2025 Oscars Best Director Predictions

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.

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2025 Oscars Predictions:
Best Director

Weekly Commentary (Updated Sept. 26, 2024): Ridley Scott’s historical epic “Gladiator” (2000) took home the best picture Oscar at the 73rd Academy Awards; however, the English-born filmmaker lost in the director to Steven Soderbergh for “Traffic.”

Now, 24 years later, Scott is gearing up to release the long-awaited sequel, produced by Paramount Pictures, with an all-star cast including Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, and Pedro Pascal. The film’s early buzz has ignited excitement among cinephiles and industry predictors.

Read: You can see all Academy Award predictions in all 23 categories on one page on the Variety Awards Circuit: Oscars.

A veteran auteur, Scott is often considered one of Hollywood’s most overdue directors despite having received three Oscar nominations. His previous nods include “Thelma & Louise” (1991) and “Black Hawk Down” (2001), though neither film snagged the best picture noms. Yet, the anticipation surrounding Scott’s work remains high, especially with a sequel to “Gladiator” on the horizon.

Although, Scott’s critical reception has been inconsistent in recent years. For every well-received effort like “American Gangster” (2007) and “The Martian” (2015) — both of which earned significant Oscar nominations — there have been notable misfires such as “Robin Hood” (2010) and “Exodus: Gods and Kings” (2014). However, there may be something different this time around. Even if the film primarily excels in technical categories, history has shown that visually stunning films, like Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi” or Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity,” can still propel directors to the Dolby Theatre stage.

By the time Oscar nominations roll around, Scott will be 87, which, if nominated, would make him the oldest person ever recognized (surpassing Martin Scorsese, who was 81 when recognized for “Killers of the Flower Moon”). Interestingly, Oscar history shows that a director whose film won best picture but lost director can still come back for a win with a sequel. Francis Ford Coppola achieved this feat when he lost director for “The Godfather” (1972) but won the category with “The Godfather Part II” (1974), which was among the six Oscars awarded to the film that night.

The 97th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 2. All movie listings, titles, distributors, and credited artisans are not final and are subject to change.

** denotes the film is not yet dated or can open in 2025.