Frankly, there’s no one more qualified to give Oscar predictions than student journalists.

Okay, maybe that’s slightly too favorable to the editors and writers of The Hatchet. But that didn’t stop the paper’s staff from offering its best guesses of what we’ll see Sunday at the Academy Awards. The slate of films might not be as widely seen as last year, when blockbusters like “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” headlined the awards show, but there’s still work worth celebrating. 

Here are our predictions and hopes for this week’s Oscars:

Best Picture

Should Win: “Conclave”

Will Win: “Anora”

Caitlin Kitson | Contributing Culture Editor

Scandals have marred the 2025 awards season. The issues that plague the nominees vary in severity, from “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón’s bigoted comments toward multiple marginalized groups to criticism from artists regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence in the production of “The Brutalist.” Among a gaggle of films dogged by controversies, there is no better choice for Best Picture than the one about unearthing secrets during a cutthroat papal selection.

“Conclave” is a political thriller that follows the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church as they struggle to elect a new Pope. Based on that brief synopsis alone, I expected a film as snooze-worthy as the Sundays I spent in my local Catholic Church growing up. But watching the cardinals gossip and scheme their way through the Vatican is as captivating as when your friend asks, “Can I be mean for a second?” before divulging their unfiltered thoughts about someone. And as the 88-year-old Pope Francis continues to battle double pneumonia, a real-life conclave could be on the horizon.

The performances are ultimately what make “Conclave” such a gripping watch, from Isabella Rossellini’s simmering intensity to Sergio Castellitto’s epic vape rips. While the success of “Anora” at the guild awards means it will likely win for Best Picture, the true winner is the film that mirrors the turbulent drama of this year’s awards season.

Best Director

Should Win: Brady Corbet

Will Win: Sean Baker

Nick Perkins | Culture Editor

There’s two types of great directing. One, a director who sets reasonable plans and pulls them off to a T — reminiscent of James K. Polk, the president who famously set four goals for himself and accomplished them all. Sean Baker’s work on “Anora,” a taught and thematically rich film, if also very small scale, fits that bill. Given the precursor awards, Baker seems all but certain to take the prize home.

But I prefer ambition, a Franklin Roosevelt-style of leadership where you throw out a billion big ideas and hope half of them stick. Brady Corbet, director of the bold, 3-and-a-half-hour “The Brutalist” fits that bill. “The Brutalist” — A24’s modern odyssey starring Adrien Brody as Hungarian architect László Toth who flees postwar Europe for a new life in America — has high highs, low lows and an almost overwhelming amount of themes and aspirations, like the integrity of artistic intention and the struggles of immigration in America. It doesn’t hit all the points it should, with some overwrought and extremely obvious writing in the second half, but in a time where more and more movies are just sequels and prequels, the Academy should reward the person trying the hardest to make the next great American film.

Best Actor

Should Win: Adrien Brody

Will Win: Brody

Jackson Lanzer | Staff Writer

This year’s best actor race isn’t just a duel between performers. It’s a judgment on AI’s presence on the silver screen. In the making of “The Brutalist,” the film’s editors used an AI voice generator called respeecher to edit star Adrien Brody’s Hungarian accent during scenes with Hungarian dialogue. This sparked controversy about AI’s role in the creative process, especially in an industry where many creatives are concerned AI will steal their jobs. 

Regardless, Brody is a front runner for the Oscar, having already won a Golden Globe and Critics Choice award for his role. 

And it’s deserved. Brody’s performance was an embodiment of Toth’s entire life — and the postwar generation’s experience, including Brody’s own family. Despite an AI touch up or two, the emotionality of Brody’s performance radiates humanity. Playing a character over the course of 20 years is no small feat, but Brody manages to keep the core of Toth’s essence throughout while also seeming older and more beleaguered as the film wears on. 

Best Actress

Should Win: Demi Moore

Will Win: Mikey Madison

Nick Perkins | Culture Editor

This race is a toss-up between Demi Moore’s bold transformation in “The Substance” and Mikey Madison’s Brooklyn-accented turn as a stripper in “Anora.” While Madison’s stubbornness and joyful charm is entertaining as the titular Anora, one only needs to look at the 2025 film “Love Hurts,” a brutally reviewed rom com starring two former ingénue Oscar winners, to see that the award should go to the more experienced Moore.

It’s always a blast when a new performer like Madison breaks on the scene, but frankly if she’s truly a star, she’s got a long career ahead of her. And if she’s not, it’ll look really awkward when Bill Simmons does an episode of “The Rewatchables” in 20 years and talks about Madison defeating Moore’s career-capping turn in “The Substance” for Best Actress. The Academy should play it safe and pick Moore, whose performance features creative physicality and spans the range of emotions — at various points in the film being drop-dead hilarious — and other times daring for an A-list star.

Best Supporting Actor

Should Win: Kieran Culkin

Will Win: Culkin

Faith Wardwell | Managing Editor

For Succession fanatics, the fight for Best Supporting Actor is just a rematch between the brothers of television’s most cutthroat dynasty. 

Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong, more well known for their roles as Roman and Kendall Roy in the HBO hit drama series, will go head-to-head for the Oscar in the star-studded category, nominated for their respective roles in “A Real Pain” and “The Apprentice.” Culkin’s witty yet poignant performance in Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” makes him a shoo-in for the award. Playing the role of Benji Kaplan, a slightly disordered maverick joining his cousin for a trip through Poland to honor their late grandmother, Culkin embodied the free-spirited spunk of his character, eerily reminiscent of his alter persona as Roman Roy.

Strong’s role as Trump lawyer Roy Cohn in “The Apprentice” also showcased what he does best — embodying a rich guy engaging in illegal activity. But Culkin’s performance dug deep with emotionality and humor, far outdoing the swath of other nominees, method acting and all. 

Best Supporting Actress

Should Win: Ariana Grande

Will Win: Zoe Saldaña

Brooke Shapiro | Staff Writer

In “Wicked,” anyone who hoped to step into Glinda’s silver slippers and voluminous ball gown had to be prepared to fully embody one of musical theater’s most beloved roles, and Ariana Grande, who’d been dreaming of floating in Glinda’s bubble since she was 10 years old, did just that. Her masterful portrayal of Glinda’s complex character, from unwitting humor to intense compassion, deserves to be awarded by the Academy.

Given Zoe Saldaña’s wins in the category at the Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards for her performance as an emotionally conflicted lawyer in “Emilia Perez,” there’s a solid chance she takes home the Oscar. But Grande’s “thrillifying” performance of Broadway’s favorite hair-tossing good witch should not go unrecognized. From the moment she belted the ear-piercing whistle tones of “No One Mourns The Wicked” to the scene when she heartbreakingly hoped for Elphaba’s happiness in “Defying Gravity,” Grande earnestly brought Glinda from stage to screen, a feat very few other actresses could have accomplished.