No Matter Who Wins Best Director, The Oscars Will Continue An Impressive 6-Year Streak
It is great to tune into the Academy Awards to watch legends of the industry gather together to celebrate the best movies of the year, but it is also amazing to watch newer names receive recognition for their work. This is precisely why the Best Director category at the Oscars has been so refreshing in recent years. Over the last six years, filmmakers like the Daniels, Chloé Zhao, and Bong Joon-ho have received well-deserved acclaim. This year, five new directors are getting the spotlight put on them after directing some of the best movies of 2024.
Most years, I find the results of the Oscars way too easy to predict. However, the 2025 Academy Awards have shaped up to be one of the most unpredictable in years. Films like Anora, The Brutalist, Emilia Pérez, and The Substance have been standouts throughout awards season, but I still don't know who's going to win awards like Best Director at the Academy Awards. However, whoever wins this award, it is clear that a six-year streak in the Best Director category will continue at this year's Academy Awards.
The Oscars 2025 Will Have Another First Time Best Director Winner
The 2025 Academy Awards Will Continue A Six-Year Best Director Streak
For the past six years, a first-time winner has won Best Director at the Academy Awards. This is a streak that is guaranteed to be continued this year, since all the nominees for Best Director are first-timers. At the 2025 Academy Awards, the nominees for Best Director are Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez, Sean Baker for Anora, Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, Coralie Fargeat for The Substance, and James Mangold for A Complete Unknown. Currently, Baker or Corbet are the favorites to win the award.
2025 Best Director Nominees | Movie | RT Critics Score |
|---|---|---|
Jacques Audiard | Emilia Pérez | 72% |
Sean Baker | Anora | 93% |
Brady Corbet | The Brutalist | 93% |
Coralie Fargeat | The Substance | 89% |
James Mangold | A Complete Unknown | 81% |
No matter who wins the award, this is such an exciting category since this is the first time all the Best Director nominees are first-timers since 1998, when James Cameron won the Oscar for Titanic. This first-time Best Director winner streak started in 2020 when Bong Joon-ho won for his film Parasite. This ongoing streak is so great because it allows new filmmakers to be recognized on one of the most important stages in Hollywood.
This Oscars Streak Is More Surprising Looking At The 2010s
There Were Multiple Repeat Best Director Winners In The 2010s
Over the last few years, it has become normal for fresh directors to be elevated to new levels by winning the Best Director Oscar. However, this wasn't always the case. In fact, this Oscars streak is even more surprising since there were multiple repeat Best Director winners throughout the 2010s. For example, Alfonso Cuarón won the Best Director Oscar for Gravity in 2014 and for Roma in 2019. Additionally, Alejandro G. Iñárritu won back-to-back Best Director Oscars in 2015 and 2016, for Birdman and The Revenant.
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Additionally, Ang Lee also won Best Director at the Academy Awards for the second time in 2013 for Life of Pi, after previously winning in 2006 for Brokeback Mountain. Since there were three repeat winners in less than ten years, it is extra refreshing that this first-time winner streak will continue this year. It will be exciting to see who ends up winning the Best Director Oscar at the Academy Awards, which will be held on March 2, 2025.
