Oscar voters reveal secret ballot picks

The Oscars are a glitzy, grand spectacle revealing the results of an industry-wide ballot conducted by its Hollywood-elite members. Now, ahead of the 2025 Academy Awards, Entertainment Weekly is lifting the curtain for a peek inside the inner workings of the group’s members, as four anonymous voters disclose their Oscars picks as part of our annual Secret Ballot survey.

Though awards season precursors have anointed the likes of Anora, Demi Moore, Timothée Chalamet, Kieran Culkin, and Zoe Saldaña as front-running contenders in key Oscars races, EW’s panel of balloters have some slightly differing views on the matter — like, for example, none of them choosing Sean Baker’s opus as their Best Picture winner, and all of them choosing different winners for Best Director and Best International Feature.

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One thing they all agreed on, though, was the blow dealt to the Emilia Pérez campaign, after Karla Sofía Gascón — the history-making trans star of the most-nominated Oscars title of the year — found herself at the center of a controversy involving past tweets that many have labeled as racist and Islamophobic (Gascón has since offered her “most sincere apologies to all the people who may have felt offended,” and says she is “neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe” that she is.)

The 2025 Oscars — with Conan O’Brien as host — air Sunday, March 2 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC and Hulu, with the official red carpet presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. Read on to see what a sampling of anonymous Academy members are voting for at the 2025 Oscars.

EW’s anonymous 2025 Oscar voters panel

The Director: Beloved studio work, cult independent films, and a range of TV credits make up this filmmaker’s varied filmography.

The Writer: This screenwriting professional has an eclectic body of work ranging from indie film hits to other work on prestige TV projects.

The Publicist: An industry titan who has worked with top-name talent and projects across an accomplished career.

The Casting Director: This industry veteran specializes in shepherding casts of both smaller international films and large studio movies.

Thoughts on the Karla Sofía Gascón controversy

Director: It will affect her, yeah.

Writer: She seems to be toast, in terms of her chances. I didn’t love the film. I think it’s very bold, and I love that these kinds of films are included in the Academy Awards. I was also thinking if I’d vote for Zoe Saldaña in supporting. Somebody’s beliefs or s—ty quotes shouldn’t affect somebody else’s work. I don’t know if I would’ve voted for her on a creative level; I would’ve totally voted for her on a political level, prior to this. It feels personal, in the sense of saying, girl, you’re one of us, so why would you s— on other people? Her apology — or lack thereof — doesn’t feel that genuine.

Publicist: I am utterly disgusted at the racism and hatred. I feel like the Academy should rescind that nomination. It is abhorrent, vile hate speech that has no place in the excellence that the Academy illuminates and underscores. It left such a bad taste in my mouth that I think, with the exception of Zoe, who I’ll be voting for, the film lost me…. If you kick the tires a little bit, people have known that she tweeted this s— out…. Latin American Twitter has been saying this for a while. It’s not just an opinion; it’s true hate speech. It doesn’t matter if the actress is cis, trans, I don’t care — there’s no place for that kind of talk. I think it has derailed the campaign. The film has already had strong detractors to begin with. Yes, it has the most nominations, which speaks to the power of the Netflix awards machine, but all machines don’t always work well. From what I’m hearing from fellow Academy voters, it will affect their decision.

Casting Director: I do think it will affect the voting, but it’s a shame. In the U.S., you have the woke movement, and it’s a little bit different (in Spain). She made the comments years ago when she was nothing close to being a famous person. We all write stupid things on the internet sometimes…. It was a little sad to see this happen to her, because (her nomination) was important.

Thoughts on no Best Original Song performances during Oscars telecast

Director: I feel fine. Obviously, I love music; I don’t need musical performances as part of the four-hour show. Removing them gives everyone attending an Oscar party less of an opportunity to refill their glass of wine and grab another slice of pizza. There are a few of those performances that I think have been magical over the years, and a lot that have been damn fun. But, overall, in terms of the experience of being an audience member of the Oscars, I won’t miss it. As somebody who roots for artists, I feel bad that some of them won’t get to perform for or expand their audience. But, I’m good. I don’t need more show. It’s plenty of show.

