List from Angeline Jane Bernabe and Mason Leib on ABC News.com

These are my thoughts and predictions for Sunday night’s Academy Awards. As I said, these are my predictions for who I think will win. This is not my personal favorites. I will give a second choice as the runner-up in my opinion.

Best picture

• “Bugonia”
• “F1”
• “Frankenstein”
• “Hamnet”
• “Marty Supreme”
• “One Battle After Another”
• “The Secret Agent”
• “Sentimental Value”
• “Sinners”
• “Train Dreams”

I am a believer in the Sinner’s momentum. I do think that Sinners will overtake “One Battle After Another” which has been the leading candidate for much of the pre-award season. Sinners is also my personal favorite of the nominated films, so I am cheering for it. If not Sinners, it will be “One Battle After Another.”

Best supporting actress

• Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value”
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value”
• Amy Madigan, “Weapons”
• Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners”
• Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another”

This is a strong category, but the performance Amy Madigan gave in “Weapons” was just so special and it made that move more than what it would have been. Sure, it is a genre film and the Academy some times does not favor those, but I do believe this one transcends genre. Second choice: Teyana Taylor (OBAA).

Best actor

• Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme”
• Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”
• Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”
• Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”
• Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent”

Again, I believe in the momentum of Sinners. Michael B. Jordan’s victory at the Actor Awards was a significant signal that the race had switched. Jordan is a remarkably worthy potential winner as he played two different characters (and one of those he played two different ways when he was changed into a vampire). It brought a lot of energy. Second choice: Timothée Chalamet.

Best actress

• Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”
• Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
• Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue”
• Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value”
• Emma Stone, “Bugonia”

Jessie Buckley. ‘Nuff said. I would have loved to cheer for Kate Hudson because I thought she was exceptional in “Song Sung Blue” but Buckley may have given the best performance I have ever seen. If she does not win this award, there should be investigations. Second choice: NONE. It is Buckley.

Best supporting actor

• Benicio Del Toro, “One Battle After Another”
• Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein”
• Delroy Lindo, “Sinners”
• Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”
• Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value”

I am going with Stellan Skarsgård for his work in “Sentimental Value.” I think Del Toro and Sean Penn may split votes, opening up the large contingent of foreign voters in the Academy to give it to Skarsgård. This is a tough category too because you also have the spoiler floating around in Delroy Lindo. Second choice: Sean Penn, but I could see it being Lindo or Del Toro.

Best director

• Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet”
• Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”
• Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
• Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”
• Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”

This is the award they will give to this film since Sinners is going to win Best Picture. PTA has been deserving of an Academy Award for years, and this is the one he is going to get. Second Choice: Ryan Coogler.

Best makeup and hairstyling

• “Frankenstein”
• “Kokuho”
• “Sinners”
• “The Smashing Machine”
• “The Ugly Stepsister”

The look of Frankenstein was great and it will most likely win this award. I would have liked to see “Smashing Machine” win because the Rock really did transform into Mark Kerr, but that is not going to happen. Second Choice: Sinners.

Best original score

• “Bugonia” — Jerskin Fendrix
• “Frankenstein” — Alexandre Desplat
• “Hamnet” — Max Richter
• “One Battle After Another” — Jonny Greenwood
• “Sinners” — Ludwig Göransson

The music of Sinners is almost as important as the characters of the film. The soundtrack brings an authentic feel to this film and Ludwig Göransson will receive another Oscar. Second choice: Max Richter for Hamnet.

Best live action short film

• “Butcher’s Stain”
• “Jane Austen’s Period Drama”
• “A Friend of Dorothy”
• “The Singers”
• “Two People Exchanging Saliva”

If I were voting, I would pick “Jane Austen’s Period Drama” because that was by far my favorite short on this list, but the Academy is not giving it an Oscar. “Two People Exchanging Saliva” is weird, wild and builds a fictional world around some of the strangest things. It wins. Second Choice: “A Friend of Dorothy”

Best adapted screenplay

• “Bugonia” — Will Tracy
• “Frankenstein” — Guillermo Del Toro
• “Hamnet” — Maggie O’Farrell and Chloé Zhao
• “One Battle After Another” — Paul Thomas Anderson
• “Train Dreams” — Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar

One of the easiest picks to make. The Best Picture is coming down to One Battle vs Sinners so One Battle After Another wins this one. Second Choice: Hamnet.

Best original screenplay

• “Blue Moon” — Robert Kaplow
• “It Was Just an Accident” — Jafar Panahi
• “Marty Supreme” — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
• “Sentimental Value” — Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt
• “Sinners” – Ryan Coogler

See above. Same reason “One Battle” wins Best Adapted. Second Choice: Blue Moon

Best animated short film

• “Butterfly”
• “Forevergreen”
• “The Girl Who Cried Pearls”
• “Retirement Plan”
• “The Three Sisters”

This was my favorite animated short of this list and I do think it is the one with the best animation, a true story involving the Holocaust and an Olympic swimmer. It is far and away the best on this list. Second Choice: “The Girl Who Cried Pearls.”

