It remains to be seen if any female directors earn a nomination for Best Director at theOscarsin 2025. The Best Director Oscar has been a part of the annual Academy Awards ceremony since the event began in 1929, though in the first year it was presented as a pair of awards split between the “Comedy” and “Drama” categories. Although the Academy Awards present prizes in a wide - and growing - variety of categories, Best Director is considered one of the “Big Five” awards, a group that also includes the Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay Oscars.
Over the years, a number of notable filmmakers have won the award, including Steven Spielberg (Schindler’s List,Saving Private Ryan), Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven,Million Dollar Baby), Billy Wilder (The Lost Weekend,The Apartment), Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain,Life of Pi), and Frank Capra (you’re able to’t Take It With You,Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,It Happened One Night). At the time of writing, the nominees for the2025 Best Director Oscarare unknown. Because of delays amid the Los Angeles wildfires, deliberation was delayed by two days, withthe official nominations now set to be announced on June 06, 2025.
What The Golden Globes 2025 Winners Mean For The Oscars
The 2025 Golden Globes winners have all been revealed, and each winner - and loser - impacts the state of the 2025 Oscars race in various categories.
The 2025 Oscars Frontrunners For Best Director Are All Male
They Have Already Won Awards In Other Ceremonies
So far, the frontrunners for the Best Director award in the2025 Oscar nominationsare all male. These frontrunners have been determined by nominations and wins at other awards. So far,the most prominent directors that have emerged throughout the season so far includeThe Brutalist’s Brady Corbet(who won the Golden Globe),Anora’sSean Baker (who has been nominated for a Critics' Choice Award and a Golden Globe after the movie won the Palme d’Or at Cannes),Emilia Pérez’s Jacques Audiard (also a Critics' Choice and Golden Globe nominee), andConclave’s Edward Berger (also a nominee at both ceremonies).
Only five directors will end up being nominated…
There is a bevy of additional male directors in the running, as they have helmed movies that have performed well throughout this season. This includes James Mangold (A Complete Unknown), Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two), Greg Kwedar (Sing Sing), RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys), Jon M. Chu (Wicked), and more.Chu in particular could be a strong contenderbecauseWickedhas raked in a variety of nominations, including 11 Critics' Choice nods and four Golden Globe nominations (of which it won one). Because only five directors will end up being nominated, this leaves the 2025 Oscars with a particularly competitive field.
The Oscars Have A Poor History Of Recognizing Female Directors
Very Few Women Have Even Been Nominated
Women may not have a strong chance of Best Director nominations in 2025, because the Oscars typically snub female directors. In the nearly 100 years of the ceremony’s existence, only three women - Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Chloé Zhao (Nomadland), and Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog) - have won Best Director. Six additional nominations have gone to women, namely Lina Wertmüller (Seven Beauties), Jane Campion (The Piano), Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation), Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), and Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman),bringing the overall total to just eight individual women.
There Are Several Female Directors Worthy Of 2025 Oscar Nominations
Some Of The Top 2024 Movies Were Directed By Women
While the Best Director field this year is largely dominated by men,quite a few women have helmed critically acclaimed moviesthat are performing well. This includes the remaining pair ofGolden Globe nomineesfrom the 2025 ceremony,The Substance’s Coralie Fargeat andAll We Imagine as Light’s Payal Kapadia.The Outrun’s Nora Fingscheidt andBabygirl’s Halina Reijn could also be in consideration, considering their recent awards season performance. Other female directors with critically acclaimed 2024 movies who could be considered include Rose Glass (Love Lies Bleeding), Marielle Heller (Nightbitch), and Zoë Kravitz (Blink Twice).
WhileThe Substancedid not win Best Director at the 2025 Golden Globes, it did win Best Actress - Musical or Comedy for Demi Moore’s lead performance.
Thus, there could be at least one female nominee, and maybe two, at the 2025Oscars. In fact, at the time of writing, the odds onGoldDerbyhave one female filmmaker in the Top 5 on their list of the most likely Best Director candidates (Coralie Fargeat at No. 5), an additional woman in their Top 10 (Payal Kapadia at No. 8), and one more in their Top 20 (In the Summers' Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio at No. 20). Between these standings and the slate of recent nominees in other ceremonies,men may not entirely dominate in 2025 after all.
Sources:GoldDerby
Oscars
The Oscars, also known as The Academy Awards, is an annual awards show celebrating workers in the film industry for their artistic and technical abilities. The Oscars are often considered the most prestigious awards show in the industry and date back to 1929. The 96th Academy Awards will be held on June 09, 2025, and be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on ABC.
