2025 Best Picture Bracket Challenge-Round 2-Week 2

This is where the fun begins.

Week 1 of round 2 is in the books and it’s time to get some votes for the second set of matchups.

If you want to see the full bracket, check it out here.

Round 2 Week 2 Matchups

Here is this week’s segment of the bracket!

#8 Lawrence of Arabia (1962) vs #72 Rocky (1976)

Rocky, always the plucky underdog was able to punch above its weight in round 1 and take down the higher seeded Birdman, but this time faces an even more formidable foe in the Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness classic Lawrence of Arabia. It’s a little hard to believe that these two films are less than 15 years apart as they are so different stylistically. Lawrence of Arabia is full of grand sweeping vistas while Rocky stays close to the chest. They may both be about the journey of one man, but which one will rise to the top in this matchup?

#25 Rebecca (1940) vs #40 The Artist (2011)

I love this matchup of a classic Hitchcock film from the 1940s, the only film of his to win Best Picture, and a modern black and white film in The Artist. Interestingly, while the two films are set in different social circles, they both deal with related relationships. Rebecca leads the way with 11 nominations to The Artist’s 10 but The Artist won five while Rebecca only landed 2 wins, Best Picture and Best Cinematography — Black and White. Which one will voters prefer here, the classic or the modern?

#9 The Silence of the Lambs (1991) vs #56 West Side Story (1961)

This matchup couldn’t be between two more different films. On one side we have the only horror film to ever win Best Picture. On the other, we have one of the biggest in a string of musicals that have won the award, so big it was recently remade for a modern audience. Musicals have been winning Best Picture at the Oscars since the 2nd Academy Awards (when The Broadway Melody won) and had a stunning run in the 1960s with wins from West Side Story (1961), My Fair Lady (1964), The Sound of Music (1965), and Oliver! (1968). Horror on the other hand has only been nominated in the category six times total, though the list includes excellent films like The Exorcist, Jaws, The Sixth Sense, Black Swan, and Get Out. West Side Story may be the more re-watchable of the pairing here, but will The Silence of the Lambs’ incredible performances from Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster win out?

#24 No Country for Old Men (2007) vs #41 Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

OK, I lied. We found two more films that are completely different in this matchup, though ones that might be a bit lower profile than the matchup above. No Country for Old Men joins the fray and brings with it big names like Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin, not to mention the Coen brothers at the helm. Slumdog Millionaire on the other hand was Dev Patel’s film debut in the lead role and just looking at those posters, you can tell these are completely different films. What are you feeling like this week, gritty crime drama or more uplifting drama?