2025 Oscar Predictions

Lately, there's been this split inside the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as the old guard continues to clash with an influx of newer members who changed the game when preferential balloting went into effect in 2009. While the former still cling to traditionalist views of what an Oscar winner should look and feel like, a younger, more diverse voting body has risen up, with some surprising results. 

Rarely has the playing field seemed as fractured as this year, as competing definitions of what a Best Picture is comes to a head an hour early on Sunday when Conan O'Brien hosts the show. And as recent victors like Parasite, Nomadland, Coda and Everything Everywhere All At Once have proven, bigger doesn't always equal better for voters, with gigantic, high grossing theatrical epics becoming extinct in the streaming era. In retrospect, last year's "Barbenheimer" phenomenon was an anomaly, not just in terms of critical and commercial success, but in generating the kind of water cooler buzz that leads to renewed Oscar interest. 

Wicked appeared to be taking that route until abruptly fading from the conversation despite its 10 nomination haul. Instead, the headline surrounding this 87th Academy Awards is scandal, with former frontrunner Emilia Pérez's chances going up in smoke after a flurry of offensive tweets resurfaced from Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón. Now, it faces the very real possibility of being shut out of all 13 categories for which its nominated. 

Suddenly, we're left with a potential Conclave vs. Anora showdown when the dramatic papal thriller faces off against a more zeitgeisty vision that could better represent where modern filmmaking's headed. Whether it gets the general public to care about the show is almost beside the point since this almost century old institution isn't going anywhere, regardless of what wins or how much doomsayers complain. But we are set for a really tight one on Sunday. Below are my predictions, along with an analysis of the major categories.                

 

*Predicted Winners 

ANIMATED FEATURE
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

ANIMATED SHORT
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
Sugarcane 

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Death By Numbers
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
I'm Still Here (Brazil)
The Girl with the Needle (Denmark)
Emilia Perez (France)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany)
Flow (Latvia)

LIVE ACTION SHORT 
A Lien
Anuja
I'm Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent 

FILM EDITING
Anora (Sean Baker)
The Brutalist (David Jancso)
Conclave (Nick Emerson)
Emilia Pérez (Juliette Welfling)
Wicked (Myron Kerstein)

SOUND
A Complete Unknown (Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey & David Giammarco)
Dune: Part Two (Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett & Doug Hemphill)
Emilia Pérez (Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz & Niels Barletta)
Wicked (Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson & John Marquis)
The Wild Robot (Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo & Leff Lefferts)

PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Brutalist (Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia)
Conclave (Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter)
Dune: Part Two (Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau)
Nosferatu (Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová)
Wicked (Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales)

COSTUME DESIGN
A Complete Unknown (Arianne Phillips)
Conclave (Lisy Christl)
Gladiator II (Janty Yates & Dave Crossman)
Nosferatu (Linda Muir)
Wicked (Paul Tazewell)

ORIGINAL SCORE
The Brutalist (Daniel Blumberg)
Conclave (Volker Bertelmann)
Emilia Pérez (Clément Ducol and Camille)
Wicked (John Powell and Stephen Schwartz)
The Wild Robot (Kris Bowers)

ORIGINAL SONG
"El Mal," Emilia Pérez (Clément Ducol, Camille & Jacques Audiard)
"The Journey," The Six Triple Eight (Diane Warren)
"Like a Bird," Sing Sing (Abraham Alexander & Adrian Quesada)
"Mi Camino," Emilia Pérez (Camille & Clément Ducol)
“Never Too Late,” Elton John: Never Too Late (Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt & Bernie Taupin)

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
A Different Man (Mike Marino, David Presto & Crystal Jurado)
Emilia Pérez (Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier & Jean-Christophe Spadaccini)
Nosferatu (David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne Stokes-Munton)
The Substance (Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli)
Wicked (Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth)

VISUAL EFFECTS
Alien: Romulus (Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin & Shane Mahan)
Better Man (Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft & Peter Stubbs)
Dune: Part Two (Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe & Gerd Nefzer)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story & Rodney Burke)
Wicked (Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist (Lol Crawley)
Dune: Part Two (Greig Fraser)
Emilia Pérez (Paul Guilhaume)
Maria (Ed Lachman)
Nosferatu (Jarin Blaschke)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
A Complete Unknown (James Mangold, Jay Cocks)
Conclave (Peter Straughan)
Emilia Pérez (Jacques Audiard; In collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius & Nicolas Livecchi)
Nickel Boys (RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes)
Sing Sing (Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John "Divine G" Whitfield)

