Nolan’s lead in the directing category is even more dominant than his film’s is for best picture (he’s a consensus pick for both). Wins for back-to-back movies would put him in rarefied company.
“Only three have won the directing prize for consecutive efforts: John Ford, Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Alejandro G. Iñárritu,” says Robert Daniels. “But if anyone can do it too, it’s Nolan for the monumental achievement of making a classic his own.”
Dave Karger says “there’s no shortage of outstanding work this year, from Olivia Wilde’s impressively contained ‘The Invite’ to the Javiers’ sprawling international epic ‘La Bola Negra.’ ”
But Anne Thompson sees defects in the candidacies of Nolan’s rivals: “Lord and Miller are still considered primarily animation directors and didn’t write their movie, while McDonagh and Los Javis are more likely to pick up screenplay nods.”
1. Christopher Nolan, “The Odyssey”
2. Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, “La Bola Negra”
T3. Martin McDonagh, “Wild Horse Nine”
T3. Denis Villeneuve, “Dune: Part Three”
5. Olivia Wilde, “The Invite”
6. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, “Project Hail Mary”
7. Cristian Mungiu, “Fjord”
RogerEbert.com
Robert Daniels
1. Christopher Nolan, “The Odyssey”
2. Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, “La Bola Negra”
3. Cristian Mungiu, “Fjord”
4. Olivia Wilde, “The Invite”
5. Denis Villeneuve, “Dune: Part Three”
“Only three have won the directing prize for consecutive efforts: John Ford, Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Alejandro G. Iñárritu. But if anyone can do it too, it’s Nolan for the monumental achievement of making a classic his own with the kind of epic filmmaking we rarely see today.”
Turner Classic Movies
Dave Karger
1. Christopher Nolan, “The Odyssey”
2. Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, “La Bola Negra”
3. Martin McDonagh, “Wild Horse Nine”
4. Denis Villeneuve, “Dune: Part Three”
5. Olivia Wilde, “The Invite”
“The safe bet here is on Nolan to win his second Oscar in this category. But if voters are more interested in anointing a new winner (or winners), there’s no shortage of outstanding work this year, from Olivia Wilde’s impressively contained ‘The Invite’ to the Javiers’ sprawling international epic ‘La Bola Negra.’ ”
Los Angeles Times
Amy Nicholson
1. Christopher Nolan, “The Odyssey”
2. Denis Villeneuve, “Dune: Part Three”
3. Martin McDonagh, “Wild Horse Nine”
4. Olivia Wilde, “The Invite”
5. Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, “La Bola Negra”
“Christopher Nolan boldly resculpted Homer’s version of ‘The Odyssey’ into a classic Christopher Nolan picture. His confidence will be tough to beat.”
IndieWire
Anne Thompson
1. Christopher Nolan, “The Odyssey”
2. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, “Project Hail Mary”
3. Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, “La Bola Negra”
4. Martin McDonagh, “Wild Horse Nine”
5. Olivia Wilde, “The Invite”
“While best picture is a horse race, the director favorite is ‘The Odyssey’ auteur Christopher Nolan, even though he won for ‘Oppenheimer’ in 2024. Lord and Miller are still considered primarily animation directors and didn’t write their movie, while McDonagh and Los Javis are more likely to pick up screenplay nods.”
Tribune News Service
Katie Walsh
1. Christopher Nolan, “The Odyssey”
2. Martin McDonagh, “Wild Horse Nine”
3. Denis Villeneuve, “Dune: Part Three”
4. Olivia Wilde, “The Invite”
5. Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, “La Bola Negra”
“The only thing particularly interesting about the best director race will be to see which woman they (might) nominate — at this point, Olivia Wilde for ‘The Invite’ seems likely — and which newcomer — I’m going with Los Javis for ‘La Bola Negra.’ ”
Los Angeles Times
Glenn Whipp
1. Christopher Nolan, “The Odyssey”
2. Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, “La Bola Negra”
3. Denis Villeneuve, “Dune: Part Three”
4. Olivia Wilde, “The Invite”
5. Martin McDonagh, “Wild Horse Nine”
“Only three filmmakers have won the director Oscar back-to-back. If Alejandro González Iñárritu could do it, surely Christopher Nolan could too.”
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