Awards season is really heating up now.
Question mark films like Napoleon, Wonka, The Iron Claw, and The Color Purple have screened. Napoleon opened to mixed reviews and will likely pick up only a couple of craft nominations at most, if any. Wonka and The Iron Claw have gotten warm receptions from critics so far while The Color Purple is being declared the best film of the year by some. The latter film could shake things up big time if more critics start loving it and if it becomes a mega box office hit at the end of December.
The Gotham Awards also gave boosts to a few films, with the winners being announced the other day. Past Lives took the main prize, helping its Best Picture chances. Charles Melton taking Supporting Performance for May December certainly positions him better in the Best Supporting Actor race. Anatomy of a Fall also performed well with Best Screenplay and Best International Feature wins. Though Anatomy was not chosen by France for the International race, many still predict it will crack into Best Picture.
A few “snubs” I see as possibilities are Sandra Huller, Lily Gladstone, and Jeffrey Wright. The acting categories are very crowded this year, and the Academy tends to not nominate people in Best Picture-nominated films for all five slots in each category. So, don’t be too surprised if people like Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton show up for smaller films not in the Best Picture race.
The main race still seems to be Oppenheimer versus Poor Things with the most nominations and wins. I still have Oppenheimer as the frontrunner unless Poor Things and The Color Purple really shake things up with their December public releases.
Side note: Yes, Barbie might be campaigning in Original Screenplay, but I believe the Academy will shift it to Adapted Screenplay since it is clearly based off of a previous property. This has happened before with other films, such as Moonlight (2016).
Best Picture
Anatomy of a Fall
American Fiction
Barbie
The Color Purple
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
***Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Other Possibilities:
Nyad
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Zone of Interest
Best Director
Blitz Bazawule – The Color Purple
***Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest
Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Other Possibilities:
Alexander Payne – The Holdovers
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Justine Triet – Anatomy of a Fall
Best Actress
Annette Bening – Nyad
Cailee Spaeny – Priscilla
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
***Emma Stone – Poor Things
Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple
Other Possibilities:
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Sandra Huller – Anatomy of a Fall
Best Actor
***Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Other Possibilities:
Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
Barry Keoghan – Saltburn
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Best Supporting Actress
***Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Jodie Foster – Nyad
Penelope Cruz – Ferrari
Other Possibilities:
Julianne Moore – May December
Rosamund Pike – Saltburn
Taraji P. Henson – The Color Purple
Best Supporting Actor
Charles Melton – May December
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
***Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Other Possibilities:
Peter Sarsgaard – Memory
Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
Willem Dafoe – Poor Things
Best Adapted Screenplay
American Fiction
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
***Poor Things
Other Possibilities:
All of Us Strangers
The Color Purple
The Zone of Interest
Best Original Screenplay
Air
Anatomy of a Fall
***The Holdovers
Maestro
Past Lives
Other Possibilities:
May December
Rustin
Saltburn
Best Cinematography
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
***Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Saltburn
Other Possibilities:
The Color Purple
Saltburn
The Zone of Interest
Best Costume Design
Barbie
The Color Purple
The Little Mermaid
***Poor Things
Wonka
Other Possibilities:
Asteroid City
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Best Editing
Anatomy of a Fall
Ferrari
Killers of the Flower Moon
***Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Other Possibilities:
The Color Purple
The Holdovers
Maestro
Best Production Design
***Barbie
The Color Purple
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Wonka
Other Possibilities:
Asteroid City
Killers of the Flower Moon
The Little Mermaid
Best Animated Feature
The Boy and the Heron
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nuggets
Elemental
The Peasants
***Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Other Possibilities:
Nimona
