Awards seasonnever really ends . Even thoughthe Oscarstypically mark the close of one time of year , the next has already begin by the time the Academy hands out those lilliputian aureate men . Predicting accolade has become a cottage industriousness in its own right , a room to gamify the wash to the Oscars by determining who has the best odds of clinch the win on Hollywood ’s biggest Nox .

To promise these things accurately , pundits look at major celluloid festivals , boxwood power performance , and , eventually , precursor awards to see which films are foregather the right amount of momentum to hold them to awards glorification . To realize this impulse , studios launch For Your Consideration ( FYC ) campaign based on their firm contenders that can push a film over the finish rail line . Below , we plunk into the twelvemonth - round of golf Hz of honour time of year , taper out key event that can shape the backwash to the Oscars .

The Next Year’s Awards Season Begins Before The Previous Year’s Oscars Even Air

Early Contenders Start Making Themselves Known In January

Though accolade season kicks into overdrive when fall begins , January is when the first contenders for the next season begin to emerge thanks to theSundance Film Festivalthat happens every January . In old days , moving-picture show likeManchester By The Sea , Call Me By Your Name , Get Out , andPast Liveshave all debuted at the Park City , Utah fete , often more than a class before they ’ll be competing at the Oscars .

motion picture

Year

Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg stare up at a statue in Poland in A Real Pain

Nominations

Wins

Manchester By The Sea

Emilia Perez, Anora, Conclave, The Brutalist, and Wicked with Oscars

2016

Picture , Director , Actor , Supporting Actor , affirm Actress , Original Screenplay

Best Actor , Casey Affleck ; Original Screenplay , Kenneth Lonergan

Oscars Statues Academy Awards

Call Me By Your Name

2017

Picture , Actor , Adapted Screenplay , Original Song

Three Oscars statuettes in front of flying money

Custom image by Debanjana Chowdhury

Adapted Screenplay , James Ivory

Get Out

Picture , Director , Actor , Original Screenplay

The Oscars 95 Poster

Original Screenplay , Jordan Peele

Past life

2023

The Oscars | Academy Awards

Picture , Original Screenplay

N / A

This twelvemonth , Sundance ’s slate was a little lighter . Though some films from this twelvemonth ’s fest may show up in precursor accolade run by critics ' circles and single guilds , not many picture from Sundance 2024 seem poised to make a splash at the Oscars . Jesse Eisenbergwrote , directed , and stars inA Real Pain , which held its premiere at the festival and will probably vie in several major categories including Best Original Screenplay , Best Supporting Actor for Kieran Culkin , and Best Picture .

Though it could ’ve had more depth , A Real Pain showcases Jesse Eisenberg ’s hope as a film producer in a poignant dramedy with groovy performances .

About a month after Sundance , the Berlin International Film Festival ( AKA Berlinale ) takes place in February , introducing a slew of central outside films that could become major player . It is n’t until May , though , at the Cannes Film Festival , where other early contenders make their debut . Cannes is perhaps the most esteemed of all festivals where external films and major Hollywood smash hit premier side - by - side . A enraptured reception at Cannes can give a film the momentum it call for to soar through the rest of the year to laurels glory .

Take this year’scontroversial Netflix movieEmilia Pérezwhich premiered at Cannes to mostly rapturous reassessment before win the Best Actress award at the fest , where the jury lead by Greta Gerwig give all four actresses - Karla Sofía Gascón , Zoe Saldaña , Selena Gomez , and Adriana Paz - the honor . Emilia Pérezfaced some backlash upon its tone ending , but it is still a major actor in many categories this year .

Just because a plastic film does well at these festivals does not mean it will end up on Academy members ' ballot .

Sean Baker’sAnoraalso premiered at Cannes this year , buy the farm on to win the Palme d’Or and earn Red Army Faction at various other festivals , let in Tellruide and Toronto . The star of that film , Mikey Madison , is the current frontrunner for Best Actress , but the film could be a major thespian in slew of other categories . It ’s not always wanton for a film to keep impulse throughout the year , but as award season takes Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe , there are wad of theatrical releases and motion-picture show from Sundance and Cannes that pull off to make a big enough wallop to warrant a continued campaign once fall rolls around .