Writer: I actually didn’t know that, but I feel okay about it. Those end up taking so much time, and they’re not always my favorite…. I definitely think Elton John should perform; I don’t think it’s the Oscars if he doesn’t!

Publicist: It feels like a repeat. I’ve been through one or two awards seasons where they’ve said that, and through immense pressure, people ended up performing. I think it’s a disservice, period. They’re leaving out an incredible opportunity to illuminate artists, so that’s unfortunate.

Oscars secret ballot picks for Best Picture

Director: I’m bummed because I haven’t seen The Substance or I’m Still Here yet. The first Dune, I couldn’t get through; I’m not rushing for another three hours of Dune. There’s still time to re-evaluate, but I really struggled. Knowing myself, Anora or The Brutalist I’d expect myself to vote for, but I found one of them a bit silly, one of them exploitative. I’m sad to say, it’s a process of elimination guiding me (to A Complete Unknown) and not passion for these works. Hearing myself say these things, perhaps I should abstain. I think, after a talk with my therapist, I will probably abstain (altogether).

1. Conclave
2. A Complete Unknown
3. Anora
4. The Brutalist
5. Wicked
6. Emilia Pérez

Abstain: Dune: Part Two, I’m Still Here, The Substance, Nickel Boys

In a follow-up message after the interview, the director informed EW that they were changing their No. 1 pick to Conclave over A Complete Unknown

Writer: There was very little about Anora that I responded to. It seemed really implausible and like one of those aughts movies that felt very male-gazey about a young woman’s journey that was seen from a male point of view, and really was all about her sexuality. I say that with respect toward her and the director, but not enough to carry a whole movie. Halfway through I was like, why am I watching this? I’m surprised I saw the whole thing. It feels really old-fashioned in a terrible way. Here’s another movie about a guy’s idea of what a woman’s experience of this is like, down to her f—ing him in the car in the end. This is how we fix things, right? The whole thing was so not for me…. I loved Conclave against all of my being. I’m not religious, but I grew up in a Catholic (household). I’m anti-Vatican, so I’m surprised I loved that movie as much as I did. I still felt like mostly everybody involved is 100 times more moral than they probably would’ve been in real life. I loved the ending — it was so surprising and unusual. It would be The Substance and then Conclave. I haven’t seen Dune, so I’d have to abstain from that. This is tough, because Anora I didn’t like, The Brutalist I didn’t like. Nickel Boys, I wanted to like, but I was bored by it too. (Lower on my ballot), it’s a toss-up between Anora, The Brutalist, and Wicked. Wicked, at least its heart is in the right place. The filmmaking isn’t particularly good. I might’ve not liked the other ones, but I still feel there’s a heartbeat.

1. The Substance
2. Conclave
3. Emilia Pérez
4. I’m Still Here
5. A Complete Unknown
6. Nickel Boys
7. Anora
8. The Brutalist
9. Wicked

Abstain: Dune: Part Two

Publicist: Emilia Pérez will not be making its way to my ballot. With Dune: Part Two, I’d seen the David Lynch version of Dune, and I saw (Denis Villeneuve’s) first one, which I was super bored by. I place it on myself; when I walked into the theater, I wasn’t in the right headspace. It wasn’t compelling to me. I’m open to sci-fi, but I think it had something to do with whatever I’d gone through that day…. My goal is to see everything on a big screen, so as much as I can watch on a big screen, great, so I waited on The Brutalist and finally saw it last week. It was too long. I want to spread the wealth and I think I’m giving (Best Director) to Brady Corbet because it does have nuanced characters, (a tight) budget, production design — my vote is going to him. In terms of the film, it could’ve been way shorter and still impactful.

1. Wicked
2. I’m Still Here
3. Conclave
4. The Substance
5. Anora
6. The Brutalist
7. A Complete Unknown
8. Nickel Boys

Abstain: Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez

Casting Director: Wicked was so joyful, to go to the cinema to escape, as it felt like in the beginning of the film. This is my film. I guess it’s not going to win, but I’m going to give it my vote. (I’m abstaining from ranking) Dune: Part Two and Nickel Boys. I know nothing about Nickel Boys at all, so it seems unfair to me, and Dune, I haven’t seen either one. But, The Substance and The Brutalist, I’ve seen parts of them, and I’ll try to watch them. I was disappointed that Nightbitch didn’t get anything. I thought Amy Adams was amazing. It moved me so much and spoke to me. I was disappointed that it went unnoticed completely.