A month or two ago, Audiard's script for Emilia Pérez would have been a serious threat in this category, or at least leading Nickel Boys and Sing Sing. Now it's in dead last, with all the controversy shining an even bigger spotlight on what dissenters already thought was the film's weakest aspect. Now, A Complete Unknown has made up about as much ground as Pérez lost, but most are more enamored with Chalamet's take on Dylan than Mangold and Cocks' script. That leaves the still very well regarded Conclave, which almost has to win this with Edward Burger's direction going unnominated and the Actor and Picture outcomes still in doubt. Its recent SAG and BAFTA trophies only help.       

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anora (Sean Baker)
The Brutalist (Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold)
A Real Pain (Jesse Eisenberg)
September 5 (Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; Co-Written by Alex David)
The Substance (Coralie Fargeat)

It's a surprise enough voters even knew about September 5 so its inclusion here is probably reward enough. A Real Pain has a great chance, but with only one other nod to its name, it may not be significant enough to topple three strong Best Picture contenders. If it's between Anora, The Brutalist and The Substance, this outcome largely depends on what happens in the bigger, more consequential races. Given the roll Anora's on and that the latter two will likely be recognized elsewhere, you have to figure this goes to WGA winner Sean Baker, who's the only nominee equally respected as both a writer and director. Whether or not Anora takes home the big one, voters will want to reward him here.        

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown)
Ariana Grande (Wicked)
Felicity Jones (The Brutalist)
Isabella Rossellini (Conclave)
Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez)

With a frontrunner who's been forced to distance herself from the very film she's nominated for, the discussion revolves around how much damage has been done to Zoe Saldaña. But there's good news. While not quite the lock she was a month ago, even Pérez's most vehement haters would admit her performance is far and away the best thing in it. So what it really comes down to is whether anyone can beat her. 

Rossellini has two minutes of screen time in Conclave, most need to be reminded The Brutalist's Jones was nominated, and as much love as A Complete Unknown's Monica Barbaro has gotten, a win her first time out is a stretch. That leaves us with Ariana Grande, who's deserving, but Wicked's stalled campaign makes it hard to imagine voters favoring her, even under these circumstances. If anything, the Academy will be more inclined to reward Saldaña for graciously holding it together throughout the entire P.R. disaster. With Globe, BAFTA and SAG wins under her belt, she's got this.               

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Yura Borisov (Anora)
Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)
Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown)
Guy Pearce (The Brutalist)
Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice)

Anora's Yura Borisov earned a surprise, but well deserved nod that's hopefully just the start for him. Norton represents yet another endorsement for A Complete Unknown, but he's a real longshot. Though many think Guy Pearce should be getting even more attention for his role as industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren in The Brutalist, he's a lot less likely than Adrien Brody to be the acting win that polarizing film picks up. 

So good as young Trump's slimy mentor Roy Cohn in The Apprentice, Jeremy Strong taking this feels completely justified, if not for the fact his Succession costar Culkin already has it locked up for his manic portrayal of rambunctious, grief ridden cousin Benji Kaplan in A Real Pain. While the Supporting Actress race is known for its upsets, this category isn't, and should be the only foregone conclusion of the night. Put your money on Culkin, who won every precursor in sight and seems poised to deliver another wildly entertaining acceptance speech.   

ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo (Wicked)
Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez)
Mikey Madison (Anora)
Demi Moore (The Substance)
Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here)

Gascón never had much of a chance at pulling this off anyway given how her lead category placement was called into question from the get-go, with many still believing she and Saldaña should have swapped places. But none of that matters now, as her shot at becoming the first openly trans actress to win an Academy Award has evaporated. But what it does is create an opening for beloved underdog Fernanda Torres to capture some of those international votes for her Golden Globe winning performance in I'm Still Here, which no one dislikes.

