Oscar Predictions: Best Film Editing — Does Runtime Matter for Voters?
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
OSCARS | EMMYS | GRAMMYS | TONYS
2025 Oscars Predictions:
Best Film Editing
Weekly Commentary (Updated Nov. 14, 2024): With “A Real Pain” clocking in at 88 minutes and “September 5” at 91 minutes, the brevity of these films stands in stark contrast to last year’s record-breaking nominations, where two three-hour movies were nominated for best picture (“Killers of the Flower Moon” and eventual winner “Oppenheimer”). This raises the question: could AMPAS’ attention spans shift toward shorter, longer movies, or will they find themselves loving quick and effective breezy movie-watching?
Historically, longer films have had a notable presence in the Film Editing category, with their extensive runtime offering editors more opportunities to showcase their skills in maintaining narrative flow, pacing, and tension. Films like “The Irishman” (209 minutes) and “Dances with Wolves” (181 minutes) were praised for their editing, despite their length. However, shorter films, by their very nature, often require more concise, efficient storytelling, which can be just as challenging to edit. Could the branch seek to reward some of those movies this year?
While long epics (i.e., “Ben Hur” and “Titanic”) are admired for their ambitious scope, the Academy’s attention may lean toward more focused, concise storytelling. This year, “The Brutalist,” “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” and the still unseen “Wicked” are the major contenders, clocking in at more than two and a half hours. Maybe it all doesn’t matter in the end.
The 97th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 2. The full rankings are below. All movie listings, titles, distributors, and credited producers are not final and are subject to change.
** denotes the film is not yet dated or can open in 2025.
-
Image Credit: "Emilia Perez" (Courtesy of Saint-Laurent Productions) And the Predicted Nominees Are
Rank Performer & Film 1 “The Brutalist” (A24) — Dávid Jancsó 2 “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) — Joe Walker 3 “Conclave” (Focus Features) — Nick Emerson 4 “Wicked” (Universal Pictures) — Myron Kerstein 5 “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix) — Juliette Welfling Oscars: Best Film Editing (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) -
Image Credit: Neon Next in Line
Rank Performer & Film 6 “Anora” (Neon) — Sean Baker 7 “A Real Pain” (Searchlight Pictures) — Robert Nassau 8 “September 5” (Paramount Pictures) — Hansjörg Weißbrich 9 “The Substance” (Mubi) — Coralie Fargeat, Jérôme Eltabet, Valentin Feron 10 “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures) — Andrew Buckland Oscars: Best Film Editing (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) -
Image Credit: Amazon MGM Other Contenders
Rank Performer & Film 11 “Nosferatu” (Focus Features) — Louise Ford 12 “Blitz” (Apple Original Films) — Peter Sciberras 13 “Saturday Night” (Sony Pictures) — Nathan Orloff, Shane Reid 14 “Sing Sing” (A24) — Parker Laramie 15 “Challengers” (Amazon MGM) — Marco Costa 16 “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (Neon) — Andrew Bird 17 “The Room Next Door” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Teresa Font 18 “The Piano Lesson” (Netflix) — Leslie Jones 19 “Better Man” (Paramount Pictures) — Jeff Groth 20 “Deadpool & Wolverine” (Marvel Studios) — Dean Zimmerman, Shane Reid Oscars: Best Adapted Screenplay (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) -
Eligible Artisans (Best Film Editing)
Image Credit: Screenshot courtesy Neon/YouTube ** This list is incomplete and not yet finalized. Not all films have distribution or release dates. All are subject to change.