1. Wicked
2. Anora
3. A Complete Unknown
4. Conclave
5. Emilia Pérez
6. I’m Still Here
7. The Brutalist
8. The Substance

Abstain: Dune: Part Two, Nickel Boys

Oscars secret ballot picks for Best Director

Director: I’m a bit surprised to hear myself say James Mangold. He chose a difficult subject matter. I don’t think he necessarily took many chances with it, but I appreciate he brought a film to screen that tackled the creative life and what it is to try to make creative work…. this movie is difficult to do, especially after the wonderful documentary work about Bob Dylan, like Scorsese’s, which I find far more interesting than this film. At the end of the day, there was some process of elimination. Anora felt like a creative step forward for Sean Baker, I found in some places it felt like an unrealistic movie wrapped in a cinema verité approach. It’s squarely in hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold territory. I struggled with that film. Emilia Pérez, a director completely committed to his premise, but the film didn’t work for me. And The Substance, my apologies, I haven’t seen it yet. Maybe I’m wasting a vote on someone who didn’t take big chances.

Writer: As a filmmaker, I completely agree with what Brady Corbet was saying on a creative level in his Golden Globes speech, but I was appalled that he brought it up when he did. Read the room. This is so not the place. It also made him seem so privileged in so many ways. In regards to women, this list is all white men, except for Coralie Fargeat. I definitely voted for Coralie. Part of it is political, and part of it is I do think she did a great job directing it. It’s not lost on me that the one female-directed movie that’s gotten traction is one where women kill each other.

Publicist: This was also challenging. I’m going with Brady Corbet. The Brutalist is a sweeping epic, he was able to create incredibly nuanced characters and an epic story. Wasn’t the budget under $10 million? It’s incredible what Brady did. I vote from my heart, and I think many Academy members like to see the wealth spread around a little bit, so that’s why I’d pick him. For Coralie Fargeat, who is a f—ing fierce, bombastic director, I’m so happy she got in there. So well deserved. I believe that everything about Emilia Pérez is, from my vantage point and the people I’m talking to, imploding, so I think Jacques Audiard will probably end up at the bottom of that list.

Casting Director: I think I’m going with Sean Baker for Anora. What he did was special. The cinematography was amazing, the cinematic language there is amazing. It’s a glimpse into a world I don’t know, and it was mesmerizing. It’s all (credit to) him, I feel. I really want to support women (and vote for Coralie Fargeat), but (The Substance) is not my thing.

Oscars secret ballot picks for Best Actor

Director: I am missing Colman Domingo’s performance; I’ve not seen it yet. But, for me, Ralph Fiennes gets the vote. I love Adrien Brody’s performance, too. It’s a tie. Can it be a tie? I just really loved the way that Ralph had such a subtle ambiguity. Part of this is editorial, but the line he walked between feeling as if he was being upfront and was reluctant to accept the responsibility of becoming the Pope, in contrast with allowing the audience to suspect that he might be quietly campaigning. I just think that’s a tightrope to watch. It’s a quiet, political, intellectual film, and doesn’t necessarily speak to my emotional tastes, but Ralph rooted it in something powerful, minimal, and mature.

In a follow-up message after the interview, the director informed EW that they were changing their vote to Adrien Brody: “Ultimately, even as the script and direction became increasingly muddled, the honesty and skill (in his performance) was undeniable.”

