The 2025 Awards Season Watch List

My start-of-season picks, to inspire your future Oscar ballot.

Hey Substack! It’s been a while since the last time I wrote. Thanks for your patience as I navigate some health struggles. Brunello Bombshell will be back to its regularly scheduled programming this week.

Fortunately, there’s something to look forward to in the coming months. It’s now my favorite season ever - awards! I’ve been keeping an eye on potential awards contenders in the hopes of seeing as many of the major awards season players as possible. 

Below is my start-of-season long list of movies to watch. This list is subject to change, and I’ll definitely include more documentaries, international films, and shorts as the Academy releases short lists and the race to Oscar tightens. 

But for now, here’s my starting point of 30 films that are likely to get some awards love this season. My current Best Picture Front Runners are noted below. And tell me what you’re excited to see in the last few months of 2024!

• A Complete Unknown (Searchlight, 120 minutes)

  • Dir. James Mangold; Timothée Chalamet, Boyd Holbrook, Elle Fanning

  • Dec. 25 theatrical release

• A Real Pain (Searchlight, 90 minutes)

  • Dir. Jesse Eisenberg; Kieran Culkin, Jesse Eisenberg, Will Sharpe

  • Nov. 1 theatrical release

• Anora (Neon, 138 minutes) - Best Picture Front Runner

  • Dir. Sean Baker; Mikey Madison, Mark Edelstein, Yuri Borisov

  • Oct. 18 limited theatrical release

• Babygirl (A24, 114 minutes)

  • Dir. Halina Reijn; Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas

  • Dec. 25 theatrical release

• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros., 104 minutes)

  • Dir. Tim Burton; Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega

  • Now playing in theaters

• Blitz (Apple, 114 minutes)

  • Dir. Steve McQueen; Elliott Heffernan, Saoirse Ronan, Paul Weller

  • Nov. 1 theatrical release, Nov. 22 streaming release

• Challengers (Amazon/MGM, 131 minutes)

  • Dir. Luca Guadagnino; Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist

  • Now streaming on MGM+, Prime Video, and YouTube (with subscription)

• Civil War (A24, 109 minutes)

  • Dir. Alex Garland; Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura

  • Now streaming on Max (with subscription)

• Conclave (Focus, 120 minutes) - Best Picture Front Runner

  • Dir. Edward Berger; Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rosselini

  • Oct. 25 theatrical release

• Dahomey (Mubi, 68 minutes)

  • Dir. Mati Diop; Gildas Adannou, Morias Agbessi, Maryline Agbossi

  • Oct. 18 limited theatrical release

• Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros., 166 minutes) - Best Picture Front Runner

  • Dir. Denis Villeneuve; Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler

  • Now streaming on Max, Hulu, YouTube, and Prime Video (with subscription)

• Emilia Pérez (Netflix, 130 minutes) - Best Picture Front Runner

  • Dir. Jacques Audiard; Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez

  • Nov. 1 theatrical release, Nov. 13 streaming release 

• Gladiator II (Paramount, 141 minutes)

  • Dir. Ridley Scott; Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal

  • Nov. 22 theatrical release

• I’m Still Here (Sony, 135 minutes)

  • Dir. Walter Salles; Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Fernanda Montenegro

  • TBD release date

• Inside Out 2 (Disney/Pixar, 96 minutes)

  • Dir. Kelsey Mann; Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman

  • Now streaming on Disney+ (with subscription)

• Joker: Folie à Deux (Warner Bros., 128 minutes)

  • Dir. Todd Phillips; Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Zazie Beetz

  • Oct. 4 theatrical release

• Maria (Netflix, 123 minutes)

  • Dir. Pablo Larraín; Angelina Jolie, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher

  • Nov. 27 theatrical release, Dec. 11 streaming release

• Nickel Boys (Amazon/MGM, 140 minutes) - Best Picture Front Runner

  • Dir. RaMell Ross; Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

  • Oct. 25 limited theatrical release

• Piece by Piece (Focus, 93 minutes)

  • Dir. Morgan Neville; Pharrell Williams, Morgan Neville, Kendrick Lamar

  • Oct. 11 theatrical release

• Saturday Night (Sony, 103 minutes) - Best Picture Front Runner

  • Dir. Jason Reitman; Gabriel LaBelle, J.K. Simmons, Rachel Sennott

  • Oct. 4 limited theatrical release, Oct. 11 wide theatrical release

• September 5 (Paramount, 94 minutes)

  • Dir. Tim Fehlbaum; Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Leonie Benesch

  • Nov. 27 limited theatrical release

• Sing Sing (A24, 105 minutes) - Best Picture Front Runner

  • Dir. Greg Kweddar; Colman Domingo, Clarence Maclin, Paul Raci

  • TBD streaming release date

• The Apprentice (Briarcliff/Rich Spirit, 120 minutes)

  • Dir. Ali Abbasi; Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova 

  • Oct. 11 theatrical release

• The Brutalist (A24, 215 minutes) - Best Picture Front Runner

  • Dir. Brady Corbet; Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones

  • Dec. 20 limited theatrical release 

• The Piano Lesson (Netflix, 125 minutes)

  • Dir. Malcolm Washington; John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler

  • Nov. 8 theatrical release, Nov. 22 streaming release

• The Room Next Door (Sony, 107 minutes)

  • Dir. Pedro Almodóvar; Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, John Turturro

  • Dec. 20 theatrical release

• The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Neon, 168 minutes)

  • Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof; Setareh Maleki, Soheila Golestani, Missagh Zareh

  • Nov. 27 theatrical release

• The Substance (Mubi, 140 minutes)

  • Dir. Coralie Fargeat; Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid

  • Now playing in theaters

• The Wild Robot (DreamWorks, 102 minutes)

  • Dir. Chris Sanders; Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor

  • Now playing in theaters

• Wicked (Universal, 160 minutes)

  • Dir. Jon M. Chu; Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey

  • Nov. 22 theatrical release