A new month brings new changes to my nomination predictions for the 96th Oscars. Since my last predictions in September, some interesting shakeups have happened. This includes Lily Gladstone now campaigning in Lead Actress instead of Supporting Actress and France choosing The Taste of Things over Anatomy of a Fall as its international submission.
It’s still currently looking like Oppenheimer is going to have a big night at the Oscars, with Poor Things likely being its biggest threat. Audiences have still yet to see Napoleon, The Iron Claw, and The Color Purple. Those films could further shake up the Oscars field that is starting to come together following the recent festivals.
Here are all of my Oscar predictions as of now, minus the short film categories. The *** indicates who I think will be the winner in each category. I also include nomination and win totals at the bottom.
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:
Napoleon
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Zone of Interest
Best Director
Alexander Payne – The Holdovers
***Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest
Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Other Possibilities:
Blitz Bazawule – The Color Purple
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Justine Triet – Anatomy of a Fall
Best Actress
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
***Emma Stone – Poor Things
Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Huller – Anatomy of a Fall
Other Possibilities:
Annette Bening – Nyad
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Best Actor
***Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon
Other Possibilities:
Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
Barry Keoghan – Saltburn
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Best Supporting Actress
***Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Penelope Cruz – Ferrari
Taraji P. Henson – The Color Purple
Other Possibilities:
Jodie Foster – Nyad
Julianne Moore – May December
Viola Davis – Air
Best Supporting Actor
Jeremy Allen White – The Iron Claw
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
***Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Other Possibilities:
Charles Melton – May December
Colman Domingo – The Color Purple
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
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Maestro
May December
***Past Lives
Other Possibilities:
Air
Rustin
Saltburn
Best Cinematography
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
***Oppenheimer
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Other Possibilities:
El Conde
Napoleon
Saltburn
Best Costume Design
Barbie
The Color Purple
Napoleon
***Poor Things
Wonka
Other Possibilities:
Asteroid City
Killers of the Flower Moon
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Best Editing
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
***Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Other Possibilities:
The Color Purple
Ferrari
Maestro
Best Production Design
***Barbie
The Color Purple
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Wonka
Other Possibilities:
Asteroid City
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Best Animated Feature
The Boy and the Heron
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nuggets
The Peasants
***Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Wish
Other Possibilities:
Elemental
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Barbie
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Maestro
Napoleon
***Poor Things
Other Possibilities:
The Color Purple
Rustin
Wonka
Best Sound
The Color Purple
Ferrari
Maestro
***Oppenheimer
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Other Possibilities:
The Creator
Killers of the Flower Moon
The Zone of Interest
Best Visual Effects
***The Creator
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The Little Mermaid
The Marvels
Oppenheimer
Other Possibilities:
Poor Things
Rebel Moon
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best Original Score
The Color Purple
***Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Other Possibilities:
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Past Lives
Best Original Song
“Gonna Be You” – 80 for Brady
“I’m Just Ken” – Barbie
***”This Wish” – Wish
Untitled Original Song – The Color Purple
“What Was I Made For?” – Barbie
Other Possibilities:
“Better Place” – Trolls Band Together
“Road to Freedom” – Rustin
“Steal the Show” – Elemental
Best Documentary Feature
American Symphony
***Beyond Utopia
The Eternal Memory
The Mission
20 Days in Mariupol
Other Possibilities:
Anselm
The Deepest Breath
The Pigeon Tunnel
Best International Feature
About Dry Grasses – Turkey
Society of the Snow – Spain
The Taste of Things – France
The Teachers’ Lounge – Germany
***The Zone of Interest – United Kingdom
Other Possibilities:
Io Capitano – Italy
The Monk and the Gun – Bhutan
Perfect Days – Japan
Total Nomination and Win Counts:
Oppenheimer – 12 nominations, winning 6
Poor Things – 11 nominations, winning 4
Killers of the Flower Moon – 9 nominations, winning 1
The Color Purple – 9 nominations, winning 1
Barbie – 8 nominations, winning 1
Maestro – 7 nominations, winning 1
The Holdovers – 5 nominations, winning 0
Anatomy of a Fall – 4 nominations, winning 0
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – 3 nominations, winning 1
The Zone of Interest – 3 nominations, winning 1
American Fiction – 3 nominations, winning 0
Past Lives – 2 nominations, winning 1
Wish – 2 nominations, winning 1
Wonka – 2 nominations, winning 0
Ferrari – 2 nominations, winning 0
Napoleon – 2 nominations, winning 0
The Creator – 1 nomination, winning 1
Beyond Utopia – 1 nomination, winning 1
Rustin – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Iron Claw – 1 nomination, winning 0
May December – 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
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Little Mermaid – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Marvels – 1 nomination, winning 0
American Symphony – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Eternal Memory – 1 nomination, winning 0
The Mission – 1 nomination, winning 0
20 Days in Mariupol – 1 nomination, winning 0
About Dry Grasses – 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
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – 1 nomination, winning 0