Best casting

• “Hamnet” — Nina Gold
• “Marty Supreme” — Jennifer Venditti
• “One Battle After Another” — Cassandra Kulukundis
• “The Secret Agent” — Gabriel Domingues
• “Sinners” — Francine Maisler

This is a brand new Academy Award this year and I think Sinners is going to get it. The casting of this film is just amazing and the cast brings it throughout. Second Choice: “One Battle After Another.”

Best original song

• “Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless”
• “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters”
• “I Lied to You” from “Sinners”
• “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from “Viva Verdi!”
• “Train Dreams” from “Train Dreams”

This song is one of the biggest hits of 2025, worldwide. The Academy is not going to miss this and create a controversy. There are only a couple of shoo-ins. This is one. Second Choice: “I Lied to You” (Sinners)- which would be my personal choice if I had a vote.

Best documentary feature film

• “The Alabama Solution”
• “Come See Me in the Good Light”
• “Cutting Through Rocks”
• “Mr. Nobody Against Putin”
• “The Perfect Neighbor”

I have not seen many here. I did see “The Perfect Neighbor” and I loved it. Second Choice: No idea. Probably the Putin one..

Best documentary short film

• “All the Empty Rooms”
• “Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud”
• “Children No More: ‘Were and Are Gone'”
• “The Devil is Busy”
• “Perfectly a Strangeness”

I have not seen any of these documentary shorts. I know “All the Empty Rooms” is about school shootings and that is usually Academy fodder, so I will guess that one. Second Choice: How about “The Devil is Busy”?

Best international feature film

• Brazil, “The Secret Agent”
• France, “It Was Just an Accident”
• Norway, “Sentimental Value”
• Spain, “Sirât”
• Tunisia, “The Voice of Hind Rajab”

I have only seen two of these, though I am excited about seeing The Secret Agent during this year’s June Swoon. Because I have seen it, Sentimental Value gets my vote. Second Guess: “The Secret Agent.” – Heard good things.

Best animated feature film

• “Arco”
• “Elio”
• “KPop Demon Hunters”
• “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
• “Zootopia 2”

K-Pop Demon Hunters is winning this. It would not have been my vote, but it is clearly the biggest cultural animated film of the year. Not sure why Elio is on this list. Second choice: Zootopia 2 (which would have been my vote).

Best production design

• “Frankenstein”
• “Hamnet”
• “Marty Supreme”
• “One Battle After Another”
• “Sinners”

I feel like I should have gone with Frankenstein, but I am looking for an upset and Hamnet does have tremendous production design. Second choice: (and most likely winner) Frankenstein

Best film editing

• “F1” — Stephen Mirrione
• “Marty Supreme” — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
• “One Battle After Another” — Andy Jurgensen
• “Sentimental Value” — Olivier Bugge Coutté
• “Sinners” — Michael P. Shawver

I have yet another win for Sinners. This could go to several on this list though. Second Choice: F1

Best sound

• “F1”
• “Frankenstein”
• “One Battle After Another”
• “Sinners”
• “Sirât”

F1’s use of sound is a key element to the film. While there are some other good choices, I think the Academy wants to reward F1 with something more than a nomination and this makes sense. Second Choice: Sirât

Best visual effects

• “Avatar: Fire and Ash”
• “F1”
• “Jurassic World Rebirth”
• “The Lost Bus”
• “Sinners”

Bah. I don’t want to pick this one because there was nothing new done in this film, but it is going to win anyway. What I wouldn’t give to have “The Lost Bus” get this award. It really does deserve it. I was really happy when it got the nomination. Sadly, Avatar wins again. Second Choice: “The Lost Bus”

Best cinematography

• “Frankenstein”
• “Marty Supreme”
• “One Battle After Another”
• “Sinners”
• “Train Dreams”

I think this is another unlikely winner, but I just think that this film deserves the cinematography Oscar. Second choice: “One Battle After Another.”

Best costume design

• “Avatar: Fire and Ash” — Deborah L. Scott
• “Frankenstein” — Kate Hawley
• “Hamnet” — Malgosia Turzanska
• “Marty Supreme” — Miyako Bellizzi
• “Sinners” — Ruth E. Carter

Another win for the technical aspect of Frankenstein. It did look great and the costumes are top notch. Second choice: Sinners

There are my picks. As always, I will miss some and get some right. I do hope there is a great ceremony and that Conan O’Brien is a funny host. I have Marty Supreme getting shut out. That doesn’t feel right, but I guess we will have to go with it.