Director Predictions: March 2024

The 96th Academy Awards saw Christopher Nolan finally take home the award for Directing after being snubbed multiple times by the Academy voters. 2025 may see another widely regarded director receive their first Academy Award in the category.

Denis Villeneuve was egregiously snubbed in the category for the first Dune film in 2022 but will be looking to put things right with a nomination for the critically stronger “Dune: Part Two”. British filmmaker Steve McQueen would have felt hard done by to miss out on a director win when his critically acclaimed drama “12 Years a Slave” won Best Picture in 2014. McQueen is back with his first narrative feature in 6 years with World War II drama “Blitz”.

Other past nominees yet to score a win from the Academy include: Ridley Scott, Yorgos Lanthimos, George Miller and Todd Phillips. Veteran directors Clint Eastwood and Francis Ford Coppola will be looking for their third and second wins, respectively, in the category with what could be their final directorial efforts.

Strong Contenders

1. Denis Villeneuve “Dune: Part Two”
2. Steve McQueen “Blitz”
3. Francis Ford Coppola “Megalopolis”
4. George Miller “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”
5. Greg Kwedar “Sing Sing”

Possible Contenders

1. Yorgos Lanthimos “Kinds of Kindness”
2. Todd Phillips “Joker: Folie a Deux”
3. Ridley Scott “Gladiator II”
4. Edward Berger “Conclave”
5. Robert Eggers “Nosferatu”

Outsiders

1. Clint Eastwood “Juror No. 2”
2. Malcolm Washington “The Piano Lesson”
3. Jesse Eisenberg “A Real Pain”
4. Luca Guadagnino “Queer”
5. Tina Mabry “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can Eat”