Oscar Predictions: Best Film Editing — Will the Academy be Tempted to Reward Short Runtimes?

2025 Oscars Predictions:
Best Film Editing

Oscar Predictions: Best Film Editing — Will the Academy be Tempted to Reward Short Runtimes?

As a cinephile who has spent countless hours immersed in the world of cinema, I eagerly anticipate the annual Academy Awards. With over two decades of movie-watching under my belt and a keen eye for cinematic excellence, I can’t help but feel a sense of excitement as I look at the upcoming dates for the 97th Oscars in 2025.


Weekly Review (October 3, 2024): The films “A Real Pain” lasting 88 minutes and “September 5” with a runtime of 91 minutes are remarkably brief compared to the extended films nominated for best picture last year. Notably, two three-hour movies, “Killers of the Flower Moon” and the eventual winner “Oppenheimer,” were among those nominations. This leads us to ponder: is the Academy’s preference for shorter or longer films changing, or will they continue to appreciate concise and impactful film viewing experiences?

Historically, longer motion pictures have made a significant impact in the Film Editing category, as their extended duration provides editors with ample chances to demonstrate their skills in managing narrative continuity, tempo, and suspense. Films such as “The Irishman” (209 minutes) and “Dances with Wolves” (181 minutes), despite their length, received acclaim for their editing prowess. Conversely, shorter films demand tighter, more precise storytelling, a task that can be equally difficult to execute in the editing room. Might this category consider recognizing some of these compact masterpieces this year?

Despite epic films like “Ben Hur” and “Titanic” being celebrated for their expansive storylines, the Academy tends to favor shorter, more streamlined narratives. This year, “The Brutalist,” “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” and the as yet unreleased “Wicked” are the frontrunners, each lasting over two and a half hours. In the end, it might not make a difference.

As a movie enthusiast, I’m eagerly anticipating the 97th Academy Awards taking place this coming Sunday, March 2nd. It’s important to note that the rankings, film listings, titles, distributors, and credited producers are still preliminary and may be subject to change before the ceremony. So, let’s keep our fingers crossed for any potential updates!

** denotes the film is not yet dated or can open in 2025.

    Oscar Predictions: Best Film Editing — Will the Academy be Tempted to Reward Short Runtimes?

    And the Predicted Nominees Are

    RankPerformer & Film
    1Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures) — Sam Restivo, Claire Simpson
    2Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) — Joe Walker
    3Emilia Pérez” (Netflix) — Juliette Welfling
    4The Brutalist” (A24) — Dávid Jancsó
    5Anora” (Neon) — Sean Baker

    Oscar Predictions: Best Film Editing — Will the Academy be Tempted to Reward Short Runtimes?

    Next in Line

    RankPerformer & Film
    6A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures) — Andrew Buckland
    7Conclave” (Focus Features) — Nick Emerson
    8Blitz” (Apple Original Films) — Peter Sciberras
    9September 5” (Paramount Pictures) — Hansjörg Weißbrich
    10Saturday Night” (Sony Pictures) — Nathan Orloff, Shane Reid

    Oscar Predictions: Best Film Editing — Will the Academy be Tempted to Reward Short Runtimes?

    Other Contenders

    RankPerformer & Film
    11The Room Next Door” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Teresa Font
    12The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (Neon) — Andrew Bird
    13Here” (Sony Pictures) — Jesse Goldsmith
    14Sing Sing” (A24) — Parker Laramie
    15Challengers” (Amazon MGM) — Marco Costa
    16Wicked” (Universal Pictures) — Myron Kerstein
    17A Real Pain” (Searchlight Pictures) — Robert Nassau
    18The Piano Lesson” (Netflix) — Leslie Jones
    19The Substance” (Mubi) — Coralie Fargeat, Jérôme Eltabet, Valentin Feron
    20The Bikeriders” (Focus Features) — Julie Monroe

    Eligible Artisans (Best Film Editing)

    Oscar Predictions: Best Film Editing — Will the Academy be Tempted to Reward Short Runtimes?

    ** 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
    • “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)
    • “Day of the Fight” (Falling Forward Films)
    • “Deadpool & Wolverine” (Marvel Studios)
    • “The Deliverance” (Netflix)
    • “Despicable Me 4” (Illumination/Universal Pictures)
    • “A Different Man” (A24)
    • “Dìdi” (Focus Features)
    • “Drive-Away Dolls” (Focus Features)
    • “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.)
    • “Elton John: Never Too Late” (Walt Disney Pictures)
    • “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix)
    • “The End” (Neon)
    • “Evil Does Not Exist” (Sideshow)
    • “Exhibiting Forgiveness” (Roadside Attractions)
    • “Fancy Dance” (Apple Original Films)
    • “The Fire Inside” (Amazon MGM)
    • “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)

    Oscar Predictions: Best Film Editing — Will the Academy be Tempted to Reward Short Runtimes?

    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 PictureDirector
    Actor in a Leading RoleActress in a Leading Role
    Actor in a Supporting RoleActress in a Supporting Role
    Original ScreenplayAdapted Screenplay
    Animated FeatureProduction Design
    CinematographyCostume Design
    Film EditingMakeup and Hairstyling
    SoundVisual Effects
    Original ScoreOriginal Song
    Documentary FeatureInternational Feature
    Animated ShortDocumentary Short
    Live Action ShortCasting (coming in 2026)

    About the Academy Awards

    The Oscars, more commonly known as the Academy Awards, is considered the most esteemed artistic honor in the movie industry, bestowed by Hollywood. Since 1927, the nominees and recipients have been chosen by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). This organization comprises approximately 10,000 individuals, who are divided into 17 branches: actors, associates, casting directors, cinematographers, costume designers, directors, documentary makers, executives, film editors, makeup artists, marketing and PR professionals, members-at-large, members-at-large (artist representatives), musicians, producers, production designers, short film and feature animation creators, sound specialists, visual effects experts, and writers.

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2024-10-04 02:51