Talk about popular! On the eve of the Golden Globe nominations being announced, “Wicked” has now solidified its place within the top five for Gold Derby’s Best Picture Oscar predictions.
Buoyed by its ever-growing box office and its recent wins at the National Board of Review and the AFI top 10, the musical film soared past “Dune: Part Two” this weekend to officially claim the No. 5 spot in our rankings. Here are Gold Derby’s updated Best Picture odds, as of Dec. 7:
1. “Anora” — 7/1
2. “The Brutalist” — 8/1
3. “Conclave” — 8/1
4. “Emilia Pérez” — 9/1
5. “Wicked” — 9/1
6. “Dune: Part Two” — 10/1
7. “Sing Sing” — 21/2
8. “A Real Pain” — 15/1
9. “Nickel Boys” — 18/1
10. “September 5” — 30/1
Note that it’s still quite early in this awards season, and things could keep changing as our experts, editors, and top 24 users continue to update their Oscars predictions at Gold Derby. Sound off about “Wicked” in our movie forums.
After two decades as one of the most popular musicals on the Broadway stage, “Wicked” finally arrived in theaters with Part 1 in November 2024. Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba Thropp, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, and Ariana Grande takes on the role of Galinda Upland, aka Glinda the Good, in director Jon M. Chu‘s instant classic film from Universal Pictures.
“Wicked” is also predicted to receive nominations at the 2025 Oscars for Best Actress (Erivo), Best Supporting Actress (Grande), Best Costume Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Production Design, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects. And it’s highly competitive in several other races, including Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Score.
Out of Gold Derby’s 34 Oscar experts from major media outlets, the following nine now have “Wicked” in their No. 1 positions to win Best Picture: Anne Thompson (Indiewire), Clayton Davis (Variety), Jazz Tangcay (Variety), Jenelle Riley (Variety), Nikki Novak (Fandango), Perri Nemiroff (Collider), Peter Travers (ABC), Scott Mantz (KTLA-TV), and Susan King (Gold Derby).
As for our 10 website staff editors, I am the only one who currently believes “Wicked” will prevail at the 97th Academy Awards, although Chris Beachum, Christopher Rosen, and Denton Davidson all have it in their top three.
Have YOU made your Oscar predictions yet? It’s fun and easy — get started right now! The nominations will be announced on Jan. 17, 2025, and the Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, March 2 on ABC.
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