How to watch and stream the top 2025 Oscars contenders
If you’ve been waiting for the 2025 Oscars race to settle into something like its final form before devoting time to watch all the major contenders, the time has come. As the 2024 eligibility period — or the year, as less awards-obsessed people would call it — ends, here’s where to watch the top 20 contenders in theaters and on streaming before the Oscars ceremony on March 2, 2025.
This list primarily consists of the top 20 Best Picture contenders in Gold Derby’s rankings, organized from highest to lowest odds, along with a few movies that are not considered Best Picture contenders but could score acting nominations.
Anora
Writer-director Sean Baker’s empathetic portrait of a Brooklyn sex worker who sees the opportunity for a financially secure life when she meets the callow son of a Russian oligarch is a likely nominee in five categories — Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Mikey Madison), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing — and could snag a sixth for Best Supporting Actor (Yura Borisov). Anora is available for purchase now at digital providers like Amazon. It also remains in some theaters and will stream on Hulu in 2025, as the platform has a deal with Neon to stream its projects.
The Brutalist
Director Brady Corbet’s sweeping drama about a fictitious Hungarian Jewish architect coming to America after World War II for a better life is one of the year’s leading contenders. It’s looking at nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Adrien Brody), Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Guy Pearce), and more. It’s in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles — find tickets here. It will eventually stream on Max, due to the streamer’s deal with A24, but probably not until after the Oscars.
Conclave
This papal drama from Edward Berger, who directed Best International Feature winner All Quiet on the Western Front, is a contender in several categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Ralph Fiennes), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress (Isabella Rossellini). It’s streaming on Peacock, and still playing in a handful of theaters.
Wicked
Jon M. Chu’s blockbuster adaptation of the musical about the Wicked Witch of the West’s origin story has the potential to be the most-nominated film of the year. It’s a likely nominee in eight categories, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Cynthia Erivo), and Best Supporting Actress (Ariana Grande). It’s in theaters now — find tickets here — and will eventually come to VOD and Peacock in 2025.
Emilia Pérez
Director Jacques Audiard’s eccentric genre-bending musical crime dramedy about a trans cartel boss is one of the most-nominated films in Golden Globes history. Will it make as strong a showing at the Oscars? It’s a projected nominee in several categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Karla Sofia Gascón), and Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldaña). It’s streaming on Netflix.
Dune: Part Two
Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic about the battle for control of the valuable resource spice on the desert planet Arrakis, aka Dune, is not projected to be a major competitor in above-the-line categories beyond Best Picture, but it’s a top contender in technical categories like Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound. It’s available to stream on Max.
Sing Sing
Director Greg Kwedar’s emotional drama about inmates in the titular New York prison learning to process their experiences through theater is a contender in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actor (Colman Domingo), Best Supporting Actor (Clarence Maclin), and Best Adapted Screenplay. It’s currently hard to find in theaters — it initially screened over the summer, with a re-release in the fall — and not available on streaming or VOD, so you might have to track down a screener if you haven’t seen it yet. A24 is planning a theatrical re-release on Jan. 17, 2025 — the day of the Oscar nominations. Bookmark this page for tickets.
A Real Pain
Along with Best Picture, writer-director-star Jesse Eisenberg is a leading contender in the Best Original Screenplay field for this dramedy about two American cousins who go on a Holocaust tour of Poland to honor their late grandmother. Emmy winner Kieran Culkin could add an Oscar to his shelf as well, as he’s a top Best Supporting Actor contender for his performance. The film is in theaters now — get tickets here — and will eventually hit Hulu as a streamer.
Nickel Boys
The debut narrative feature from director RaMell Ross — a past Best Documentary Feature nominee for his film Hale County This Morning, This Evening — could earn nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and, thanks to its immersive POV camera, Best Cinematography. It’s based on a novel by Colson Whitehead about two Black students at an abusive reform school in 1960s Florida, and it’s in select theaters now (find tickets here). The film will eventually stream on Amazon Prime Video.
The Substance
Coralie Fargeat’s satirical horror movie about an actress who starts taking an experimental drug to try to stay young and experiences horrifying side effects is a contender for Best Picture, Best Actress (Demi Moore), and Best Original Screenplay. If it gets any of those, it will be one of the strangest, grossest movies ever nominated for an Academy Award. It’s streaming on Mubi and is also available to rent or buy on VOD.
A Complete Unknown
Director James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic covering the legendary singer-songwriter’s early years in New York City through his notorious electric set at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 is a contender for Best Picture and Best Actor (Timothée Chalamet). It’s in theaters starting on Dec. 25 — find tickets here for local theaters — and will stream on Hulu in 2025.
September 5
Tim Fehlbaum directs this historical drama about an American sports broadcasting team that is forced to pivot to live coverage of Israeli athletes being held hostage by terrorists during the 1972 Summer Olympics. It’s a contender for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. It’s in select theaters now — find tickets here — and will stream on Paramount+ in 2025.
Gladiator II
Ridley Scott’s action epic is a sequel to his 2000 Best Picture winner and a Best Picture contender in its own right. It’s also a contender for Best Supporting Actor (Denzel Washington), Best Special Effects, and Best Sound. It’s in theaters now and is also available at digital providers like Amazon for purchase. The film will eventually stream on Paramount+.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
This Persian-language film is a longshot Best Picture contender and a near-certain nominee for Best International Feature. It comes from dissident Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof and tells the story of an investigating judge tasked with signing off on death sentences during anti-government protests, which puts him at odds with his family. It’s in limited theatrical release now (find tickets here). Neon has the distribution rights, which means it will probably be on Hulu at some point, but it’s not clear when.
The Wild Robot
The leading Best Animated Feature contender is also a longshot Best Picture contender, and a top Best Song contender for Maren Morris’ “Kiss the Sky.” It’s about an alien robot that crash-lands in the wilderness and ends up taking care of an orphaned gosling. It’s available for purchase at digital platforms like Amazon and is expected to arrive on Peacock soon.
Maria
Angelina Jolie is predicted to earn her first Best Actress nomination since 2009 for her performance as opera singer Maria Callas in Pablo Larrain’s biopic. The film is also a contender for Best Costume Design. It’s streaming on Netflix.
Queer
Daniel Craig is competing for the final slot in the Best Actor field for his performance in Luca Guadagnino’s romance drama. He plays a drug-addicted American expat in 1950s Mexico City who falls in love with a younger man. The film is in select theaters now (find tickets here).
Babygirl
Best Actress is the most open acting race, and Nicole Kidman is in the running for one of the spots for her performance in Halina Reijn’s erotic thriller as a CEO who embarks on an affair with a much younger intern at her company. The film opens in select theaters on Christmas. Find movie tickets here.
Hard Truths
Marianne Jean-Baptiste is another Best Actress contender for her performance as a woman struggling with depression in Mike Leigh’s family drama. Leigh is a contender in the Best Original Screenplay category. The film will open in select theaters on Jan. 10 (find theaters near you here).
The Piano Lesson
Malcolm Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer-winning play didn’t end up being a top-tier awards contender, but Danielle Deadwyler is in the running for a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her performance as a woman who doesn’t want to sell a family heirloom piano. The Piano Lesson is now streaming on Netflix.