- “Alien: Romulus” (20th Century Studios) — Jake Roberts
- “All We Imagine as Light” (Janus Films/Sideshow) — Clément Pinteaux
- “Anora” (Neon) — Sean Baker
- “The Apprentice” (Briarcliff Entertainment) — Olivier Bugge Coutté, Olivia Neergaard-Holm
- “Babygirl” (A24) — Matthew Hannam
- “Back to Black” (Focus Features) — Martin Walsh, Laurence Johnson
- “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner Bros.) — Jay Prychidny
- “Better Man” (Paramount Pictures) — Erik Wilson
- “Between the Temples” (Sony Pictures Classics) — John Magary
- “The Bikeriders” (Focus Features) — Julie Monroe
- “Bird” (Mubi) — Joe Bini
- “Blink Twice” (Amazon MGM) — Kathryn J. Schubert
- “Blitz” (Apple Original Films) — Peter Sciberras
- “Bob Marley: One Love” (Paramount Pictures) — Pamela Martin, Nick Houy
- “The Book of Clarence” (Sony Pictures) — Tom Eagles
- “The Brutalist” (A24) — Dávid Jancsó
- “Challengers” (Amazon MGM) — Marco Costa
- “Civil War” (A24) — Jake Roberts
- “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures) — Andrew Buckland
- “Conclave” (Focus Features) — Nick Emerson
- “The Count of Monte Cristo” (Samuel Goldwyn Films) — Célia Lafitedupont
- “Daddio” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Lisa Zeno Churgin
- “Daughters” (Netflix) — Troy Josiah Lewis, Adelina Bichis
- “Day of the Fight” (Falling Forward Films) — Joe Klotz
- “Deadpool & Wolverine” (Marvel Studios) — Dean Zimmerman, Shane Reid
- “A Different Man” (A24) — Taylor Levy
- “Dìdi” (Focus Features) — Arielle Zakowski
- “Drive-Away Dolls” (Focus Features) — Tricia Cooke
- “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) — Joe Walker
- “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix) — Juliette Welfling
- “The End” (Neon) — Niels Pagh Andersen
- “Evil Does Not Exist” (Sideshow) — Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Azusa Yamazaki
- “Exhibiting Forgiveness” (Roadside Attractions) — Ron Patane
- “Fancy Dance” (Apple Original Films) — Robert Grigsby Wilson
- “The Fire Inside” (Amazon MGM) — Harry Yoon
- “Firebrand” (Roadside Attractions)
- “Flow” (Janus Films/Sideshow)
- “Frida” (Amazon MGM)
- “The Front Room” (A24)
- “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (Warner Bros.)
- “Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures)
- “Hard Truths” (Bleecker Street)
- “Here” (Sony Pictures)
- “Heretic” (A24)
- “His Three Daughters” (Netflix)
- “Hit Man” (Netflix)
- “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” (Warner Bros.)
- “I Am Celine Dion” (Amazon MGM)
- “I Saw the TV Glow” (A24)
- “I’m Still Here” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “The Idea of You” (Amazon MGM)
- “IF” (Paramount Pictures)
- “The Imaginary” (Netflix)
- “In the Summers” (Music Box Films)
- “Inside Out 2” (Pixar)
- “It Ends With Us” (Sony Pictures)
- “Janet Planet” (A24)
- “Joker: Folie à Deux” (Warner Bros.)
- “Kinds of Kindness” (Searchlight Pictures)
- “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (20th Century Studios)
- “Kneecap” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “The Last Showgirl” (Roadside Attractions)
- “Lee” (Roadside Attractions)
- “Longlegs” (Neon)
- “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” (Warner Bros.)
