This Year’s Oscars Best Director Lineup Is So Rare That The Last Time It Happened, James Cameron Won For Titanic

There are countless reasons to get excited about the 2025 Oscars, but one intriguing detail that audiences may not know about is this year’s record-breaking set of Best Director nominees, none of whom have ever been nominated before. The Oscars are a beloved tradition in Hollywood, originating all the way back in 1929. Along with presenting actors, directors, and crew with coveted awards, the ceremony also shines a light on the biggest stars of the time. In 2025, viewers will get to see numerous familiar faces walk the red carpet, including Timothee Chalamet, Adrien Brody, Demi Moore, and Ariana Grande.

The 2025 Oscars are particularly compelling because this year’s nominees are so strong. For example, the Best Picture race is made up of ten incredibly deserving movies, and a handful of them are already being deemed front-runners for the award. At the same time, categories like Best Actor showcase incredible established and rising talent, including Ralph Fiennes and Colman Domingo. Because of this, audiences should prepare themselves for some very tight races and some new faces among the seasoned veterans. This is especially true of the Best Director category, which is breaking a nearly 20-year-old record.

The Oscars 2025 Nominees Are All First-Timers, Which Hasn’t Happened Since 1998

How The 1998 Best Director Race Went Down

At this year’s Oscars, every contender for Best Director is being nominated for the very first time. These directors include Coralie Fargeat for The Substance, Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, Sean Baker for Anora, James Mangold for A Complete Unknown, and Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez. Not only is this exciting for the directors themselves, who are finally getting their time to shine, but it is also the first time this has happened since 1998. In some ways, this trend levels the playing field for the directors, but also intensifies the anticipation, as each nominee hopes for recognition.

The last time the Best Director category was all first timers was in 1998. The nominees included James Cameron for Titanic, Peter Cattaneo for The Full Monty, Gus Van Sant for Good Will Hunting, Curtis Hanson for L.A. Confidential, and Atom Egoyan for The Sweet Hereafter. Though almost all of these movies have gone down as iconic pieces of cinema, it is Cameron that ultimately took the prize for Best Director. This isn’t too surprising either, as Cameron’s project about the tragic ship sinking became the highest-grossing movie of all time, earning over $2 billion at the box office.

Why It’s So Uncommon For Best Director To Be All First-Time Nominees

The 2025 Best Directors Might Not Have Been All Newcomers

The most riveting part of this Best Director trend is that it hasn’t happened for so long. The reason for this is double-pronged. First, it is difficult for directors to establish themselves. While actors can take on several projects a year, directors are usually confined to one project at a time. Unfortunately, the stakes are even higher for these works too, because the director is the leader of the movie. If it fails, then the director inherently fails as well. Because of this, it takes a lot of time for a new director to finally get recognized.

Another important element to keep in mind is that established directors continue making movies after they’ve been nominated or won for the first time. Big names like Spielberg, Scorsese, and Gerwig continue making movies every few years and earning themselves spots in the Best Director category. Ultimately, this prevents Best Director from being only first timers most of the time. Take the 2024 Oscars, for example. Justine Triet was a first-time Best Director nominee, but she stood beside massive names like Christopher Nolan, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Martin Scorsese. Notably, it took Nolan three tries to finally win Best Picture.

As it turns out, the 2025 Best Director category could have easily mixed newcomers and seasoned directors. Two big directors released movies last year: Clint Eastwood with Juror #2 and Ridley Scott with Gladiator 2. If either of these men had been nominated for Best Director, then this trend wouldn’t have happened at all. This goes to show that Oscar moments like these are thrilling because of how much they are based on luck and coincidence. We should appreciate them whenever they happen because they are so rare.

Who Is The Favorite To Win Best Picture At The Oscars 2025?

The Relationship Between Best Picture & Best Director

In terms of the 2025 race, there are already a few movies that have proven themselves to be favorites. For instance, Anora won awards from the Producers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America, and the Writers Guild of America, which sets it up to win Best Picture. Clearly a favorite, Baker could easily win Best Director as well. However, previous accolades don’t necessarily guarantee Oscar winnings. Fargeat created a horrifying sci-fi world in The Substance and Corbet’s The Brutalist is an epic immigrant tale. In reality, anyone could win the category and completely deserve it.

An interesting parallel to keep in mind as well is the relationship between Best Picture winners and Best Director winners. In recent years, it is incredibly common for the Best Director winner to end up winning Best Picture as well. Examples include Nolan for Oppenheimer, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Chloé Zhao for Nomadland. In this way, those who are front-runners for Best Picture (i.e. Anora and The Brutalist) are probably also the top contenders for Best Director.

The Oscars 2026 Is Very Unlikely To Have An All First-Timer Best Director Lineup

It Is Nice To See The Best Director Category Change

It is more likely than not that the 2026 Oscars will not be another first-timer lineup. This is not only because the trend is so rare, but also because several famous directors have movies slated for release in the coming year which could lead them to become Best Director nominees. James Cameron is releasing Avatar: Fire and Ash at the end of 2025, which is sure to make a splash at the 2026 Oscars. Paul Thomas Anderson, Yorgos Lanthimos, Spike Lee, and more are also preparing new movie releases. Thus, the 2025 line-up is especially significant.

All in all, it is nice to see the Best Director category change over time. This year, it will be a delight to see new directors get the attention they deserve, alongside their fantastic movies. Next year, it will be just as fun to watch beloved favorites return to the Oscar stage boasting new projects. No matter how it is set up, the Oscars will always have something compelling in store for movie lovers. Hopefully, the 2025 Oscars will not be any different.