Mark your calendars, Oscars fans, because the 97th Academy Awards will air on Sunday, March 2, 2025 on ABC. The annual star-studded ceremony will honor movies released in theaters within the 2024 calendar year of eligibility. AMPAS members will vote on the Oscar winners in 23 categories, including Best Director. But who will win? Here at Gold Derby, thousands of users have been making and updating their 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Director, so let’s take a look at all of the top contenders in our photo gallery below.
These 25 Best Director hopefuls are listed in order of their racetrack odds, which are derived from the combined forecasts of four unique groups: experts we’ve polled from major media outlets, editors who cover awards year-round for this website, top 24 users who had the best accuracy scores last year, and the mass of users who make up our biggest predictions bloc.
There will be five Best Director nominees when the Academy Awards nominations are announced on Jan. 17, 2025. AMPAS members will vote for the winners between Feb. 11 and Feb. 18, and the results will then be tallied by the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. The winners in all 23 categories will be revealed live on air during the Oscars ceremony on March 2.
Ready for some fun facts about past Best Director Oscar nominees and winners? John Ford has a leading four victories in this category for “The Informer” (1935), “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940), “How Green Was My Valley” (1941), and “The Quiet Man” (1952). William Wyler is the most-nominated director in history with 12 overall bids, winning three times for “Mrs. Miniver” (1942), “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946), and “Ben-Hur” (1959). Lina Wertmüller is the first female nominee for “Seven Beauties” (1976), while Kathryn Bigelow is the first woman to prevail for “The Hurt Locker” (2009).
UPDATED: Nov. 17, 2024
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1. Brady Corbet
Image Credit: Dominik Bindl/Getty Images for FLC Current Odds: 4/1
Film: “The Brutalist”
Distributor: A24
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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2. Sean Baker
Image Credit: Jesse Grant/Variety Current Odds: 4/1
Film: “Anora”
Distributor: Neon
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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3. Jacques Audiard
Image Credit: Michael Buckner for Variety Current Odds: 13/2
Film: “Emilia Pérez”
Distributor: Netflix
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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4. Edward Berger
Image Credit: Michael Buckner for Deadline Current Odds: 13/2
Film: “Conclave”
Distributor: Focus Features
Oscar History: One nomination for “All Quiet on the Western Front” (2022) in Best Adapted Screenplay.
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5. Denis Villeneuve
Image Credit: Chiabella James/Warner Bros. Current Odds: 8/1
Film: “Dune: Part Two”
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Oscar History: Three nominations for “Arrival” (2016) in Best Director, and “Dune: Part One” (2021) in Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
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6. Ridley Scott
Image Credit: Andrew H Walker/WWD Current Odds: 18/1
Film: “Gladiator II”
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Oscar History: Four nominations for “Thelma & Louise” (1911) in Best Director, “Gladiator” (2000) in Best Director, “Black Hawk Down” (2001) in Best Director, and “The Martian” (2015) in Best Picture.
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7. Coralie Fargeat
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety Current Odds: 25/1
Film: “The Substance”
Distributor: Mubi
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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8. RaMell Ross
Image Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images Current Odds: 25/1
Film: “Nickel Boys”
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios
Oscar History: One nomination for “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” (2018) in Best Documentary Feature.
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9. Mohammad Rasoulof
Image Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Current Odds: 37/1
Film: “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
Distributor: Neon
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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10. Jon M. Chu
Image Credit: Sophy Holland/Universal Current Odds: 66/1
Film: “Wicked”
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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11. Steve McQueen
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores for Variety Current Odds: 82/1
Film: “Blitz”
Distributor: Apple Original Films
Oscar History: One win for “12 Years a Slave” (2013) in Best Picture; one nomination for “12 Years a Slave” in Best Director.
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12. Pedro Almodóvar
Image Credit: Rich Polk/Deadline Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “The Room Next Door”
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Oscar History: One win for “Talk to Her” (2002) in Best Original Screenplay; one nomination for “Talk to Her” in Best Director.
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13. Payal Kapadia
Image Credit: John Nacion/Variety Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “All We Imagine as Light”
Distributor: Janus Films
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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14. Mike Leigh
Image Credit: Violeta Sofia/Deadline Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “Hard Truths”
Distributor: Bleecker Street
Oscar History: Seven nominations for “Secrets & Lies” (1996) in Best Original Screenplay and Best Director, “Topsy-Turvy” (1999) in Best Original Screenplay, “Vera Drake” (2005) in Best Original Screenplay and Best Director, “Happy-Go-Lucky” (2008) in Best Original Screenplay, and “Another Year” (2010) in Best Original Screenplay.
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15. Luca Guadagnino
Image Credit: Rich Polk/Deadline Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “Challengers”
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios
Oscar History: One nomination for “Call Me by Your Name” (2017) in Best Picture.
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16. Marielle Heller
Image Credit: MJ Photos/Deadline Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “Nightbitch”
Distributor: Searchlight Pictures
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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17. Alex Garland
Image Credit: Murray Close/A24 Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “Civil War”
Distributor: A24
Oscar History: One nomination for “Ex Machina” (2015) in Best Original Screenplay.
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18. Azazel Jacobs
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/GA Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “His Three Daughters”
Distributor: Netflix
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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19. Dev Patel
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/WWD Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “Monkey Man”
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Oscar History: One nomination for “Lion” (2016) in Best Supporting Actor.
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20. John Crowley
Image Credit: Bryan Bedder/Variety Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “We Live in Time”
Distributor: A24
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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21. Walter Salles
Image Credit: Rich Polk/Deadline Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “I’m Still Here”
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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22. Greg Kwedar
Image Credit: Derek White/Getty Images Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “Sing Sing”
Distributor: A24
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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23. Robert Eggers
Image Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “Nosferatu”
Distributor: Focus Features
Oscar History: No prior nominations.
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24. James Mangold
Image Credit: Todd Williamson for Deadline Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “A Complete Unknown”
Distributor: Searchlight Pictures
Oscar History: Two nominations for “Logan” (2017) in Best Adapted Screenplay and “Ford v Ferrari” (2019) in Best Picture.
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25. Sean Wang
Image Credit: Iris Lee/Focus Features Current Odds: 100/1
Film: “Didi”
Distributor: Focus Features
Oscar History: One nomination for “Nai Nai & Wài Pó” (2023) in Best Documentary Short Film.