Oscars Archives – Laemmle Theatres

Another Academy Awards night has come and gone, which means it’s time to reveal the winners of Laemmle Theatres’ annual Oscar prediction contest!

As always, our movie-loving patrons proved remarkably prescient, though a few of this year’s categories kept everyone guessing right up until the final envelope.

1st Place: James – $100 Laemmle Gift Card

2nd Place: Joshua – $50 Laemmle Gift Card

3rd Place: Michael – $25 Laemmle Gift Card

Congratulations to our winners! We’ll be reaching out soon about your prizes.

As it turned out, our top contestants were so evenly matched that we had to rely on the tie-breaker question—guessing the total runtime of the Oscars telecast—to determine the final standings. This year’s ceremony clocked in at 235 minutes, which ultimately separated first place from the rest of the pack.

Several of the night’s biggest races also proved surprisingly divisive among Laemmle voters. Best Actor was one of the most hotly contested categories, with about half of participants predicting Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme. In the end, however, the Academy went (perhaps ‘chasséd’) another direction, awarding the Oscar to Michael B. Jordan for Sinners.

The Best Supporting Actor category also split voters, many of whom predicted either Sean Penn for One Battle After Another (who ultimately took home the award) or Stellan Skarsgård for Sentimental Value. Meanwhile, Best Cinematography was another toss-up among our contestants, with many selecting One Battle After Another, though the Oscar ultimately went to Autumn Durald Arkapaw for Sinners—making history as the first woman ever to win the award.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s contest! Be sure to check out our fancy pie charts and breakdown of how Laemmle patrons voted across all the categories.

And of course, it’s never too early to start thinking about next year’s contenders. See you at the movies—and at next year’s Oscars contest!

The Oscar nominations are out, the debates are raging, and once again it’s time to test your instincts against those of the Academy. Welcome to the Umpteenth Annual Laemmle Oscar Contest, our favorite annual exercise in hope, hubris, and lovingly overthought predictions.

Teyana Taylor in One Battle After Another — One Battle After Another

If last year proved anything, it’s that certainty can be a dangerous commodity. After all, a whopping 66.1% of Laemmle patrons were convinced Demi Moore would win Best Actress for The Substance, while only 10.7% correctly predicted Mikey Madison’s longshot victory for Anora. Consensus, as it turns out, is no guarantee of clairvoyance.

The same pattern emerged across the technical and animated races. In Best Film Editing, 35.6% of Laemmle patrons expected Conclave (edited by Nick Emerson) to prevail, compared with only 20.1% backing Anora and Sean Baker. Meanwhile, nearly half of patrons (49.3%) anticipated The Wild Robot would take Best Animated Feature, outpacing Flow, which drew 32.5% of the vote. In each case, confidence ran high—and accuracy proved elusive.

This year’s lineup looks just as volatile. Several major categories feel genuinely up for grabs, with no outcome that can be declared “locked” without inviting embarrassment. Best Picture, in particular, seems poised to divide even the most seasoned Oscar-watchers. That’s where you come in.

If you, dear cinephile, can accurately predict how the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will vote across all 23 categories (or come impressively close), you’ll win movie passes good at all Laemmle locations(!!) along with the quiet satisfaction of having outguessed the crowd. As always, the contest includes a tie-breaker: your best estimate of the ceremony’s total running time.

Moviegoers, Start Your Guesses! The Umpteenth Annual Laemmle Oscar Contest Is Back! — Sinners

The 98th Academy Awards take place on Sunday, March 15, and we’ll announce the winners shortly afterward, complete with our signature snazzy charts and statistical deep-dives.

Want a real edge over the competition? Don’t overlook the short film categories. The animated, live-action, and documentary shorts are often where the widest gaps in knowledge—and therefore opportunity—exist. Seeing these nominees can dramatically improve your odds, and we’ll begin screening all three categories starting February 20th.

Good luck. Argue passionately. Second-guess everything. And remember: the Oscars rarely reward certainty, but they always reward participation.

Happy guessing!

– Your fellow cinephiles at Laemmle Theatres