Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
OSCARS | EMMYS | GRAMMYS | TONYS
2025 Oscars Predictions:
Best Animated Feature
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Courtesy of Netflix
Weekly Commentary (Updated Oct. 3, 2024): Variety will host its third annual “Pixels and Pencils” series at this year’s SCAD Savannah Film Festival on Monday, Oct. 28. The panel, featuring directors of some of the year’s most celebrated animated feature films, is presented in partnership with the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).
This year’s lineup of films and directors includes: “Flow” (Sideshow/Janus Films) – Director Gints Zilbalodis; “Inside Out 2” (Walt Disney/Pixar) – Director Kelsey Mann; “Memoir of a Snail” (IFC Films) – Director Adam Elliot; “Piece By Piece” (Focus Features) – Director Morgan Neville; “Transformers One” (Paramount Pictures) – Director Josh Cooley; “The Wild Robot” (Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Animation) – Director Chris Sanders.
Last year’s “Pixels and Pencils” panel featured Academy Award nominees Peter Sohn (“Elemental”), Nick Bruno and Troy Quane (“Nimona”), and Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, and Kemp Powers (“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”). In 2022, the lineup included eventual nominees Dean Flesicher-Camp (“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”), Joel Crawford (“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”) and Domee Shi (“Turning Red”).
As part of the festival, three-time Academy Award nominee Chris Sanders, writer and director of DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot,” will be honored with the Icon of Animation Award. Sanders is a renowned figure in the animation industry, having worked as a story artist on classics like “The Rescuers Down Under.” He co-wrote, storyboarded, and directed “Lilo & Stitch” with Dean DeBlois, earning his first Oscar nomination, which was followed by “How to Train Your Dragon” (2010) and “The Croods” (2013). Throughout his career, he has been recognized by ASIFA-Hollywood with four Annie Awards and numerous other accolades worldwide. SCAD will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of DreamWorks Animation with a special screening of “How to Train Your Dragon” on Sunday, Oct. 27, with Sanders in attendance.
** denotes the film is not yet dated or can open in 2025.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Annecy Animation Festival And the Predicted Nominees Are
Rank Performer & Film 1 “The Wild Robot” (DreamWorks Animation)
Chris Sanders, Jeff Hermann2 “Inside Out 2” (Pixar)
Kelsey Mann, Mark Nielsen3 “Memoir of a Snail” (IFC Films)
Adam Elliot, Liz Kearney4 “Flow” (Janus Films/Sideshow)
Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, Gregory Zalcman5 “Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (Netflix)
Nick Park, Merlin CrossinghamOscars: Best Animated Feature (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) 
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Animation Next in Line
Rank Performer & Film 6 “Piece by Piece” (Focus Features) 7 “Transformers One” (Paramount Pictures) 8 “Ultraman: Rising” (Netflix) 9 “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” (Ketchup Entertainment) 10 “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” (Warner Bros.) Oscars: Best Animated Feature (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) Eligible Titles (Best Animated Feature)
Image Credit: Everett Collection ** This list is incomplete and not yet finalized. Not all films have distribution or release dates, and all are subject to change.
- “Boonie Bears: Time Twist” (Fantawild)
- “Chicken for Linda” (GKids)
- “The Colors Within” (GKids)
- “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” (Ketchup Entertainment)
- “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To the Hashira Training” (Toho)
- “Despicable Me 4” (Illumination/Universal Pictures)
- “Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram” (Toho)
- “Flow” (Janus Films/Sideshow)
- “The Garfield Movie” (Sony Pictures)
- “Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle” (Toho)
- “The Imaginary” (Netflix)
- “Inside Out 2” (Pixar)
- “Johnny Puff: Secret Mission” (Méliès Producciones)
- “Kung Fu Panda 4” (DreamWorks Animation)
- “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” (Warner Bros.)
- “Lucy” (GKids)
- “Memoir of a Snail” (IFC Films)
- “Moana 2” (Walt Disney Pictures)
- “Piece by Piece” (Focus Features)
- “That Christmas” (Netflix)
- “Transformers One” (Paramount Pictures)
- “Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (Netflix)
- “Ultraman: Rising” (Netflix)
- “The Wild Robot” (DreamWorks Animation)
More Information (Oscars: Best Animated Feature)
Image Credit: Credit: Warner Bros. Animation 2024 category winner: “The Boy and the Heron” (GKids) — Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki
2024-2025 Oscars Calendar and Timeline – Full awards season calendar here
- Eligibility period: Jan. 1, 2024 – Dec. 31, 2024
- General entry, best picture, RAISE submission deadline: Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024
- Governors Awards: Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024
- Preliminary voting begins Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, at 9 a.m. PT.
- Preliminary voting ends Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, at 5 p.m. PT.
- Oscar Shortlists Announcement: Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024
- Eligibility period ends: Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024
- Nominations voting begins Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, at 9 a.m. PT.
- Nominations voting ends Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT.
- Oscar Nominations Announcement: Friday, Jan. 17, 2025
- Oscar Nominees Luncheon: Monday, Feb. 10, 2025
- Final voting begins Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at 9 a.m. PT
- Final voting ends: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT
- Scientific and Technical Awards: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025
- 97th Oscars: Sunday, March 2, 2025
Oscars Prediction Categories
2024 Oscars Predictions (Variety Awards Circuit) About the Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, is Hollywood’s most prestigious artistic award in the film industry. Since 1927, nominees and winners have been selected by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Seventeen branches are represented within the nearly 10,000-person membership. The branches are actors, associates, casting directors, cinematographers, costume designers, directors, documentary, executives, film editors, makeup and hairstylists, marketing and public relations, members-at-large, members-at-large (artists’ representatives), music, producers, production design, short films and feature animation, sound, visual effects and writers.