Writer: I’ll probably go for Timothée Chalament. The last movie I’ve yet to see is Sing Sing, which I’ve heard is good. I might change my mind once I see that. But, if that doesn’t change it, then yes. I feel alone in thinking A Complete Unknown was fine, I didn’t love it, but he was amazing. As much as I love Conclave, Ralph Fiennes was great, but it wasn’t super moving. I was impressed by Chalamet. It’s always tough to play somebody we know, nevermind someone as specifically weird as Bob Dylan is. I thought he did a great job, and I generally like him. I’m very mixed on The Brutalist. It has more to do with what the movie stands for. I like Adrien Brody fine; I can’t say I’m a huge fan of him in general, and that’s probably impacting my dislike for the whole movie. This movie is by another straight white dude who sort of gets to do what he gets to do and then talk about final cut at the Golden Globes, you know? It felt like poverty porn, the whole thing. Brody is a good actor, but, at the end of the day, how much more suffering are we going to see over here? What is the point of this?

Publicist: This is one of the toughest categories. I didn’t see The Apprentice. I still haven’t made up my mind, but it’s between Timothée Chalamet and Ralph Fiennes. I’m going with Timothée. I saw a transformation of Timothée in that role. I know he’s incredibly well-liked and popular, people lust after him and blah, blah, blah. I’ve never been in that camp. I just thought this performance was so authentic. He inhabited the role.

Casting Director: I’m not sure about this category. For now, I’m with Timothée Chalamet for A Complete Unknown, but I haven’t seen The Brutalist yet. I’m planning to see it, and from what little I saw (already), it’s similar to The Pianist, and he already got his Oscar for that. So, maybe someone else deserves a chance. For now, I’m with Timothée, but that might change.

Oscars secret ballot picks for Best Actress

Director: My apologies to Fernanda Torres (for not seeing I’m Still Here), and I’ve also not seen The Substance, which is important to this category. Maybe I should abstain until I do.

Writer: Perhaps predictively, Demi Moore. I might’ve considered Karla, because I think her performance was really good. But, acting-wise, I think Demi’s performance is amazing and balls-to-the-wall and insane in a good way. The movie doesn’t totally work for me. The ending is one of the best endings I’ve seen in a long time, but I sometimes think, is it really a feminist movie? I don’t know if it really is. But, I think she’s amazing and I appreciate the filmmaking. Wicked, God bless it, I don’t think it needs Oscars at this point. It was successful, I don’t know that I need to vote for Cynthia Erivo or any of them. Mikey Madison, I think she’s fascinating as an actress and I’d definitely work with her, but I felt she was so subdued in this and I didn’t see a lot of subtext in this — I don’t know if it was her or the directing. Fernanda, I totally agree with the movie’s politics, but I was kind of bored with that movie from beginning to end.

Publicist: I’m choosing Demi Moore. Fearless performance. I thought she was exceptional. Here’s an actor who’s had decades of work. It’s the juncture of, this is the moment, it’s her time. That Golden Globes speech did wonders for this campaign. When I first saw the film in theaters, I knew its acclaim from the festivals, but I wasn’t prepared for how gory it was. After seeing the film, I remember thinking she could get a nomination, but it wouldn’t get in for Best Picture.

Casting Director: I’m voting for Mikey Madison for Anora. I very much loved the whole performance. She was incredibly deep and layered. From one end, you can see her hope and dreams shattered, and you can believe every second of the film that she’s going through all of this…. I haven’t seen the performance of Demi Moore in The Substance. It’s not my cup of tea, the genre. But, I have seen parts of it. My taste in acting is in a more realistic style. I haven’t seen the full thing, just parts of it, but I felt that the acting there was on the surreal side. I loved that Mikey was so realistic. I can imagine knowing that person.

Oscars secret ballot picks for Best Supporting Actor

Director: Jeremy Strong, through little bit of process of elimination. Overall, The Apprentice exceeded my expectations. Both he and Sebastian Stan have the most screen time, and they made incredibly wise, skilled storytelling choices. I think his instincts were impeccable. Being a director, I also nod to whoever edited that performance, because it may have been a matter of removing some choices, but I think he did a wonderful job of playing the villain while remaining relatable and sympathetic.

Writer: I’d go for Kieran Culkin here. The movie is beautiful and really worked for me. I saw this really early on, I didn’t know much about it. It’s the type of movie that I like. It’s personal, it’s really about feelings and the power of family history and trauma. I think he does a beautiful job at encompassing all of that and playing into the subtext of it all.