Sundance , Berlinale , and Cannes are not direct bellwether for the Oscars . Just because a film does well at these fete does not signify it will end up on Academy member ' vote . TakeTitanefor example , a French consistence repugnance film that won the Palme d’Or in 2021 . That flick did not even make the short list for Best International Feature . Still , these festivals can be a good indicator of what cinephiles , critics , and members of the diligence will be keep an oculus on throughout the year in the lead up to the big ceremony .

Awards Season Truly Begins In September

From There, It’s A Sprint To The Finish Line

There are three key pin festivals that kick off awards time of year in earnest : the Venice International Film Festival , the Telluride Film Festival , andthe Toronto International Film Festival . Here , key picture show from Sundance , Berlinale , and Cannes can re-emerge to cue audiences of their power , but these event often introduce central contenders that will fight for prize glory .

More often than not , many Best Picture candidate end up making the troll at at least one of these decline festivals , and it seems safe to say the same for this year . 2024 editions of these festival saw the premieres of major contenders likeThe Brutalist , The Room Next Door , Conclave , September 5 , I ’m Still Here , andThe Wild Robot , while antecedently mentioned contender likeAnora , Emilia Pérez , andA Real Painalso screen .

The 10 moving-picture show nominated for Best Picture are confirmed , but only one can win the Oscars 2025 category . Will it be Anora , Conclave , or another ?

Because these fete are hang by many in the industriousness - genius , critics , behind - the - scenes folks like directors , producers , and more - the response to the plastic film out of these festivals can indicate where the temperature is at for the industry , as narratives that will continue through the season lead off to take conformation . By the time early December roll around and critics groups lead off announcing their shortlist and nomination , these narrative have coalesced into FYC campaigns with the full weight of the studio behind them .

Critics ' groups are normally the first to hand out award and award , which can hike up a film ’s profile before balloting commence for industry groups like the writer , actor , director , and manufacturer guild . cardinal critics ' groups let in the New York Film Critics Circle , the African American Film Critics Association , and the critic ' Choice Association . The taste of these mathematical group does not always adjust with the Academy ’s as there is often minimal convergence between the industry and them , but it can be a pretty good indication of where sentiment lie overall .

In the chronicle of the Oscars , there have only been three winner who have ever reject to accept their honour from the Academy .

Industry awards typically take position at the top of the class before the Oscars , with the Writers ' Guild , the Screen Actors ' Guild , the Producers ' Guild , and more denote their nominee and eventual success . These are more exact indicators because of the industry lap - mint of people in these club are also fellow member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , which host the Oscars . The BAFTAs , the honor ceremony hold by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts , is another exact bellwether for the Oscars , often because of its law of proximity to that ceremony and the overlap between the two radical .

Despite the yr - long predictions , nothing is ever a surefire warranty , but that ’s what makes it fun . There have been plenty ofOscars surpriseswhen the observance ineluctably rolls around . It ’s impossible to anticipate the vote trends of almost 10,000 unique member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , but people will continue to try and , more often than not , someone out there is going to get it right-hand .

Below , check out a full calendar of upcoming fundamental day of the month for the 2025 awards season that culminate with the Oscars on March 2 , 2025 .

December :

Gotham Awards

12/2/2024

New York Film Critics Circle Nominations

12/3/2024

National Board of Review Awards

12/4/2024

American Film Institute Top 10

12/5/2024

Golden Globe Nominations

12/9/2024

African American Film Critics Association Awards

Academy Award Shortlists

12/17/2024

Critics ' Choice Awards ( CCA ) Nominations

12/12/2024

January :

Golden Globe Awards

1/5/2025

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

1/8/2025

Screen Actors Guild ( SAG ) Nominations

Writers Guild of America ( WGA ) Nominations

1/9/2025

CCA Ceremony

1/12/2025

Producers Guild Of America ( PGA ) nomination

1/13/2025

Oscar Nominations Announced

1/17/2025

February :

Directors Guild of America Awards

2/8/2025

PGA Awards

WGA Awards

2/15/2025

British Academy of Film & Television Arts Awards

2/16/2025

Film Independent Spirit Awards

2/22/2025

SAG Awards

2/23/2025

March :

Academy Awards

3/2/2025