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:
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2025 Oscars Predictions:
Best Cinematography
Paramount Pictures
Weekly Commentary (Updated Sept. 19, 2024): Greig Fraser earned his first Academy Award for his breathtaking cinematography in Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic “Dune” (2022). As we look ahead to the upcoming awards season, Fraser’s stunning visuals—characterized by sweeping aerial shots, Timothée Chalamet riding massive sandworms, and a mesmerizing color palette—still leave an undeniable impression.
With high-profile projects like “Gladiator 2,” “Blitz” and “A Complete Unknown” on the horizon, it would be surprising not to see Fraser, at minimum, in the mix for another nomination, especially given the Cinematographers Branch’s track record of recognizing such artistry.
More to come.
Read: All Primetime Emmy predictions in every category on Variety’s Awards Circuit.
** denotes the film is not yet dated or can open in 2025.
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Image Credit: Sony Pictures Classics And the Predicted Nominees Are
Rank Performer & Film 1 “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) — Greig Fraser 2 “Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures) — John Mathieson 3 “The Room Next Door” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Edu Grau 4 “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix) — Paul Guilhaume 5 “The Brutalist” (A24) — Lol Crawley Oscars: Best Cinematography (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) -
Image Credit: L. Kasimu Harris / Amazon MGM / Orion Next in Line
Rank Performer & Film 6 “Saturday Night” (Sony Pictures) — Eric Steelberg 7 “Maria” (Netflix) — Edward Lachman 8 “Nosferatu” (Focus Features) — Jarin Blaschke 9 “Queer” (A24) — Sayombhu Mukdeeprom 10 “Nickel Boys” (Amazon MGM/Orion) — Jomo Fray Oscars: Best Cinematography (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) -
Image Credit: Warner Bros. /Courtesy Everett Collection Other Contenders
Rank Performer & Film 11 “Conclave” (Focus Features) — Stéphane Fontaine 12 “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures) — Phedon Papamichael 13 “Anora” (Neon) — Drew Daniels 14 “The Piano Lesson” (Netflix) — Michael Gioulakis 15 “Joker: Folie à Deux” (Warner Bros.) — Lawrence Sher 16 “September 5” (Paramount Pictures) — Markus Förderer 17 “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Walt Disney Pictures) — James Laxton 18 “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (Warner Bros.) — Simon Duggan 19 “Young Woman and the Sea” (Walt Disney Pictures) — Oscar Faura 20 “The Bikeriders” (Focus Features) — Adam Stone Oscars: Best Director (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) -
Eligible Titles (Best Cinematography)
Image Credit: Sony Pictures ** This list is incomplete and not yet finalized. Not all films have distribution or release dates. All are subject to change.
- “Alien: Romulus” (20th Century Studios) — Galo Olivares
- “All We Imagine as Light” (Janus Films/Sideshow) — Ranabir Das
- “Anora” (Neon) — Drew Daniels
- “The Apprentice” (Briarcliff Entertainment) — Kasper Tuxen
- “Babygirl” (A24) — Jasper Wolf
- “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner Bros.) — Haris Zambarloukos
- “Better Man” (Paramount Pictures) — Erik Wilson
- “Between the Temples” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Sean Price Williams
- “The Bikeriders” (Focus Features) — Adam Stone
- “Bird” (Mubi) — Robbie Ryan
- “Blink Twice” (Amazon MGM) — Adam Newport-Berra
- “Blitz” (Apple Original Films) — Yorick Le Saux
- “Bob Marley: One Love” (Paramount Pictures) — Robert Elswit
- “The Brutalist” (A24) — Lol Crawley
- “Challengers” (Amazon MGM) — Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
- “Civil War” (A24) — Rob Hardy
- “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures) — Phedon Papamichael
- “Conclave” (Focus Features) — Stéphane Fontaine
- “Daddio” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Phedon Papamichael
- “Daughters” (Netflix) — Michael “Cambio” Fernandez
- “Deadpool & Wolverine” (Marvel Studios) — George Richmond
- “The Deliverance” (Netflix) — Eli Arenson
- “A Different Man” (A24) — Wyatt Garfield
- “Dìdi” (Focus Features) — Sam A. Davis
- “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) — Greig Fraser