They Shot the Piano Player
Wish
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Barbie
***Maestro
Poor Things
Priscilla
Wonka
Other Possibilities:
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The Color Purple
Napoleon
Best Sound
The Color Purple
Ferrari
The Killer
***Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest
Other Possibilities:
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best Visual Effects
The Creator
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
***The Little Mermaid
Oppenheimer
Other Possibilities:
The Marvels
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best Original Score
Elemental
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
***Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Other Possibilities:
Past Lives
Society of the Snow
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best Original Song
“Gonna Be You” – 80 for Brady
***“I’m Just Ken” – Barbie
“Keep It Movin” – The Color Purple
“This Wish” – Wish
“What Was I Made For?” – Barbie
Other Possibilities:
“A World of Your Own” – Wonka
“Better Place” – Trolls Band Together
“Steal the Show” – Elemental
Best Documentary Feature
American Symphony
***Beyond Utopia
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
20 Days in Mariupol
Other Possibilities:
Anselm
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
Stamped from the Beginning
Best International Feature
Perfect Days – Japan
Society of the Snow – Spain
The Taste of Things – France
The Teachers’ Lounge – Germany
***The Zone of Interest – United Kingdom
Other Possibilities:
About Dry Grasses – Turkey
Io Capitano – Italy
The Monk and the Gun – Bhutan
Best Animated Short Film
***Once Upon a Studio
Rosemary A.D. (After Dad)
Starling
27
Way Better
Other Possibilities:
The Brave Locomotive
Chutes
Peter and the Wolf
Best Live Action Short Film
Chat Mort
Motherland
***The Old Young Crow
We Were Meant To
When You Left Me on That Boulevard
Other Possibilities:
The Shepherd
Strange Way of Life
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Best Documentary Short Film
Camp Courage
***Deciding Vote
The Last Repair Shop
Last Song from Kabul
Madeleine
Other Possibilities:
The ABCs of Book Banning
Keys to the City
The Takeover
Total Nomination and Win Counts:
Oppenheimer – 12 nominations, winning 6
Poor Things – 11 nominations, winning 3
Barbie – 8 nominations, winning 2
The Color Purple – 8 nominations, winning 1
Killers of the Flower Moon – 8 nominations, winning 1
Maestro – 6 nominations, winning 2
The Holdovers – 4 nominations, winning 1
The Zone of Interest – 3 nominations, winning 1
Anatomy of a Fall – 3 nominations, winning 0
Ferrari – 3 nominations, winning 0
Wonka – 3 nominations, winning 0
The Little Mermaid – 2 nominations, winning 1
American Fiction – 2 nominations, winning 0
Past Lives – 2 nominations, winning 0
Nyad – 2 nominations, winning 0
Priscilla – 2 nominations, winning 0
Elemental – 2 nominations, winning 0
Beyond Utopia – 1 nomination, winning 1
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – 1 nomination, winning 1
Once Upon a Studio – 1 nomination, winning 1
The Old Young Crow – 1 nomination, winning 1
Deciding Vote – 1 nomination, winning 1
Rustin – 1 nomination, winning 0
May December – 1 nomination, winning 0
Air – 1 nomination, winning 0
Saltburn – 1 nomination, winning 0
Wish – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Boy and the Heron – 1 nomination, winning 0
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nuggets – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Peasants – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Killer – 1 nomination, winning 0
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Creator – 1 nomination, winning 0
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – 1 nomination, winning 0
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – 1 nomination, winning 0
American Symphony – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Eternal Memory – 1 nomination, winning 0
Four Daughters – 1 nomination, winning 0
20 Days in Mariupol – 1 nomination, winning 0
Perfect Days – 1 nomination, winning 0
Society of the Snow – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Taste of Things – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Teachers’ Lounge – 1 nomination, winning 0
80 for Brady – 1 nomination, winning 0
Rosemary A.D. (After Dad) – 1 nomination, winning 0
Starling – 1 nomination, winning 0
27 – 1 nomination, winning 0
Way Better – 1 nomination, winning 0
Chat Mort – 1 nomination, winning 0
Motherland – 1 nomination, winning 0
We Were Meant To – 1 nomination, winning 0
When You Left Me on That Boulevard – 1 nomination, winning 0
Camp Courage – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Last Repair Shop – 1 nomination, winning 0
Last Song from Kabul – 1 nomination, winning 0
Madeleine – 1 nomination, winning 0
