Director Predictions: September 2025

Like with Best Picture, the fall festival circuit has seen several directors race to the front of the pack when it comes to possible nominations for the upcoming 98th Academy Awards. Ryan Coogler was already well on course to land his first directing nomination for the musical horror “Sinners”, and he has since been followed by other filmmakers looking for their first piece of Oscar gold including Joachim Trier (“Sentimental Value”), Jafar Panahi (“It Was Just an Accident”), Park Chan-wook (“No Other Choice”), Yorgos Lanthimos (“Bugonia”) and Benny Safdie , the latter of which having won the Silver Lion for directing at Venice for his work on “The Smashing Machine”.

Two previous winners who have not done themselves any harm in winning yet another directing Oscar are Kathryn Bigelow and Guillermo del Toro, both of whom are flying the flag for Netflix with their films “A House of Dynamite” and “Frankenstein”. But the most likely repeat winner looks to be Chloe Zhao, who previously won in 2021 for “Nomadland”. Zhao’s latest film, “Hamnet”, has received universal critical acclaim out of Toronto, where it won the coveted People’s Choice Award.

Looking to challenge Zhao to the famous statuette, is highly regarded filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, whose latest film, “One Battle After Another”, is set to become the highest critically reviewed film of the year, and with Anderson having never won an Oscar despite eleven prior nominations, surely 2026 will finally be his time.

Full list of Director predictions – September 2025:

Strong Contenders

  1. Paul Thomas Anderson “One Battle After Another”
  2. Chloe Zhao “Hamnet”
  3. Ryan Coogler “Sinners”
  4. Joachim Trier “Sentimental Value”
  5. Jafar Panahi “It Was Just an Accident”

Possible Contenders

  1. Park Chan-wook “No Other Choice”
  2. Josh Safdie “Marty Supreme”
  3. Yorgos Lanthimos “Bugonia”
  4. Guillermo del Toro “Frankenstein”
  5. James Cameron “Avatar: Fire and Ash”

Outsiders

  1. Kathryn Bigelow “A House of Dynamite”
  2. Jon M. Chu “Wicked: For Good”
  3. Benny Safdie “The Smashing Machine”
  4. Mona Fastvold “The Testament of Ann Lee”
  5. Kleber Mendonca Filho “The Secret Agent”

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