- “Elton John: Never Too Late” (Walt Disney Pictures) — Jenna Rosher
- “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix) — Paul Guilhaume
- “The End” (Neon) — Mikhail Krichman
- “Evil Does Not Exist” (Sideshow) — Yoshio Kitagawa
- “Fancy Dance” (Apple Original Films) — Carolina Costa
- “The Fire Inside” (Amazon MGM) — Rina Yang
- “Firebrand” (Roadside Attractions) — Hélène Louvart
- “The Front Room” (A24) — Ava Berkofsky
- “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (Warner Bros.) — Simon Duggan
- “Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures) — John Mathieson
- “Hard Truths” (Bleecker Street) — Dick Pope
- “Here” (Sony Pictures) — Don Burgess
- “Heretic” (A24) — Chung Chung-hoon
- “His Three Daughters” (Netflix) — Sam Levy
- “Hit Man” (Netflix) — Shane F. Kelly
- “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” (Warner Bros.) — J. Michael Muro
- “I Saw the TV Glow” (A24) — Eric K. Yue
- “I’m Still Here” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Adrian Teijido
- “The Idea of You” (Amazon MGM) — Jim Frohna
- “IF” (Paramount Pictures) — Janusz Kamiński
- “In the Summers” (Music Box Films) — Alejandro Mejía
- “It Ends With Us” (Sony Pictures) — Barry Peterson
- “Janet Planet” (A24) — Maria von Hausswolf
- “Joker: Folie à Deux” (Warner Bros.) — Lawrence Sher
- “Kinds of Kindness” (Searchlight Pictures) — Robbie Ryan
- “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (20th Century Studios) — Gyula Pados
- “Kneecap” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Ryan Kernaghan
- “Lee” (Roadside Attractions) — Paweł Edelman
- “The Life of Chuck” (No U.S. Distribution) — Eben Bolter **
- “Longlegs” (Neon) — Andrés Arochi Tinajero
- “Love Lies Bleeding” (A24) — Ben Fordesman
- “Maria” (Netflix) — Edward Lachman
- “Megalopolis” (Lionsgate) — Mihai Mălaimare Jr.
- “Misericordia” (Janus Films) — Claire Mathon
- “Monkey Man” (Universal Pictures) — Sharone Meir
- “Mothers’ Instinct” (Neon) — Benoît Delhomme
- “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Walt Disney Pictures) — James Laxton
- “My Old Ass” (Amazon MGM) — Kristen Correll
- “Nickel Boys” (Amazon MGM/Orion) — Jomo Fray
- “Nightbitch” (Searchlight Pictures) — Brandon Trost
- “Nosferatu” (Focus Features) — Jarin Blaschke
- “Oh, Canada” (Kino Lorber) — Andrew Wonder
- “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” (A24) — David Gallego
- “The Order” (Vertical Entertainment) — Adam Arkapaw
- “The Outrun” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Yunus Roy Imer
- “Parthenope” (A24) — Daria D’Antonio
- “The Piano Lesson” (Netflix) — Michael Gioulakis
- “Queer” (A24) — Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
- “A Real Pain” (Searchlight Pictures) — Michal Dymek
- “Rez Ball” (Netflix) — Kira Kelly
- “The Room Next Door” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Edu Grau
- “Rumours” (Bleecker Street) — Stefan Ciupek
- “Sasquatch Sunset” (Bleecker Street) — Michael Gioulakis
- “Saturday Night” (Sony Pictures) — Eric Steelberg
- “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (Neon) — Pooyan Aghababaei
- “September 5” (Paramount Pictures) — Markus Förderer
- “Shirley” (Netflix) — Ramsey Nickell
- “Sing Sing” (A24) — Pat Scola
- “The Six Triple Eight” (Netflix) — Michael Watson
- “Small Things Like These” (Lionsgate) — Frank van den Eeden
- “Stopmotion” (IFC/Shudder) — Léo Hinstin
- “The Substance” (Mubi) — Benjamin Kracun
- “Thelma” (Magnolia Pictures) — David Bolen
- “Tuesday” (A24) — Alexis Zabé
- “Twisters” (Universal Pictures) — Dan Mindel
- “Unstoppable” (Amazon MGM) — Salvatore Totino
- “Venom: The Last Dance” (Sony Pictures) — Fabian Wagner
- “We Grown Now” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Pat Scola
- “We Live in Time” (A24) — Stuart Bentley
- “Wicked” (Universal Pictures) — Alice Brooks
- “Wildcat” (Oscilloscope Laboratories) — Steve Cosens
- “Young Woman and the Sea” (Walt Disney Pictures) — Oscar Faura
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More Information (Oscars: Best Cinematography)
Image Credit: Rich Polk for Variety 2024 category winner: “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures) — Hoyte van Hoytema
2024-2025 Oscars Calendar and Timeline (all dates are subject to change)
- 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 Oscar 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.