The 2025 SAG Awards have laid out a general blueprint for the upcoming 2025 Oscars, which will be held on Sunday, March 2. The full list of 2025 SAG Award winners featured Demi Moore winning Best Actress for The Substance, Zoe Saldaña winning Best Supporting Actress for Emilia Perez, Timothée Chalamet winning Best Actor for A Complete Unknown, and Kieran Culkin winning Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain. Only one of these main categories was truly considered a тιԍнт race, as Moore, Saldaña, and Culkin have already had quite a decorated 2024–2025 awards season.

Among the most surprising snubs of the SAG Awards nominations was Adrien Brody not winning Best Actor in a Motion Picture for his lead role in The Brutalist. Brody, who won the Oscar for Best Actor for 2002’s The Pianist, has garnered a fair share of acclaim this awards season for The Brutalist, including a BAFTA Award, a Critics’ Choice Award, and a Golden Globe. Other highlights of the 2025 SAG Awards, which streamed exclusively on Netflix for the second year in a row, included a Lifetime Achievement Award received by Jane Fonda, who may have had the most meaningful acceptance speech of the evening.

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Kieran Culkin Is Nearly Guaranteed To Win Best Supporting Actor

Kieran Culkin took home yet another award for his performance as Benji Kaplan in Jesse Eisenberg’s drama A Real Pain. Culkin delivered a unique and moving performance that has earned him universal acclaim across the board, earning a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, a Critics’ Choice Award, and an Independent Spirit Award.

With a SAG Award now under his belt heading into the 2025 Oscars, he has become more than the one to beat, but actually the one who seemingly can’t be beat. Culkin’s fellow nominees, which include his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong, may have to hand it to Culkin for his outstanding work in A Real Pain.

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Emilia Pérez Controversy Won’t Stop Zoe Saldaña’s Supporting Actress Streak

Although Emilia Pérez will head into Oscars night with a year-high 13 nominations, the recent controversy surrounding lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón has inspired major stepbacks and potential obstacles toward walking away victorious.

Regardless of the controversy, Zoe Saldaña’s win at the 2025 SAG Awards for Best Supporting Actress breathed a major sigh of relief for Emilia Pérez’s Oscar chances, particularly those of Saldaña herself. Saldaña has now won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for her supporting role as Rita in Emilia Pérez, which was well-deserved considering her dancing and singing requirements for the part.

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Demi Moore Looks To Be The Best Actress Favorite Over Anora’s Mikey Madison

Demi Moore and Mikey Madison were still in close contention for the Best Actress Oscar heading into the 2025 SAG Awards, especially considering Anora’s success at the Independent Spirit Awards that occurred the night before. Moore’s SAG victory makes her the clear frontrunner heading into the 2025 Oscars on March 2 after she already won the Golden Globe and the Critics Choice Award.

The Oscars race is certainly not over, however, as Madison’s BAFTA win for her lead role of Ani in Anora over Moore should not be ignored. Moore has a clear advantage of being the Oscars favorite but Madison is not far behind her.

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The Best Actor Race Will Come Down To Timothée Chalamet & Adrien Brody

The closest Oscars race in an acting category is currently between Adrien Brody for The Brutalist and Timothée Chalamet for A Complete Unknown. Although Brody has been cleaning up this awards season, winning the Best Actor BAFTA, Critics’ Choice, and Golden Globe, Chalamet is still considered a favorite to win Best Actor at the 2025 Oscars according to a handful of expert predictions.

Chalamet has yet to win an Oscar but was previously nominated for Call Me By Your Name. It will be interesting to see whether the controversy surrounding the use of AI for certain accents in The Brutalist will tip the scales in Calamet’s favor on Oscars night.

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Conclave’s Best Ensemble Cast Win Improves Its Best Picture Chances

Conclave had a relatively quiet night at the 2025 SAG Awards in individual categories but came through in the end to secure the prestigious Best Ensemble Cast award. This should help improve its Best Picture chances at the 2025 Oscars after winning Best Film at the 2025 BAFTA Awards, Best Acting Ensemble at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards, and Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes.

Although Conclave should take home at least one of its eight Oscar nominations, it’s unlikely that it will find success in any individual acting category considering the relative dominance and current H๏τ streaks of its projected winners. Conclave is poised to win Best Adapted Screenplay and could surprise with a Best Director victory. The real prize of the night, Best Picture, is well within Conclave’s grasp after another ensemble cast win at the 2025 SAG Awards.