We are officially two days away from Hollywood’s biggest night and that means it is time for me to post my final Oscar predictions. While it is very likely that there will be some surprises at the Oscars as there are every year, I am feeling pretty confident in the majority of my picks this year. It has been a very interesting awards season with a lot of surprises occurring in the last couple of weeks from SAG, PGA, and DGA. In full transparency, there are about five categories in this year’s awards race that I feel are very up in the air. The categories that I don’t feel as confident about are Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song, and Best Director.
It is very possible that this will be an Oscars unlike any other which will keep things interesting seeing how things play out on Sunday evening.
Now without any further delay, here are my predictions for all 23 Oscar categories
Best Picture
Who will win: CODA
Who I want to win: CODA
Possible upset: Belfast
Best Actor
Who will win: Will Smith for King Richard
Who I want to win: Andrew Garfield for tick, tick…BOOM!
Possible upset: Andrew Garfield for tick, tick…BOOM!
Best Actress
Who will win: Kristen Stewart for Spencer
Who I want to win: Kristen Stewart for Spencer
Possible upset: Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Best Supporting Actor
Who will win: Troy Kotsur for CODA
Who I want to win: Troy Kotsur for CODA
Possible upset: Kodi Smit-McPhee for The Power of the Dog
Best Supporting Actress
Who will win: Ariana DeBose for West Side Story
Who I want to win: Ariana DeBose for West Side Story
Possible upset: Aunjanue Ellis for King Richard
Best Director
Who will win: Steven Spielberg for West Side Story
Who I want to win: Kenneth Branagh for Belfast
Possible upset: Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog
Best Adapted Screenplay
Who will win: Siân Heder for CODA
Who I want to win: Siân Heder for CODA
Possible upset: Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog
Best Original Screenplay
Who will win: Paul Thomas Anderson for Licorice Pizza
Who I want to win: Adam McKay for Don’t Look Up
Possible upset: Kenneth Branagh for Belfast
Best Animated Feature Film
Who will win: Encanto
Who I want to win: The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Possible upset: The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Best Animated Short Film
Who will win: Robin Robin
Who I want to win: Robin Robin
Possible upset: The Windshield Wiper
Best International Film
Who will win: Drive My Car
Who I want to win: Drive My Car
Possible upset: The Worst Person in the World
Best Documentary Film
Who will win: Summer of Soul
Who I want to win: Summer of Soul
Possible upset: Flee
Best Documentary Short Film
Who will win: The Queen of Basketball
Who I want to win: The Queen of Basketball
Possible upset: Audible
Best Live Action Short Film
Who will win: The Long Goodbye
Who I want to win: The Long Goodbye
Possible upset: This is a lock
Best Cinematography
Who will win: Greig Fraser for Dune
Who I want to win: Grieg Fraser for Dune
Possible upset: Janusz Kaminski for West Side Story
Best Original Song
Who will win: No Time to Die from No Time to Die
Who I want to win: Dos Oruguitas from Encanto
Possible upset: Dos Oruguitas from Encanto
Best Score
Who will win: Hans Zimmer for Dune
Who I want to win: Nicholas Britell for Don’t Look Up
Possible upset: This is a lock
Best Costume Design
Who will win: Jenny Beavan for Cruella
Who I want to win: Jenny Beavan for Cruella
Possible upset (very unlikely): Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran for Cyrano
Best Production Design
Who will win: Zsuzsanna Sipos and Patrice Vermette for Dune
Who I want to win: Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau for Nightmare Alley
Possible upset: Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau for Nightmare Alley
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Who will win: Justin Raleigh, Stephanie Ingram, and Linda Dowds for The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Who I want to win: Justin Raleigh, Stephanie Ingram, and Linda Dowds for The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Possible upset: Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne, and Julia Vernon for Cruella
Best Sound
Who will win: Dune
Who I want to win: No Time to Die
Possible upset: No Time to Die
Best Film Editing
Who will win: Joe Walker for Dune
Who I want to win: Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum for Tick, Tick… Boom!
Possible upset: Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum for Tick, Tick… Boom!
Best Visual Effects
Who will win: Dune
Who I want to win: Spider-Man: No Way Home
Possible upset: This is a lock