On Sunday, March 2, the 97th-annual Academy Awards ceremony will be presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood to honor the best film releases of 2024. Here are my predictions for the winners of Best Picture, Director, and Best Actor and Actress in leading roles.

Best Picture: “The Brutalist”

Brady Corbet’s film about a Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor who escapes postwar Europe looking to achieve the American dream is seemingly the front-runner for Best Picture, the night’s biggest prize. After winning Best Motion Picture — Drama at the Golden Globes, Best Film at the New York Film Critics Circle, and making it in the top 10 of the American Film Institute movies of the year, it is almost certain that “The Brutalist” will win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Although some critics seem to be certain of “The Brutalist” being the film to beat, “Emilia Pérez” is also a top contender for Best Picture — however, with a stronger Rotten Tomatoes score, “The Brutalist” seems like the clearest winner.

Best Director: Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”) 

It would be a great success for Corbet if he won both Best Picture and Best Director. With two Academy Award nominations, a Silver Lion Award at the Venice International Film Festival and the Best Director award at the Golden Globes, Corbet will certainly come home on March 2 with a little gold man in his arms. The young filmmaker has been established as one of the industry’s most innovative and a visionary at just 36. According to Variety Australia, he has been acclaimed for making a “movie-going experience unlike any other,” with his decades-spanning narratives and frames, which appear almost artistic.

Best Actor: Timothée Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”) 

Timothée Chalamet has taken another stride in his career by acting as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” which reconstructs Dylan’s path to stardom. Recognized by his performances in “Call Me By Your Name,” “Little Women,” “Wonka” and “Dune,” Chalamet quickly secured himself as one of his generation’s biggest movie stars and seems a shoo-in for Best Actor. On Saturday, Jan. 25, Chalamet appeared as a musical guest and host on Saturday Night Live, performing several Bob Dylan songs. If he were to win, Chalamet would be the youngest two-time winning nominee since James Dean.

Best Actress: Demi Moore (“The Substance”)

For her role as Elisabeth Sparkle in “The Substance,” Demi Moore is projected to win her first Academy Award in her almost 45-year-long career. The film navigates aging in womanhood, as a female TV show host’s decline in popularity is propelled by her 50th birthday. Oscar wins are rare in horror films, with only six actors in history having won in the horror genre, including Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” and Jodie Foster in “The Silence of the Lambs.” Being awarded a Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Female Actress in a Major Motion Picture, along with being nominated for other awards such as the BAFTA Leading Actress award, makes her a front-runner to receive the Best Actress award.