Erivo seemed much stronger before Wicked fizzled, erasing her from contention and leaving Mikey Madison and Demi Moore to battle it out in a race that's narrowed considerably in recent weeks as Anora's gained momentum. Madison's surprise BAFTA win definitely helped and a potential Best Picture victory could seal this since her performance and the film are nearly inseparable. But SAG and Globe losses to Moore, combined with her lower visibility, could hurt. Voters have also have a history of passing over young ingenues by rationalizing how much "time" they still have to win Oscars.

It's less what Madison lacks than everything Moore brings, which is immense popularity and a narrative that overcomes any ambivalence toward endorsing a graphic body horror film. And who among the Academy won't want to hear another inspiring acceptance speech about the double standards facing  women in Hollywood? Or reward an actress who thought she was finished, only to pour all those fears and insecurities into the defining role of her forty year career? Comeback stories don't get much bigger than this.                     

ACTOR
Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)
Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)
Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)
Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)
Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice)

In a sparser than usual field, I'd jump out of my seat if Sebastian Stan won for The Apprentice, but it's just not in the cards. And neither is a victory for Sing Sing's Colman Domingo or Conclave's Ralph Fiennes, who's slipped despite Conclave recently regaining ground. Besides giving the category's most popular performance, Chalamet managed to win over many doubters who assumed he couldn't play a believable Bob Dylan and does his own singing (something previous winners like Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody can't claim). The surprise SAG victory indicates passionate support, even if it came after Oscar voting already ended. 

Whether or not playing a real life figure still carries the same currency it once did, Chalamet would be the youngest Best Actor winner ever at 29, breaking the record set by fellow nominee Adrien Brody over twenty years earlier in The Pianist. And we'll see if voters can justify holding off on crowning Chalamet, who many believe will be back here again soon. But whatever hesitation there is in recognizing Mikey Madison for that reason, just double it and ask Elvis' Austin Butler how things went for him against Brendan Fraser. As divisive as it is, The Brutalist can't go home empty handed and Brody's suffering performance as Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor László Tóth could be how voters honor it, making him a two-time Oscar winner. Still, this race is a coin flip.                

DIRECTOR
Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez)
Sean Baker (Anora)
Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)
Coralie Fargeat (The Substance)
James Mangold (A Complete Unknown)

Voters might be feeling a twinge of remorse that they can't substitute Conclave's Edward Burger, Nickel Boys' RaMell Ross, or Dune: Part Two's Denis Villeneuve in for Audiard, but the ship already sailed. A Complete Unknown will be remembered and celebrated for a while to come, but most agree it won't necessarily be for Mangold's direction. The Substance making it this far is a real credit to the talents of writer/director Fargeat, but a Best Actress and Makeup win is probably its ceiling. 

A possible Picture/Director split is always on everyone's minds when this year's no exception. Almost equally strong cases can be made for Brady Corbet and Sean Baker, but Baker has the slight edge having picked up that coveted DGA, an almost foolproof indicator that the Oscar's his. And if The Brutalist is a rough sit for voters, the more warmly embraced Anora has been held up as the ultimate signifier of Baker's skills. And him somehow feeling overdue with barely ten films behind him has to be seen as a very positive sign.         

BEST PICTURE
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I'm Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked

Emilia Pérez is finished, and while it's still leagues better than the atrocity that's been described, the film's excessive nomination tally and unfortunate scandal put a target on its back. Wicked peaked months ago and will occupy a proverbial blockbuster slot alongside Dune: Part Two, with voters awaiting their final installments before awarding either.

The competition is too stiff for I'm Still Here and Nickel Boys, neither of which have a director nod or equally meaningful notice that indicates a break through. The Substance's genre starts factoring in here since there's very little chance the Academy would crown a horror film with its top prize. A Complete Unknown's late surge is impressive, but more likely to result in a win for Chalamet than the movie as a whole. 

The Brutalist was looking much better a couple of weeks ago and it's hard to imagine a cerebral critics pick running away with this, especially considering how a similarly themed and executed masterpiece like There Will Be Blood couldn't even manage to pull it off. Conclave has a BAFTA and just recently got the SAG boost, but Berger's lack of a directing nod is worrisome.

