With a mix of informed takes, educated guesses, and just plain guesses, Steve Newall makes some predictions about next week’s Oscars.
This year’s Oscars are almost upon us, with this year’s Academy Awards taking place on Sunday (US time)—which means during the day on Monday for those of us in Australasia.
If you’re as easily confused by an international date line as we are, you may find this info helps: How to watch in Australia or how to watch in NZ.
You can find the full list of nominees—and where to watch them—here.
Our pick the Oscar winners competition is open until one hour before the official ceremony begins. Read on for our best guesses about who’s going to win—and then enter your own picks here on the way to being crowned Oscar champion.
So, with that out of the way, on to our picks…
As I go through all the televised categories below, I’ve included a few different opinions for each. “Will win” is a prediction based on awards voting trends, “Deserves to win” is my personal pick, and “FYC” is an outsider that may still be worth your consideration (or at least worth spotlighting). Please note that these are my opinions as of February 27 and subject to much second-guessing over the coming days.
We’ve also deployed the Flicks hive mind, with staff and contributors making picks that have been combined into a “Flicks team pick”—with the exception of a couple of categories where votes were evenly split, resulting in no clear favourite.
Read on, and let the speculation and disagreements begin—after all, what is the art of cinema for if not bitching about which privileged people are going to collect a shiny gold statue and talk for too long on live TV?
Best Picture
Will win: Anora
Deserves to win: Anora
FYC: The Brutalist
Flicks team pick: Anora
Actor in a Leading Role
Will win: Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)
Deserves to win: Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)
FYC: Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)
Flicks team pick: Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)
Actress in a Leading Role
Will win: Mikey Madison (Anora)
Deserves to win: Mikey Madison (Anora)
FYC: Demi Moore (The Substance)
Flicks team pick: Demi Moore (The Substance)
Actor in a Supporting Role
Will win: Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)
Deserves to win: Guy Pearce (The Brutalist)
FYC: Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice)
Flicks team pick: Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)
Actress in a Supporting Role
Will win: Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez)
Deserves to win: Felicity Jones (The Brutalist)
FYC: Isabella Rossellini (Conclave)
Flicks team pick: Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez)
Directing
Will win: Sean Baker (Anora)
Deserves to win: Sean Baker (Anora)
FYC: Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)
Flicks team pick: Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)
Animated Feature Film
Will win: The Wild Robot
Deserves to win: Flow
FYC: Memoir of a Snail
Flicks team pick: Flow
Original Screenplay
Will win: Anora
Deserves to win: The Brutalist
FYC: The Substance
Flicks team pick: No clear favourite
Adapted Screenplay
Will win: Conclave
Deserves to win: Nickel Boys
FYC: A Complete Unknown
Flicks team pick: Conclave
Cinematography
Will win: The Brutalist
Deserves to win: The Brutalist
FYC: Nosferatu
Flicks team pick: The Brutalist
Costume Design
Will win: Wicked
Deserves to win: Conclave
FYC: Nosferatu
Flicks team pick: Wicked
Documentary Feature
Will win: No Other Land
Deserves to win: No Other Land
FYC: Porcelain War
Flicks team pick: No Other Land
Documentary Short Subject
Will win: I Am Ready, Warden
Deserves to win: I Am Ready, Warden
FYC: Incident
Flicks team pick: I Am Ready, Warden
Film Editing
Will win: Conclave
Deserves to win: Anora
FYC: The Brutalist
Flicks team pick: The Brutalist
International Feature Film
Will win: I’m Still Here
Deserves to win: I’m Still Here
FYC: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Flicks team pick: I’m Still Here
Makeup and Hairstyling
Will win: The Substance
Deserves to win: The Substance
FYC: Wicked
Flicks team pick: Wicked
Original Score
Will win: The Brutalist
Deserves to win: The Brutalist
FYC: Conclave
Flicks team pick: The Brutalist
Original Song
Will win: Emilia Pérez (“El Mal”)
Deserves to win: Sing Sing (“Like a Bird”)
FYC: The Six Triple Eight (“The Journey”)
Flicks team pick: No clear favourite
Production Design
Will win: Wicked
Deserves to win: The Brutalist
FYC: Dune: Part Two
Flicks team pick: Wicked
Animated Short Film
Will win: Beautiful Men
Deserves to win: Wander to Wonder
FYC: Yuck!
Flicks team pick: No clear favourite
Live Action Short Film
Will win: The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Deserves to win: Anuja
FYC: A Lien
Flicks team pick: No clear favourite
Sound
Will win: Dune: Part Two
Deserves to win: Dune: Part Two
FYC: Wicked
Flicks team pick: Dune: Part Two
Visual Effects
Will win: Dune: Part Two
Deserves to win: Dune: Part Two
FYC: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Flicks team pick: Dune: Part Two
Agree? Disagree? Enter your own picks here—and you could be crowned Oscar champion.