Publicist: Kieran Culkin. I thought he was fantastic. The nuance of his performance, which could’ve been ultra-annoying, there was a humanity he brought to a character who’s in so much pain. Spectacular. One of my favorite films of the year, and I’m disappointed it didn’t get nominated for Best Picture. I want to see that film rewarded, because it’s so excellent. I will admit that I haven’t seen The Apprentice. I don’t have the mental bandwidth or mental capacity for anything with Roy Cohn and f—ing Donald Trump. That’s where we are in this world. I don’t want to watch a film about them. Jeremy Strong is an incredible actor, saw him on Broadway, I just don’t have the emotional bandwidth to handle that right now.

Casting Director: I like Kieran Culkin. He’s just amazing. I actually loved the film, and I was really sad it didn’t get more nominations. I was really connected to the film, and I think that Kieran is wonderful, as he was in Succession. You believe him and the character. You believe his pain, and you can see all of this in his eyes. It’s just amazing.

Check out more from EW’s The Awardist, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year’s best in TV, movies, and more.

Oscars secret ballot picks for Best Supporting Actress

Director: This was tricky. In spite of (not liking) Emilia Pérez, I went with Zoe Saldaña. I’ve always admired the difficult demand on an actor to commit. Boy, did she. She had plenty to do, she didn’t need to do that film. It was a risk. Obviously, she’s working with a lauded director, but I feel it was a gutsy move and she managed to ground that film in several places where it really benefitted from it. Felicity Jones gave a tender, vulnerable performance, but I ultimately became very confused about many things in that film. That’s not her fault, but it became difficult to understand some of the choices because of the material she was working with.

In a follow-up message after the interview, the director informed EW that they were changing their vote to Felicity Jones.

Writer: I still think I’ll go with Zoe Saldaña. I thought she was great. I like her as an actress and a person. I loved Isabella Rossellini in Conclave, but it was such a small role. I’m surprised she got nominated. It’s almost like Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love. At least that was a scene, this is like, what, two sentences? I (understand) concerns about Emilia that a lot of other people have voiced, from a Mexican and trans point of view, but in general, I want to support movies (that take a risk).

Publicist: I’m torn between Zoe and Isabella. Zoe’s performance is incredible, despite the controversy. I thought her performance was integral; she’s the heart of the story. But, there’s something about David Lynch passing, I’m going to vote for Isabella Rossellini. It’s the dictionary definition of a supporting actress. It’s very little screen time, her presence was felt and I feel like as much as we want to think we’re rewarding (performance), it’s about the body of work. This role gave her a great opportunity to break out. It’s not the showiest role, (especially) if you compare her to Ariana Grande.

Casting Director: I’m voting for Ariana Grande. I love musicals and Wicked just made my heart so happy. I saw it four times in the theater, and it was just wonderful. She’s so witty, funny, and cute. You love her, even though you sometimes hate the character. It’s a huge role. Some of the other nominees are very, very supporting. Very small parts. It’s almost a lead role.

Oscars secret ballot picks for Best International Feature

Director: I’m still doing some homework on these films. Awards for creative endeavors can be a little silly. But, I’m so glad the Oscars exist because it’s such an amplifier for world cinema. In terms of the world cinema category this year, that’s the one I’m thinnest on. The only ones I’ve seen are Girl With a Needle and Emilia Pérez. I’ve got three more to go. I’m not afraid to abstain, if careers are on the line. I’m careful about that.

Writer: I think I’m going with Flow. I might’ve actually given it to Emilia Pérez before this whole mess. I might still do that. But, I loved Flow. It’s an unusual movie, it’s silent, I loved the filmmaking of it. Latvia is a small country, and I don’t know if they were nominated before for anything. That really matters. France and Emilia Pérez have a chance of getting Oscars elsewhere.

Publicist: I’m Still Here completely took me off guard. The acting! I’m a huge Walter Salles fan to begin with, but this was extraordinary filmmaking, storytelling, and acting.

Casting Director: Emilia Pérez. I thought it was really powerful. I’m a very big musical fan. It was very well-made and well-performed. I loved it.

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.