While there's some precedent for overcoming the director hurdle (ask Ben Affleck), what can't be overcome is Anora winning both the PGA and DGA, making its path to gold a whole lot easier. Of those that have, only Brokeback Mountain, La La Land and 1917 failed to win Best Picture, with their losses documented as the most shocking in Oscar history. This doesn't feel like one of those races. Anora checks all the important boxes, solidifying it as the safer bet.                

2025 Oscar Nominations (Reaction and Analysis)

After an understandable delay and a couple of reschedulings, the 97th annual Academy Award nominations were announced live this morning by actors Rachel Sennott and Bowen Yang from the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The results largely lined up with what was anticipated, save for a few surprises and one huge shock. What's most predictable about these is how the wealth is always spread among two or three films, leaving the rest to fight for scraps, despite everything usually hovering around the same level of quality. And without a big frontrunner like Oppenheimer, that was only magnified this year. 

Of course, there are always complaints about how certain fan favorites were overlooked, leaving us to determine what exactly constitutes a "snub." While those definitions will vary based on who you ask, there were still some noteworthy developments as we approach the Academy's first live steaming telecast on March 2 hosted by Conan O' Brien. Now with a little over a month left to go, we at least know a little more about where voters' heads are at, as scary as that prospect seems. Below are all the important talking points. Click here for the complete list of nominees.

-13 nominations for Emilia Pérez is a bit much, and if that's coming from someone who really liked the film, you can just imagine other reactions to Jacques Audiard's crime musical tying Oppenheimer's nomination haul. While it probably won't come anywhere close to that win total, it could be the rare case where a movie's increased profile is a detriment, causing detractors to dig their heels in even more.  

-Wicked and The Brutalist followed with 10 nods a piece, shattering whatever expectations that the latter would be too tough or cerebral a sit for voters. Of course we're assuming they actually watched it. To no one's surprise, Wicked cleaned up in all the technical categories such as costume, visual effects, production design, sound, editing and makeup. 

-The glaring omission of Conclave's Edward Berger in the director category all but confirms suspicions it's not going the distance, especially with Pérez's Audiard and The Brutalist's Brady Corbet in the mix. It's also reasonable to speculate James Mangold took Berger's spot, further solidifying voters' love for A Complete Unknown, which overperformed across the board. Any lingering worries about genre bias toward The Substance was just squashed with Coralie Fargeat's inclusion here and in Best Original Screenplay and Picture.

-The Substance's, Demi Moore is sitting in a really favorable position with a strong narrative to win, even as Mickey Madison still remains a possible victor for her work in Sean Baker's Anora. Despite lead/supporting category confusion, Pérez's Karla Sofia Gascón becomes Oscars' first openly trans Best Actress nominee while the field is rounded out with Wicked's Cynthia Erivo and I'm Still Here's Golden Globe winner Fernanda Torres, who's inclusion came at the expense of Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths), Angelina Jolie (Maria), Nicole Kidman (Babygirl) and Amy Adams (Nightbitch). Zendaya was always a longshot for Challengers, and though it would have be downright surreal to utter the words "Oscar nominee Pamela Anderson" for The Last Showgirl, a bigger surprise comes in another category.

-Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice! Oddsmakers gave him a much better chance at getting in for his other Globe-nominated performance in A Different Man, but the audible gasp in the room when his name was announced for that film said it all. Easily the nomination of the morning, and one of the most deserved, with the Academy proving they can get it right. Adrien Brody has a good chance at becoming a two-time Oscar winner for The Brutalist, as he competes with Conclave's Ralph Fiennes, Timothée Chalamet's take on Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown and Sing Sing's Colman Domingo. Queer's Daniel Craig is left out.

-A groundswell of support for the film helps lift A Complete Unknown's Monica Barbaro to a Supporting Actress nomination for her performance as Joan Baez in one of the mornings more surprising inclusions. Selena Gomez's absence wasn't entirely unpredictable, with many voters likely thinking her Pérez co-star Zoe Saldaña has this in the bag anyway. Wicked's Ariana Grande will be her closest competition while Conclave's Isabella Rossellini nabs the last spot with the smallest role here. The obvious exclsuion is Margaret Qualley for The Substance, and while we suspected this could happen, it's still somewhat surprising after seeing how well the film fared overall. 