- “Los Frikis” (Wayward/Range Releasing)
- “Love Lies Bleeding” (A24)
- “Maria” (Netflix)
- “Megalopolis” (Lionsgate)
- “Memoir of a Snail” (IFC Films)
- “Misericordia” (Janus Films)
- “Moana 2” (Walt Disney Pictures)
- “Monkey Man” (Universal Pictures)
- “The Most Precious of Cargoes” (StudioCanal)
- “Mothers’ Instinct” (Neon)
- “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Walt Disney Pictures)
- “My Old Ass” (Amazon MGM)
- “Nickel Boys” (Amazon MGM/Orion)
- “Nightbitch” (Searchlight Pictures)
- “Nosferatu” (Focus Features)
- “Oh, Canada” (Kino Lorber)
- “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” (A24)
- “One Life” (Bleecker Street)
- “The Order” (Vertical Entertainment)
- “The Outrun” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “Parthenope” (A24)
- “The Piano Lesson” (Netflix)
- “Piece by Piece” (Focus Features)
- “Queer” (A24)
- “A Real Pain” (Searchlight Pictures)
- “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” (Netflix)
- “Rez Ball” (Netflix)
- “The Room Next Door” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “Rumours” (Bleecker Street)
- “Santosh” (Metrograph Pictures)
- “Sasquatch Sunset” (Bleecker Street)
- “Saturday Night” (Sony Pictures)
- “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (Neon)
- “September 5” (Paramount Pictures) — Hansjörg Weißbrich
- “Shirley” (Netflix)
- “Sing Sing” (A24)
- “The Six Triple Eight” (Netflix)
- “Small Things Like These” (Lionsgate)
- “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” (Paramount Pictures)
- “Spellbound” (Netflix)
- “Stopmotion” (IFC/Shudder)
- “The Substance” (Mubi)
- “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” (Warner Bros.)
- “That Christmas” (Netflix)
- “Thelma” (Magnolia Pictures)
- “Transformers One” (Paramount Pictures)
- “Tuesday” (A24)
- “Twisters” (Universal Pictures)
- “Ultraman: Rising” (Netflix)
- “Unstoppable” (Amazon MGM)
- “Venom: The Last Dance” (Sony Pictures)
- “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (Netflix)
- “We Grown Now” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- “We Live in Time” (A24)
- “Wicked” (Universal Pictures)
- “The Wild Robot” (DreamWorks Animation)
- “Wildcat” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
- “Will & Harper” (Netflix)
- “Woman of the Hour” (Netflix)
- “Yintah” (Netflix)
- “Young Woman and the Sea” (Walt Disney Pictures)
-
More Information (Oscars: Best Film Editing)
Image Credit: Michael Buckner for Variety 2024 category winner: “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures) — Jennifer Lame
2024-2025 Oscars Calendar and Timeline (all dates are subject to change)
- Eligibility period: Jan. 1, 2024 – Dec. 31, 2024
- General entry, best picture, RAISE submission deadline: Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024
- Governors Awards: Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024
- Preliminary voting begins Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, at 9 a.m. PT.
- Preliminary voting ends Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, at 5 p.m. PT.
- Oscar Shortlists Announcement: Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024
- Eligibility period ends: Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024
- Nominations voting begins Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, at 9 a.m. PT.
- Nominations voting ends Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT.
- Oscar Nominations Announcement: Friday, Jan. 17, 2025
- Oscar Nominees Luncheon: Monday, Feb. 10, 2025
- Final voting begins Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at 9 a.m. PT
- Final voting ends: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT
- Scientific and Technical Awards: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025
- 97th Oscars: Sunday, March 2, 2025
Oscars Prediction Categories
— — Best Picture Director Actor in a Leading Role Actress in a Leading Role Actor in a Supporting Role Actress in a Supporting Role Original Screenplay Adapted Screenplay Animated Feature Production Design Cinematography Costume Design Film Editing Makeup and Hairstyling Sound Visual Effects Original Score Original Song Documentary Feature International Feature Animated Short Documentary Short Live Action Short Casting (coming in 2026) 2024 Oscar Predictions (Variety Awards Circuit) About the Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, is Hollywood’s most prestigious artistic award in the film industry. Since 1927, nominees and winners have been selected by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Nineteen branches are represented within the nearly 11,000-person membership. The branches are actors, animators, associates, casting directors, cinematographers, costume designers, directors, documentary, executives, film editors, makeup and hairstylists, marketing and public relations, members-at-large, members-at-large (artists’ representatives), music, producers, production design, short films, sound, visual effects and writers.
