2025 is still a few months away, but it’s never too late to start guessing which movies might have a shot at being nominated for Best PIcture at the Academy Awards next year. Sometimes, the Academy still has the power to surprise – but if we’re being honest with ourselves, some films just have “aiming for an Oscar” all over them. Some of the movies on this list haven’t even been released yet, but we can hazard a guess that they’ll be contenders. While this list is by no means exhaustive, we wanted to look at a sample of films we’re guessing will be getting Oscars buzz in the next few months.

Joker: Folie à Deux

It’s not even released yet, but Todd Phillip’s Joker: Folie à Deux is a near-lock for Best Picture, considering that 2020’s Joker was nominated for a whopping 11 categories, winning two, including Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix. With the trendy musical angle of the sequel, Phoenix returning, and Oscars contender Lady Gaga also joining the cast as Harley Quinn, Joker 2 appears set to clean up at the Oscars next year.

Dune: Part Two

If we had to pick one big tentpole that will contend for Best Picture this year, it’s Dune: Part Two. The sequel is the only movie on this list that has already been released to a wide audience. The first Dune blew away both audiences and critics alike, and, far from experiencing the sophomore slump of most trilogies, Dune: Part Two was even better received. Director Denis Villeneuve is arguably our best working spectacle sci-fi director, able to balance visually stunning blockbusters with strong acting and deeper themes.

Saturday Night

If there’s one thing the Academy loves more than a biopic, it’s a big ensemble biopic. Enter Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, a dramedic telling of the tumultuous backstage events leading up to the premiere of Saturday Night (later known as Saturday Night Live) in 1975. The Oscars always seem to be a sucker for nostalgia, but with some of the cast doing excellent work portraying comedians of legend, Saturday Night may very well earn a rightful place among the best movies of the year.

Sing Sing

Colman Domingo rightfully earned his first Oscar nomination for his work in last year’s Rustin, and this year might see the movie that gets him his first win. Sing Sing, about the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing prison, is in theaters now but flying a little under the radar. However, it’s gotten incredible reviews, and Domingo’s performance has been singled out as especially compelling. It’s a dark horse contender, but if enough people see it, its excellence is sure to put it on a few Academy voters’ lists.

Anora

Winning Cannes’ Palme d’Or winner is usually a pretty big indicator of what film will contend for Best Picture at the next year’s Oscars. This year, that movie is Sean Baker’s Anora, the first American film to win the Palme d’Or since Terrence Malick’ The Tree of Life in 2011. It also features an untraditional storyline involving an exotic dancer who falls in tumultuous love with the son of a Russian oligarch. It’s also getting great reviews, which is necessary to contend at the Oscars.

Emilia Perez

Ever since Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite won Best Picture in 2020, the Academy Awards have been turning to more international fare in the Best Picture category instead of just relegating these excellent movies to the Best International Film category. This year, Emilia Perez appears to be an early contender to play international spoiler. As a favorite at Cannes and with Netflix throwing its considerable weight behind the movie, expect this one to be in the conversation.

A Complete Unknown

The Academy is a sucker for a good biopic, and in recent years, it seems that movie musical biopics are practically a given for a few Oscars nominations, including Best Picture. Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, starring Timotheé Chalamet as the titular singer, appears to be that movie this year. James Mangold is directing, and he’s no stranger to Oscars nominees. It also opens at Christmas, a strategic time for studios hoping to get eyeballs on a potential Oscars hopeful.