-Denzel (Gladiator II) and Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing) are the only perceived oversights in a Supporting Actor category that sees Jeremy Strong justifiably getting his due for his complex turn as Donald Trump's despicable mentor Roy Cohn in The Apprentice. Joining him is Anora breakout Yura Borisov, A Complete Unknown's Ed Norton and The Brutalist's Guy Pearce, who serves as the latest indicator this divisive film is gaining traction. As basically the surest lock in any race right now, it's Kieran Culkin's to lose for A Real Pain.    

-With Best Picture shaping up to be a two movie battle between Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist, it seemed as if decided Dune: Part Two had a guaranteed spot months ago, if only out of pure obligation. Wicked, Conclave and Anora were all no brainers while the Nickel Boys and Brazil's adored International submission, I'm Still Here occupy underdog slots that many thought would go to A Real Pain and Sing Sing. Beating the odds, The Substance becomes one of the very few sci-fi/horror films to get nominated for the big prize. And riding its sudden wave of momentum, A Complete Unknown can now lay claim to matching Director and Picture nominations.

Other Random Observations:

-Nosferatu did surprisingly well, picking up nods for costume, makeup, production design and cinematography. More than most expected.

-Composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are overlooked for their pulsating Challengers score, which many thought was the movie's best chance at a nomination.

-Despite its Original Screenplay nod and inevitable Kieran Culkin win, A Real Pain may go down as one of those critics' picks that just couldn't gain a foothold with voters in major categories, which might actually be a compliment.

-The Best Original Song category has failed to drum up interest in recent years and the decision not to have nominated songs performed on the show only reinforces that. And considering one of the two from Emilia Pérez is sung by a major recording artist co-starring in the film, this feels like even more of a missed opportunity than usual.

-Documentaries haven't fared much better, as a category that once generated a decent amount of excitement with eclectic selections is now almost entirely comprised of films examining social issues and nothing else. There's no question those should be there, but remember Searching For Sugar Man? It probably wouldn't make the cut now, though they did find room this year for Elton John's Never Too Late. If 2023's snub of Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie didn't reveal voters' aversion to entertainment biographies, their latest exclusion of Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story may have confirmed it. 

The Best (and Worst) Movie Posters of 2010

I have to admit to being a little surprised at just how popular my annual movie poster list is but I'm thrilled because I love doing it and it's easily my favorite post to work on each year. While this isn't the best selection I can remember, there's still a lot to choose from and more than enough for me to justify doing it a month ahead of schedule. And the more I do these the more obvious it gets how a important film's poster is to selling a movie to the masses. Granted there are always other factors and sometimes your mind is made up whether you want to see it anyway, but when it comes to marketing there's no denying it's key role and studios would be wise to remember that. From an artistic standpoint they're always fun to check out and critique...at least for me. Below is the best, worst, as well as some others with my comments. You know the drill. Here it goes...


THE BEST


10. Best Worst Movie

The best worst movie gets the best worst poster. In case you're wondering, it's a documentary about what's widely considered the "worst movie in history," 1989's Troll 2. The makers of this obviously never saw Fool's Gold or Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. I have no doubt this film is better than any of those or Troll 2, and after looking at this perfect comic book inspired poster I kind of want to see it now. The approach has been done to death but that's only because it's so successful. 



9. The Runaways

 

Here's the quintessential teaser for a movie. With a single striking image that conveys the theme of the film it shows just enough to build anticipation and get the point across without overdoing it. The subsequent posters actually featuring Fanning and Stewart in character were boring and ordinary. There's nothing ordinary about this. They even faded the edges to make it look like a worn LP. That's commitment. Awesome tag line as well.



8. Carlos

"The Man Who Hijacked The World".... and a poster from the 1970's. The retro tactic can get tired if the design is lacking but this is so well done it feels more like an original print from that era than an homage or duplication (reminiscent of The Bank Job poster a couple of years ago) It just exudes cool and even though I have no idea what's the movie's about they've piqued my interest with this one-sheet. Sometimes simplicity really is best way to go.




7. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Unofficial)

What was that I said about the comic book design being done to death? Well, no complaints here again especially since this really is a legitimate comic book movie and they'd be crazy not to use an action-packed illustration. I'm cheating a little here since this is an "unofficial" poster but what shocked me was the quality of the art work and just how damn good it looks, making me wish all promotional materials were hand drawn by real artists (in this case the great Martin Ansin). I'll soon find out if the movie can live up to it.



