Who’s set for Oscars glory this weekend? Demi Moore and Adrien Brody prepare to battle it out for Best Acting roles as movies Anora and The Brutalist go head-to-head

The biggest night in film is just days away, with Hollywood’s finest set to descend upon Dolby Theatre on Sunday night for the 97th edition of the Academy Awards.

Conan O’Brien is set to host the Oscars for the first time as he takes over the reins from Jimmy Kimmel after a four year run. 

There could still be some twists and turns after Mikey Madison‘s shock win over Demi Moore at the BAFTAs leaving it uncertain whether the 62-year-old will finally have her Oscar moment.  

Anora and Adrien Brody’s movie The Brutalist seem primed to share the spotlight at the 97th Academy Awards with both films favoured in BetMGM’s markets across six categories.   

PR expert Lynn Carratt revealed the winners seem fairly predictable as she explained: ‘Following on from the Baftas, we can probably predict who is likely to be the big winners on the night for this year’s Academy Awards – last year, with visual effects being the exception, every Bafta winner went on to then win the Oscar. 

‘In the main award categories, I can see the winners panning out in the same way.’

But who looks set to walk away with awards this year and who will be left disappointed? MailOnline takes a look at the runners and riders tipped for Oscars success.

It is already proving a successful awards season for Demi after she received the Best Actress award at both the Golden Globes (pictured) and the SAG Awards – but will she get the Oscar?

Best Picture  

The annual ceremony will see Wicked, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Perez, Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys and The Substance battle it out for Best Picture.

However it is romantic and dramatic comedy Anora that is the 1/2 favourite to bring home the award, with The Brutalist sitting back with odds of 6/1 according to BetMGM.

Spokesperson for online betting site Grosvenor Sport Simon Kew added: ‘Conclave remains a strong contender at 11/4, while The Brutalist at 6/1 could still shake things up. 

‘However, for those looking for an underdog story, A Complete Unknown at 50/1 or even Emilia Perez and Wicked at 66/1 might hold some surprise value.’

‘Meanwhile, Dune: Part Two, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys and The Substance are our 100/1 longshots.’

Yet Lynn explained Conclave’s win at the BAFTAs could mix things up as she said: ‘Nothing is guaranteed though, Anora’s grip on the Best Film award is also beginning to look slightly shaky.

‘The Academy does love a curveball, and Conclave’s huge success at the BAFTAs has made it a real contender.’

Receiving the BAFTA earlier this month, director Edward Berger said: ‘It is a huge honour, outstanding British film, and I’m not even from here! I feel so welcome in your midst. We live in a time of crisis for democracy. Institutions that used to bring us together are used to pull us apart.

‘Sometimes it is hard to keep the faith in that situation, but that’s why we make movies and that’s why we made this movie.’

Conclave’s win at the BAFTAs could mix things up making it a ‘real contender’ for Best Picture 

Best Actor

Adrien Brody is the clear favourite to take home Best Actor, with his odds at 2/5 as PR expert Lynn revealed: ‘Brody is looking unbeatable’. 

The star previously won Best Actor in 2003 for The Pianist, becoming the youngest-ever winner in the category at just 29.

However Timothée Chalamet is also a strong challenger at 8/5 for A Complete Unknown following his shock win at the BAFTAs earlier this month. 

A Brit receiving a nod in the category is Ralph Fiennes after he transformed into into Cardinal Lomeli for Conclave. 

His odds are sitting at 16/1, and as a two-time nominee for Schindler’s List and The English Patient, Ralph appears to be a respected underdog at this year’s ceremony. 

Also nominated in the category are Colman Domingo (Sing Sing) and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice).

Timothee, 29, received a surprise win at the SAG Awards last week after he garnered the prize for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his Bob Dylan biopic. 

Yet it was Adrien who took the gong at the BAFTAs

Acknowledging the ‘British public’, Adrien shared a moving tribute to England in his speech, admitting ‘It’s felt quite a bit like home lately’.

He said: ‘I am so grateful. I want to thank the British public for embracing me and my creative endeavors. It is incredibly meaningful as England has felt quite a bit like home lately. I will cherish this, thank you all’.

Adrien Brody is the clear favourite to take home Best Actor, with his odds at 2/5 as PR expert Lynn revealed: ‘Brody is looking unbeatable’

However Timothée Chalamet is a strong challenger at 8/5 for A Complete Unknown following his shock win at the BAFTAs earlier this month

Best Actress   

Demi Moore is the overwhelming favourite for Best Actress at 2/5 for her performance in The Substance, marking a potential career-defining moment. 

It is already proving a successful awards season for Demi after she received the Best Actress award at both the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards last weekend. 

