The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, is considered the biggest night in Hollywood, awarding the best films that came out the previous year. But unlike the Grammys, the weeks leading up to the Oscars are filled with award shows that give people a clearer idea of who will take home the coveted statue. Here are our predicted winners, based on award season thus far, for some of the categories at the Oscars.
Best Picture
- “American Fiction”
- “Anatomy of a Fall”
- “Barbie”
- “The Holdovers”
- “Killer of the Flower Moon”
- “Maestro”
- “Oppenheimer” *Predicted Winner*
- “Past Lives”
- “Poor Things”
- “The Zone of Interest”
“Oppenheimer” has been an award show favorite, consistently getting the most nominations and wins out of any movie. It also is the perfect balance between critical and commercial success. Thus, “Oppenheimer” has the biggest pull right now for taking home this prestigious award.
Best Director
- Justine Triet – “Anatomy of a Fall”
- Martin Scorsese – “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Christopher Nolan – “Oppenheimer” *Predicted Winner*
- Yorgos Lanthimos – “Poor Things”
- Jonathan Glazer – “The Zone of Interest”
This is Christopher Nolan’s award to lose. He has won the Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice Award and BAFTA awards, so odds are he will also take home the Oscar.
Best Actor
- Bradley Cooper – “Maestro” as Leonard Bernstein
- Colman Domingo – “Rustin” as Bayard Rustin
- Paul Giamatti – “The Holdovers” as Paul Hunham
- Cillian Murphy – “Oppenheimer” as J. Robert Oppenheimer *Predicted Winner*
- Jeffrey Wright – “American Fiction” as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison
This category has been between Cillian Murphy and Paul Giamatti from the start. Both won a Golden Globe, with Giamatti winning the Critics’ Choice Award and Murphy winning the BAFTA. However, Murphy took home the title at the recent SAG awards, breaking the tie and making him the predicted winner.
Best Actress
- Annette Bening – “Nyad” as Diana Nyad
- Lily Gladstone – “Killers of the Flower Moon” as Mollie Burkhart *Predicted Winner*
- Sandra Hüller – “Anatomy of a Fall” as Sandra Voyter
- Carey Mulligan – “Maestro” as Felicia Montealegre
- Emma Stone – “Poor Things” as Bella Baxter
Similarly to the best actor category, this category has been a race between Lily Gladstone and Emma Stone. Both took home a Golden Globe, but Stone took home both the Critics’ Choice Award and the BAFTA. However, Gladstone is more likely to pull out a win at the Oscars because she won the SAG awards, and unlike the other award shows, both the Oscars’ and the SAG awards’ voting base consist of other actors.
Best Supporting Actor
- Sterling K. Brown – “American Fiction” as Clifford “Cliff” Ellison
- Robert De Niro – “Killers of the Flower Moon” as William King Hale
- Robert Downey Jr. – “Oppenheimer” as Lewis Strauss *Predicted Winner*
- Ryan Gosling – “Barbie” as Ken
- Mark Ruffalo – “Poor Things” as Duncan Wedderburn
Similarly to his director in Oppenheimer, this is Robert Downey Jr.’s award to lose. He won the Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice Award and BAFTA, so odds are he will likely win the Oscar too.
Best Supporting Actress
- Emily Blunt – “Oppenheimer” as Kitty Oppenheimer
- Danielle Brooks – “The Color Purple” as Sofia
- America Ferrera – “Barbie” as Gloria
- Jodie Foster – “Nyad” as Bonnie Stoll
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph – “The Holdovers” as Mary Lamb *Predicted Winner*
This has been Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s award from the start. Winning the Golden Globe, Critics Choice Award and Bafta, Randolph is the clear winner of the Oscar.
Best Original Screenplay
- “Anatomy of a Fall” – Justine Triet and Arthur Harari *Predicted Winner*
- “The Holdovers” – David Hemingson
- “Maestro” – Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer
- “May December” – Screenplay by Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik
- “Past Lives” – Celine Song
This is another award that has been clear from the start. Justine Triet and Arthur Harari have been constantly winning this category throughout the award season, so, likely, they would also take home the Oscar.
