It’s time to start predicting nominees for the 97th Academy Awards!
Where has the year gone? The fall awards season for movies is upon us. The Cannes Film Festival and the summer season gave us some potential Oscar contenders, but now the playing field is really opening up with festivals like Telluride, Toronto, Venice, and New York approaching.
The biggest contender released so far this year is Dune: Part Two, but it will soon gain some competition from hot tickets like Blitz, Conclave, and more as they hit fall festivals. Even some films that were expected to be delayed until 2025 have been announced for this fall, including Saturday Night and the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.
With so many films coming, smaller acclaimed pictures that have already screened – like Anora and Sing Sing – may have more difficulty staying in the spotlight. On the other hand, not many huge auteurs have films coming out this year, so that may allow newer filmmakers to make their stamp as they aren’t facing off against the likes of Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg.
As of now, I predict Blitz and Dune: Part Two to lead the pack, with nine nominations each. Right behind them I have Conclave with eight nominations. This could completely change, however, as films are seen at the upcoming festivals and buzz builds. We’ll see as the months go on and my monthly predictions drop.
*** = my prediction for the winner in each category as of now.
TBD = to be determined.
Best Picture
Anora – Neon
***Blitz – Apple Original Films
A Complete Unknown – Searchlight Pictures
Conclave – Focus Features
Dune: Part Two – Warner Bros. Pictures
Nickel Boys – Amazon MGM Studios
The Piano Lesson – Netflix
Queer – TBD
The Room Next Door – Sony Pictures Classics/Warner Bros. Pictures
Sing Sing – A24
Other Possibilities:
Emilia Pérez
Gladiator II
Joker: Folie à Deux
Maria
Saturday Night
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Best Director
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
Edward Berger – Conclave
Luca Guadagnino – Queer
Sean Baker – Anora
***Steve McQueen – Blitz
Other Possibilities:
Greg Kwedar – Sing Sing
Mohammad Rasoulof – The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Pedro Almodóvar – The Room Next Door
Best Actress
***Amy Adams – Nightbitch
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Julianne Moore – The Room Next Door
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison – Anora
Other Possibilities:
Lady Gaga – Joker: Folie à Deux
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun
Best Actor
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
***Daniel Craig – Queer
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Other Possibilities:
Andrew Garfield – We Live in Time
Gabriel LaBelle – Saturday Night
John David Washington – The Piano Lesson
Best Supporting Actress
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
***Saoirse Ronan – Blitz
Tilda Swinton – The Room Next Door
Other Possibilities:
Elle Fanning – A Complete Unknown
Lesley Manville – Queer
Zoe Saldana – Emilia Pérez
Best Supporting Actor
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
***Samuel L. Jackson – The Piano Lesson
Other Possibilities:
Cooper Hoffman – Saturday Night
Leigh Gill – Blitz
Stanley Tucci – Conclave
Best Original Screenplay
***Anora
Blitz
Emilia Pérez
Saturday Night
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Other Possibilities:
The End
Maria
A Real Pain
Best Adapted Screenplay
Conclave
Nickel Boys
Queer
The Room Next Door
***Sing Sing
Other Possibilities:
A Complete Unknown
Nightbitch
The Piano Lesson
Best International Feature
All We Imagine is Light – India
***Emilia Pérez – France
The Girl with the Needle – Denmark
I’m Still Here – Brazil
When the Light Breaks – Iceland
Other Possibilities:
Kneecap – Ireland
Parthenope – Italy
Pedro Páramo – Mexico
Best Documentary Feature
The Brink of Dreams
Daughters
***No Other Land
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Separated
Other Possibilities:
Black Box Diaries
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found
A New Kind of Wilderness
Best Animated Feature
Flow
***Inside Out 2
Moana 2
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Other Possibilities:
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Memoir of a Snail
The Most Precious of Cargoes
Best Cinematography
***Blitz
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
Nosferatu
Other Possibilities:
Joker: Folie à Deux
Maria
Queer
Best Editing
***Blitz
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Other Possibilities:
Anora
A Complete Unknown
Queer
Best Production Design
Blitz
***Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
Joker: Folie à Deux
Nosferatu
Other Possibilities:
Conclave
Maria
Wicked
Best Costume Design
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
***Joker: Folie à Deux
Maria
Wicked
Other Possibilities:
Blitz
Gladiator II
Nosferatu
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
***Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
A Different Man
Dune: Part Two
Joker: Folie à Deux
Wicked
Other Possibilities:
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Maria
Nosferatu
Best Visual Effects
***Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Mufasa: The Lion King
Other Possibilities:
Deadpool & Wolverine
Twisters
Wicked
Best Sound
Blitz
Civil War
A Complete Unknown
***Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
Other Possibilities:
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Joker: Folie à Deux
Twisters
Best Original Score
***Blitz
Conclave
Queer
The Piano Lesson
Saturday Night
Other Possibilities:
The End
Gladiator II
Sing Sing
Best Original Song
“The Journey” – Six Triple Eight
TBD – The End
***TBD – Joker: Folie à Deux
TBD – Moana 2
TBD – Piece by Piece
Other Possibilities:
TBD – Emilia Pérez
TBD – Mufasa: The Lion King
TBD – Wicked
Best Animated Short Film
Bug Diner
Hurikán
Inkwo for When the Starving Return
***In the Shadow of the Cypress
Percebes
Other Possibilities:
The Brown Dog
Silent Panorama
Wander to Wonder
Best Live Action Short Film
***The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
The Masterpiece
An Orange from Jaffa
Ripe!
The Yellow
Other Possibilities:
Loser Baby
Say Hi After You Die
The Voice of Others
Best Documentary Short Film
Frank
***Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World
One Good Reason
Remember, Broken Crayons Colour Too
Wouldn’t Make It Any Other Way
Other Possibilities:
Bob’s Funeral
Incident
Wrecked a Bunch of Cars, Had a Good Time
Total Nomination and Win Counts:
Blitz – 9 nominations, 6 wins
Dune: Part Two – 9 nominations, 3 wins
Conclave – 8 nominations, 0 wins
Queer – 5 nominations, 1 win
Sing Sing – 5 nominations, 1 win
A Complete Unknown – 5 nominations, 0 wins
Gladiator II – 5 nominations, 0 wins
Joker: Folie à Deux – 4 nominations, 2 wins
Anora – 4 nominations, 1 win
The Piano Lesson – 4 nominations, 0 wins
The Room Next Door – 4 nominations, 0 wins
Emilia Pérez – 3 nominations, 1 win
Nickel Boys – 3 nominations, 0 wins
Saturday Night – 3 nominations, 0 wins
Maria – 2 nominations, 0 wins
Moana 2 – 2 nominations, 0 wins
Nosferatu – 2 nominations, 0 wins
Wicked – 2 nominations, 0 wins
Nightbitch – 1 nomination, 1 win
No Other Land – 1 nomination, 1 win
Inside Out 2 – 1 nomination, 1 win
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – 1 nomination, 1 win
In the Shadow of the Cypress – 1 nomination, 1 win
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent – 1 nomination, 1 win
Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World – 1 nomination, 1 win
The Brutalist – 1 nomination, 0 wins
A Real Pain – 1 nomination, 0 wins
The Seed of the Sacred Fig – 1 nomination, 0 wins
All We Imagine is Light – 1 nomination, 0 wins
The Girl with the Needle – 1 nomination, 0 wins
I’m Still Here – 1 nomination, 0 wins
When the Light Breaks – 1 nomination, 0 wins
The Brink of Dreams – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Daughters – 1 nomination, 0 wins
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Separated – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Flow – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – 1 nomination, 0 wins
The Wild Robot – 1 nomination, 0 wins
A Different Man – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Mufasa: The Lion King – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Civil War – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Six Triple Eight – 1 nomination, 0 wins
The End – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Piece by Piece – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Bug Diner – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Hurikán – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Inkwo for When the Starving Return – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Percebes – 1 nomination, 0 wins
The Masterpiece – 1 nomination, 0 wins
An Orange from Jaffa – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Ripe! – 1 nomination, 0 wins
The Yellow – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Frank – 1 nomination, 0 wins
One Good Reason – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Remember, Broken Crayons Colour Too – 1 nomination, 0 wins
Wouldn’t Make It Any Other Way – 1 nomination, 0 wins