Gushing in her speech, the 62-year-old revealed she felt she had defied the odds after a director previously branded her a ‘popcorn actress’ 30 years ago.

However Demi missed out at the BAFTAs to Anora star Mikey Madison who landed a surprise win at the prestigious ceremony.

Mikey is a strong contender with her odds sitting at 15/8, though she would be a first-time nominee if she secures the award.

Lynn explained: ‘There will be a strong challenge from Moore, but if Anora takes home Best Film, it could well be Madison’s Oscar to lose.’

She added: ‘Many would think Mikey Madison has the most to gain from a win, as a young up and coming actress, but at this stage of her career a nomination is really victory enough. 

‘The nominee who would benefit the most from a win is Demi Moore. 

‘Although her performance in The Substance has certainly given her career a huge boost, bringing home the Oscar will have her name at the top of every producers’ list again and would be a wonderful acknowledgment of her amazing career.’

Elsewhere, while Cynthia Erivo is hoping to take home the gong for her portrayal of Elphaba her odds are at 50/1. 

Simon added: ‘Fernanda Torres, sitting at 10/1 for I’m Still Here, is best known for her work in Brazilian cinema. If nominated, this would be her first Academy Award recognition.’

‘Further down the list, Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Perez) is priced at 33/1 – she would be making history as the first openly transgender actress nominated in this category.’

Demi Moore is the overwhelming favourite for Best Actress at 2/5 for her performance in The Substance, marking a potential career-defining moment

Elsewhere, while Cynthia Erivo is hoping to take home the gong for her portrayal of Elphaba her odds are at 50/1 

Best Director  

The masterminds behind the incredible films at this year’s ceremony will also battle it out for the most prestigious award in film at the weekend. 

Anora’s Sean Baker is leading the way to win Best Director at 8/15 with BetMGM. 

The Brutalist’s Brady Corbet took the honour at the BAFTAs after a very successful night for the film after four wins. 

The film dominated winning Best Actor, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Original Score.  

Brady said during his speech: ‘I am humbled and very grateful, there is no such thing as best director, it’s like a joke.’ 

Also nominated is James Mangold for A Complete Unknown, Sean Baker for Anora, Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez and Coralie Fargeat for The Substance.

Anora’s Sean Baker is leading the way to win Best Director at 8/15 with BetMGM

Best Supporting Actor

Meanwhile in the supporting categories the two respective gong seem dead set to go to Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldana.

Kieran continued his awards-season momentum at the SAGs as he notched another win for his performance in Jesse Eisenberg’s drama A Real Pain and his odds for Sunday stand at 1/100.

Playing Benji and David, the pair play two vastly different cousins who embark on a strange trip to Poland to honour their grandmother. 

During his speech last Sunday Kieran made some loving jabs at his costar and director Jesse for casting him despite not having auditioned him or having watched his work, ‘which I can’t even get into how annoyingly wrong he is.’

Kieran will go head to head with Guy Pearce in The Brutalist, Edward Norton in A Complete Unknown and Jeremy Strong in The Apprentice as well as lesser known Anora star Yura Borisov.

Kieran Culkin continued his awards-season momentum at the SAGs as he notched another win for his performance in A Real Pain and his odds for Sunday stand at 1/100

Best Supporting Actress 

Zoe has also dominated the supporting actress category for her role as Rita Mora Castro in Netflix’s thriller musical Emilia Pérez with odds of 1/25. 

There has been a torrent of negative publicity surrounding the film after racist and Islamophobic tweets from her costar Karla Sofía Gascón — some quite recent — were discovered.

Netflix went so far as to stop covering Gascón’s travel for awards shows, seemingly putting her out the race for best actress, but the film may still have a chance in other categories and Zoe seems set to bag the Oscar on Sunday. 

Zoe is also up against Felicity Jones who has been nominated for her starring role as Erzsébet Tóth in The Brutalist.

Elsewhere Cynthia’s Wicked co-star Ariana Grande, A Complete Unknown’s Monica Barbaro and Conclave’s Isabella Rossellini are also nominated in the category. 

Lynn explained: ‘Having won the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, and Baftas already, it is tough to imagine the Academy will go in a different direction.’