Best Adapted Screenplay
- “American Fiction” – Cord Jefferson; based on the novel “Erasure” by Percival Everett
- “Barbie” – Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach; based on characters created by Ruth Handler *Predicted Winner*
- “Oppenheimer” – Christopher Nolan; based on the biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
- “Poor Things” – Tony McNamara; based on the novel by Alasdair Gray
- “The Zone of Interest” – Jonathan Glazer; based on the novel by Martin Amis
This category has been all over the place, with a different movie winning at each award ceremony. However, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s move from the original screenplay category, along with their win at the Critics’ Choice Awards and overall hype around “Barbie,” makes it the most likely winner at the Oscars.
Best Animated Feature
- “The Boy and the Heron” – Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki *Predicted Winner*
- “Elemental” – Peter Sohn and Denise Ream
- “Nimona” – Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan and Julie Zackary
- “Robot Dreams” – Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé and Sandra Tapia Díaz
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” – Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal
After winning at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and the BAFTAs, it is likely that Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki will take home the Oscar for Studio Ghibli creator Miyazaki’s final film.
Best International Feature
- “Io capitano” (Italy) – directed by Matteo Garrone
- “Perfect Days” (Japan) – directed by Wim Wenders
- “Society of the Snow” (Spain) – directed by J. A. Bayona
- “The Teachers’ Lounge” (Germany) – directed by İlker Çatak
- “The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom) – directed by Jonathan Glazer *Predicted Winner*
The Zone of Interest is the only movie nominated in other categories, including the coveted Best Picture, thus it makes it the most likely to win this category at the Oscars.
Best Original Song
- “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot – Music and lyrics by Diane Warren
- “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie – Music and lyrics by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
- “It Never Went Away” from American Symphony – Music and lyrics by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson
- “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon – Music and lyrics by Scott George
- “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie – Music and lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell *Predicted Winner*
Despite “I’m Just Ken” winning at the Critics’ Choice Awards, “What Was I Made For” took home the Golden Globes and multiple Grammy Awards, including Best Song, thus, it is the most likely to win the Oscar.
Best Cinematography
- “El Conde” – Edward Lachman
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” – Rodrigo Prieto
- “Maestro” – Matthew Libatique
- “Oppenheimer” – Hoyte van Hoytema *Predicted Winner*
- “Poor Things” – Robbie Ryan
“Oppenheimer” is going to dominate the Oscars, and this category is no exception. After winning the Critics’ Choice Award and the BAFTA, Hoyte Van Hoytema is most likely going to take home this award.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
- “Golda” – Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby, and Ashra Kelly-Blue
- “Maestro” – Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell
- “Oppenheimer”– Luisa Abel
- “Poor Things” – Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston *Predicted Winner*
- “Society of the Snow” – Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé
After Poor Things won the BAFTA, there is no question that Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston will take home this award.
Best Costume Design
- “Barbie” – Jacqueline Durran *Predicted Winner*
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” – Jacqueline West
- “Napoleon” – Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
- “Oppenheimer” – Ellen Mirojnick
- “Poor Things” – Holly Waddington
This category is between “Barbie” and “Poor Things,” with “Barbie” winning the Critics’ Choice Awards and “Poor Things” winning the BAFTA. Since both the Critics’ Choice Awards and the Oscars have American-based voters, Jacqueline Durran will likely take home the award.
Best Visual Effects
- “The Creator” – Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould *Predicted Winner*
- “Godzilla Minus One” – Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” – Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams, and Theo Bialek
- “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” – Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould
- “Napoleon” – Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould
This category is the most unclear, as none of the nominees have won during the previous award ceremonies. However, “The Creator” won the award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, so it is likely to take home this award too.
The Oscars will take place on March 10 at 7:00 p.m. EDT.