As we approach the halfway point of 2025, the hosts of Little Gold Men spent this week’s episode checking in on the most likely Oscar contenders to have premiered so far—as well as those still waiting in the wings. We break them all down below, where you can also listen to the episode. Just keep in mind there’s still a whole lot we don’t know just yet.
BEST PICTURE & DIRECTOR
Without question, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is the biggest Oscar player of 2025 so far—a theatrical phenomenon that’s also been widely embraced by critics. The genre-bending vampire film only seems to become more of a juggernaut as more Academy members see it. The only question is whether it can pull off a yearlong campaign in the vein of Everything Everywhere All at Once, which was also released in the spring, and maintain the overwhelming enthusiasm that surrounded its release to make a case for itself as a front-runner.
Last year’s Cannes Film Festival launched three best-picture nominees in The Substance, Emilia Pérez, and the ultimate Oscar winner, Anora. It seems unlikely that the Croisette’s showcase will have quite as much impact this time around, especially since one distributor, Neon, will have to pick which prize-winner to put its muscle behind. Joachim Trier’s stunning family drama Sentimental Value seems most primed to gain traction as a significant best-picture player, while the Palme d’Or winner, Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, should receive a strong campaign as well. Netflix also bought Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, a charming ode to the French New Wave, which could find fans.
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