Zoe has also dominated the supporting actress category for her role as Rita Mora Castro in Netflix’s thriller musical Emilia Pérez with odds of 1/25

Elsewhere Cynthia’s Wicked co-star Ariana Grande (pictured), A Complete Unknown’s Monica Barbaro and Conclave’s Isabella Rossellini are also nominated in the category 

Oscar nominees 2025 full list – see who received nods for this year’s Academy Awards

 Best Picture

Anora 

The Brutalist 

A Complete Unknown 

Conclave 

Dune: Part Two 

Emilia Pérez 

I’m Still Here 

Nickel Boys 

The Substance 

Wicked

Emilia Pérez leads this year’s Oscar nominees with 13, including for best picture, actress, supporting actress and director

Best Director 

Jacques Audiard — Emilia Pérez

Sean Baker — Anora

Brady Corbet — The Brutalist

Coralie Fargeat — The Substance

James Mangold — A Complete Unknown

Actress in a Leading Role

Cynthia Erivo — Wicked 

Karla Sofía Gascón — Emilia Pérez

Mikey Madison — Anora 

Demi Moore — The Substance 

Fernanda Torres — I’m Still Here 

The Substance has been nominated for numerous Oscars, including Best Actress for Demi Moore 

 

Actor in a Leading Role

Adrien Brody — The Brutalist 

Timothée Chalamet — A Complete Unknown 

Colman Domingo — Sing Sing 

Ralph Fiennes — Conclave 

Sebastian Stan — The Apprentice

The Brutalist came in second place with 10 nods, including for best picture, actor (Adrien Brody), supporting actor (Guy Peare) and supporting actress (Felicity Jones)

 

Actress in a Supporting Role

Monica Barbaro — A Complete Unknown 

Ariana Grande — Wicked 

Felicity Jones — The Brutalist 

Isabella Rossellini — Conclave 

Zoe Saldaña — Emilia Pérez 

Actor in a Supporting Role

Yura Borisov — Anora 

Kieran Culkin — A Real Pain 

Edward Norton — A Complete Unknown 

Guy Pearce — The Brutalist 

Jeremy Strong — The Apprentice 

Animated Feature Film

Flow 

Inside Out 2

Memoir of a Snail 

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

The Wild Robot

Cinematography

The Brutalist — Lol Crawley

Dune: Part Two — Greig Fraser

Emilia Pérez — Paul Guilhaume 

Maria — Ed Lachman 

Nosferatu — Jarin Blaschke

Original Screenplay

Anora — Sean Baker

The Brutalist — Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold 

A Real Pain — Jesse Eisenberg

September 5 — Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; co-Written by Alex David

The Substance — Coralie Fargeat

Adapted Screenplay

A Complete Unknown —  James Mangold and Jay Cocks 

Conclave — Peter Straughan

Emilia Pérez — Jacques Audiard with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi

Nickel Boys — RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes

Sing Sing — Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield

Achievement in Production Design

The Brutalist 

Conclave 

Dune: Part Two 

Nosferatu 

Wicked

Achievement in Sound

A Complete Unknown

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez 

Wicked 

The Wild Robot

Original Song 

El Mal – Emilia Pérez

The Journey – The Six Triple Eight

Like A Bird – Sing Sing

Mi Camino – Emilia Pérez

Never Too Late – Elton John: Never Too Late

Original Score  

The Brutalist — Daniel Blumberg

Conclave — Volker Bertelmann

Emilia Pérez — Clément Ducol and Camille 

Wicked — John Powell and Stephen Schwartz

The Wild Robot — Kris Bowers

Live-Action Short Film

A Lien 

Anuja 

I’m Not a Robot 

The Last Ranger 

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

Animated Short Film

Beautiful Men

In the Shadow of the Cypress

Magic Candies

Wander to Wonder

Yuck!

Documentary Feature Film

Black Box Diaries

No Other Land 

Porcelain War 

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat 

Sugarcane

Flow is nominated for both International Feature Film and Animated Feature Film

Documentary Short Film

Death by Numbers 

I Am Ready, Warden

Incident 

Instruments of a Beating Heart 

The Only Girl in the Orchestra

International Feature Film

I’m Still Here (Brazil) 

The Girl With the Needle (Denmark)

Emilia Pérez (France) 

The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany)

Flow (Latvia) 

Kieran Culkin has dominated the supporting actor categories in recent weeks for Jesse Eisenberg’s drama A Real Pain

Makeup and Hairstyling

A Different Man

Emilia Pérez 

Nosferatu

The Substance 

Wicked 

 

Achievement in Costume Design

A Complete Unknown — Arianne Phillips

Conclave — Lisy Christl

Gladiator II — Janty Yates and Dave Crossman 

Nosferatu — Linda Muir

Wicked — Paul Tazewell

 

Achievement in Film Editing

Anora — Sean Baker

The Brutalist — David Jancso

Conclave — Nick Emerson 

Emilia Pérez — Juliette Welfling

Wicked — Myron Kerstein 

Anora is nominated for several Oscars, including best picture, actress, supporting actor, director, screenplay and editing

Visual Effects

Alien: Romulus

Better Man

Dune: Part Two 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Wicked