6. I'm Still Here

So here's a different take on the popular, familiar "floating head" poster. I'd say the floating head is excusable when that head belongs to an insane, homeless looking Joaquin Phoenix who pretended to be homeless and insane for a year so he could make this film. It seems impossible that a poster would be able to effectively capture that but this somehow does. It's oddly strange yet compelling how the title weaves in and out of his face. And yes, that's an observation I never expected to make when describing a movie poster. Ever.



5. For Colored Girls

Who said great work can't be done with watercolors anymore? You won't find this hanging on someone's refrigerator in the kitchen. You're more likely to see it in an art exhibit. It's that good. This is really classy and sends the desired message that it's a film to be taken seriously. I'd argue that message is more necessary than usual in this case considering it's a Tyler Perry movie, though you'd never know that looking at this. Major props to him for not plastering his name all over the poster and letting that unforgettable face against the stark white background speak for itself.





4. Black Swan (Take Your Pick)
 

The best thing about these four international art-deco style Black Swan posters? Natalie Portman isn't anywhere to be found (yep, I said it). For my proof just look here and here. Yeah I think we should stick with these since Portman in kabuki makeup really didn't work out so well last time. If I didn't know what these were and just saw them hanging in someone's living room, I'd be tricked into thinking they're valuable. And they are in a way since movie posters this ambitious and artistic don't come along every day. But how dare Natalie and her evil ballet movie even attempt to compete with....



3. The Social Network

Oh, what a surprise. 2010 may go down as the year when they finally cracked the code to making faces and heads look visually interesting on a poster.  I assumed it wouldn't even be possible to get me more excited for this film than I already was or possibly design a poster that could somehow do justice to a masterpiece but this Man Who Fell To Earth-style teaser gets the job done. Not that it should be a surprise considering the design company behind it (Kellerhouse, Inc.) were responsible for one of the decade's most memorable posters last year. Nice touch with the Facebook sidebar.



2. Buried

If you're going to copy an artist you could do a lot worse than Saul Bass. It's been done thousands of times before but who cares? It works, mainly because the best way to make your point is with striking simplicity. Of course, it helps when the film's premise lends itself really well to that technique. Had I not known anything about the movie before hand I could glance at this and tell you immediately that it's a suspense thriller about a man being buried alive. No poster this year gets its plot across cleaner and crisper than this, or is more fun to look at. The alternate poster isn't too bad either (see below).



1.  The American

Audiences hated it. Some critics love it. Say what you want about The American as a film but both camps would have agree that this movie got a poster way better the movie deserved and that's coming from someone who really liked it. It's almost as if someone sat down and studied the grainy, minimalistic style of all the classic 60's prints and put all their energy into reproducing it as accurately as possible. In fact, I have no doubt that's exactly how they went about designing this. Anyone wondering how a movie everyone seemed to hate still racked up so much money at the box office needs only to look above. Sure Clooney's good, but he's not THAT good. He had some help from the marketing department on this one. Retro reigns supreme again.



Runners-Up (Alphabetically)



The Black Waters of Echo's Pond

Buried (Version 4)

Happy Tears

Salt

Continuing the trend of visually striking floating head posters, it's a considerable asset when that floating head (along with those eyes and famous lips) belongs to Angelina Jolie. There's no other approach that would have made more sense here since it's all about her anyway, right? But there were still ways this could have gone all wrong, but didn't. And it sure beats her trying to eat a small child. I like the bold choice of not centering her. 



Saw 3D: The Final Chapter

We get one of these posters every year for each new installment and they all more or less seem the same. But this one for what's supposedly the "final chapter" is actually creative and inspired. The construction of Jigsaw. At least an effort was made to be different and completely break from the usually tired horror teaser trend.




Shutter Island

It's hard to justify why I find this so cool because on the surface it seems very ordinary and has an almost direct-to-DVD quality about it, but the visual and colors capture the movie so well. This other similar one isn't nearly as eye-catching, and that probably comes down to the color scheme. I'll be ripped for saying it, but I actually kind of prefer the haunting poster to the actual film, which I enjoyed by the way.



