Both predicted to have the ability to win the Oscar, Demi Moore and Mikey Madison create competition between veteran stars and rising stars.

This year’s “Best Actress” race saw the competition of 5 beauties: Cynthia Erivo ( Wicked ), Karla Sofía Gascón ( Emilia Pérez ), Mikey Madison ( Anora ), Demi Moore ( The Substance ) and Fernanda Torres ( I’m Still Here ).

For the first time since 1978, all five nominees in this category were nominated for Best Picture. This makes the race for the Oscar statuette among the stars more interesting.

Throughout the season, Demi Moore was considered the most potential candidate for the golden statuette, having continuously won many pre-Oscar awards. However, as the awards ceremony approached, the rise of Gen Z actress Mikey Madison at important awards made the race for the best actress unpredictable.

The 63-year-old star, who returned after many years of being considered out of date, and the 26-year-old rookie who has just become a star, will have a direct confrontation at this year’s Oscars. Both are first-time nominees. Witnessing this confrontation, many journalists commented that this is the most exciting category of this year’s awards season, especially when the projects of the two actors created a big buzz at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024.

Demi Moore (right) and Mikey Madison are the two most potential candidates for the ‘Best Actress’ award at this year’s Oscars. Photo: People

Demi Moore – veteran star returns to inspire

Demi Moore, who plays a fading star struggling to hold on to her glory in The Substance , received much praise from critics upon its release. Her win for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical at the Golden Globes earlier this year gave her the edge in the race for Best Actress at the 97th Academy Awards.

Following that achievement, the star continued to be named at the Critics’ Choice Awards and the SAG Awards. Her win at SAG was considered important, as this is the union with the largest number of Oscar voters.

Indiewire , The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and Variety expect Demi Moore to win an Oscar. Journalist Kyle Buchanan from The New York Times analyzed that the actress has many factors to become a winner of the golden statue. Compared to the other four competitors, she has the most inspiring story.

The image of a former star making a strong comeback after a long period of oblivion always wins the hearts of the Academy. Demi was a Hollywood box office star in the 1980s and 1990s. However, being at the forefront of the feminist movement, helping actresses earn higher salaries, made her unpopular with the media at that time. Having been so crushed that she even considered retiring, Demi Moore returned to the screen with a “tailor-made” role in The Substance . The similarities between Demi’s life and the character helped the actress easily sublimate her acting.

After many years of being considered out of date in Hollywood, Demi Moore returned and won many awards last year. Photo: People

Kyle said Demi Moore’s inspirational speech at the Golden Globes was an important stepping stone to help the star gain more votes. However, the journalist pointed out that the horror level of The Substance could prevent the actress from reaching the golden statue.

Interviewing an anonymous voter, Joey Nolfi of Entertainment Weekly revealed that this person did not vote for Demi Moore because he thought the horror genre went against the spirit of the Academy for decades.

According to Ben Zauzmer, an awards season analyst on The Hollywood Reporter, Demi Moore has a 52.2% chance of winning and is currently the number one candidate for the title of “Best Actress” at this year’s Oscars.

Mikey Madison – 9X rookie with the potential to create surprises

Ben Zauzmer calculated the Gen Z actress’s chances of winning the golden statuette at around 21.6% and called her Demi’s direct rival. In Anora , the 9X star plays a stripper who falls into a complicated relationship with a young Russian oligarch.

After losing out to his seniors at a series of pre-Oscar awards, Mikey unexpectedly turned things around when his name was announced at two major awards in the final round: the Independent Spirit Awards and the BAFTA (known as the British Oscars).

Mikey Madison’s meteoric rise in the run-up to the Oscars has led Rolling Stone and The Playlist to predict her as a front-runner for the golden statuette. Both outlets have cited her BAFTA win as a pivotal moment in establishing her as a leading actress contender.

Mikey Madison won ‘Best Actress’ at the BAFTA awards. Photo: People

Entertainment Weekly points out that the role of a warm-hearted prostitute is often noticed by the Academy. Not only has Julia Roberts been nominated for Pretty Woman , many actors have been honored with this character model, such as Jane Fonda ( Klute ) and Mira Sorvino ( Mighty Aphrodite ). Therefore, Mikey Madison is completely capable of winning the golden statue.

The actress’s biggest advantage comes from the popularity of Anora . Throughout the awards season, the film has won many important awards such as Critics’ Choice Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, DGA (Directors Guild of America Awards), WGA (Writers Guild of America Awards) and is predicted by experts to win “Best Picture” at the Oscars.

In the last five years, when the race for best actress has been tight, the winners have come from projects that have garnered more attention. The surprise wins of Michelle Yeoh, Emma Stone, Olivia Colman and Frances McDormand against strong competition were all aided by the success of Everything Everywhere All at Once, Poor Things, The Favourite and Nomadland throughout the awards season.

Actor born in 1999 speaks when winning BAFTA award

Still, the appeal of Demi Moore’s four-decade career may give her an edge over Mikey Madison’s late rise. The Oscars will take place on the morning of March 3 (Hanoi time).