from KPop Demon Hunters, arguably the biggest song of 2025.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The nominees for Best Documentary Feature are The Alabama Solution, Come See Me in the Good Light, Cutting Through Rocks, Mr Nobody Against Putin and The Perfect Neighbor.
It gets to this part of the list where I have no idea about any of them. Upon research it seems to be that The Perfect Neighbor seems to be the favourite to win this one.
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The nominees for Best Documentary Short are All The Empty Rooms, Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renauld, Children No More: Were and Are Gone, The Devil is Busy and Perfectly a Strangeness.
All The Empty Rooms is the favourite to win this award.
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
The nominees for Best Animated Short are Butterfly, Forevergreen, The Girl Who Cried Pearls, Retirement Plan and The Three Sisters.
Butterfly is the favourite to win this one.
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
The nominees for Best Live Action Short are Butcher’s stain, A Friend of Dorothy, Jane Austen’s Period Drama, The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva.
Two People Exchanging Saliva is the favourite to win this award.
MOST PREDICTED WINS
One Battle After Another – 5
Sinners – 4
Frankenstein – 3
KPop Demon Hunters – 2
Sentimental Value – 2
All The Empty Rooms – 1
Avatar: Fire and Ash – 1
Butterfly – 1
F1 – 1
Hamnet – 1
Marty Supreme – 1
The Perfect Neighbor – 1
Two People Exchanging Saliva – 1
So if my predictions are correct, despite Sinners being nominated for a record breaking 16 awards it will only walk away with 4, but that will include the big award, Best Picture. One Battle After Another will walk away with the most wins. This is just my predictions and particularly at the top end Sinners and One Battle After Another are so level with each other that it could swing either way, and there’s plenty of other award shows before March 15th.
Flooders Films 
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