Tron Legacy

Youth in Revolt

"If Only The Movie Could Be Even Half as Good as This Poster" Award


Iron Man 2

Artist: Tyler Stout 




Frost/Nixon Award for Weirdest Poster of the Year


Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Wasn't sure whether I should put this under "Best," Worst" or maybe both, but if I were a multi-millionaire sitting at my granite topped desk smoking a Cuban, reading the Wall Street Journal while drinking a scotch, this would be in a sleek custom frame hanging over my head. If in concept it's nearly identical to the portrait from 1986, why is this one so much funnier? Is it LaBeouf? It's tough to see here but I like the attention to detail in making it actually resemble a real oil painting. Totally insane, but a keeper.




THE WORST 


The Bounty Hunter (Version 2)

The other one's pretty bad but this is worse. Aniston looks like a giant. Butler is either breaking her spine or sitting on an imaginary curb. It's one thing to have a pun that awful as your tag line, it's another entirely to be so proud of it that it annoyingly overpowers everything else on the poster.



Extraordinary Measures

The grumpy, transparent airbrushed ghost of Harrison Ford haunts Brendan Fraser. The saddest part is given the recent track record of both actors the movie was already down two strikes and desperately needed the poster to not look like this for anyone to even CONSIDER seeing it.



The Ghost Writer

Speaking of ghosts, one of the most overrated movies of 2010 gets one of the most poorly photo shopped posters, but even I'll concede the film is substantially more intelligent than this lets on. Strangely though, it does kind of capture how run-of-the-mill the whole thing felt. We even get a visual shout out to that ridiculous final scene.



Hereafter

Avatar 2 starring Matt Damon... and his Rounders haircut. 



The King's Speech

Rather than going through all the trouble on photoshop, I'm wondering if it just would have been easier for the designers of this poster to go to David Fincher's house and hand deliver him his Academy Award in person a few months early. This poster is for a potential Best Picture contender. Let that sink in a second while I write them a thank you note for securing The Social Network's victory. Supposedly a second superior poster is forthcoming but the damage is already done. And wait...doesn't this kind of strangely resemble a certain poster for a Kate Hudson rom-com a couple of years ago?  



Knight and Day (Versions 2 and 3)

Both of these are just so bad I couldn't choose, though if I had to the top would probably win (lose). Though I'm a fan of theirs, Diaz and Cruise haven't exactly been in audiences' good graces so to literally paste their bodies (and what kind of resembles their faces) front and center in silly action poses probably wasn't the way to go. Sadly, the first throwback-style teaser that didn't feature them at all was actually pretty good.




Morning Glory

Here's Mr. Grumpy again. On a note not entirely unrelated to this poster, why does Harrison Ford even bother appearing in romantic comedies? He always looks so miserable and embarrassed to be in them, to the point that even the fat pay check for it looks like it would do little to cheer him up. I really don't understand the multi-colored font choice and why this looks like a sixth grade art class project, with all due respect to sixth graders, most of whom would probably agree with me on its awfulness. There were two more of the same poster featuring Diane Keaton and Rachel McAdams but why does Ford's seem like the worst? On second thought, let's not answer that.



The Switch

So I guess this finally settles the debate whether Jennifer Aniston got botox, if there was one. Apparently, while she was there she also got a discount on airbrushing and photoshopping. I feel bad for Bateman, not just the sole highlight in the movies in which he appears, but now also their posters.



When In Rome

To answer the tagline, yes I have wished for the impossible. Unfortunately, I'm starting to think the "impossible" is Kristen Bell starring in a quality film that doesn't give off Kate Hudson-like vibes. As lackluster as When In Rome was it still deserved better than this lame treatment, as does she. It's as if they went out of their to make her look as ridiculous as possible and that bright yellow is almost always the enemy on any movie poster. The little car with a mini Josh Duhamel and friends really sends this one over the top. Hopeless.




I can't end on such a low note. While fully acknowledging my bias here, the following aren't actual movie posters (though they definitely could be) but a series of brilliant illustrations for The Social Network by artist David Ansin done exclusively for Wired magazine. And they're cooler than just about anything else I posted here.