Year in Advance Oscar Predictions: All Options Are on the Table Now for The Academy (Part Two)

Folks, at the end of last week, I debuted my year in advance Oscar predictions piece. In it, I revealed my initial set of picks, while also more or less setting the stage for an unpredictable season. After all, it does seem like there are less overt contenders at the moment than we’ve had in the past. Still, there are films and performances to consider, so consider them we shall. What I didn’t do, however, was include the technical categories in my predictions. So, the movies that would show up there, they’re getting their moment in the sun now. Then, it’s just our garden variety season updates, ad the year progresses…

Today, I’m just doing some very slight tinkering, mainly a thing or two I might have forgotten about or re-ordered, as well as adding most of the below the line categories. Those tech fields are going to be unpredictable, though Wicked: For Good seems very safe for a lot of nominations. Everything else will just depend on the year. For example, right now Deliver Me From Nowhere or One Battle After Another would seem like likely nominees in a number of categories, while Avatar: Fire and Ash could be a below the line juggernaut. Come January? Who knows? That’s the fun of this, to be sure. So, just keep that in mind.

From here on, I’ll be updating my predictions from time to time. Mostly, it’ll be when it seems appropriate to do so. The next one will be likely after the Cannes Film Festival, though we’ll see. Right now, however, my picks in the mid April landscape can be seen, for whatever that’s worth…

Here now are my sure to be wrong Year in Advance predictions for the Academy Awards, fully written out for easy access. Behold:

BEST PICTURE

1. Deliver Me From Nowhere
2. One Battle After Another
3. Wicked: For Good
4. Jay Kelly
5. Marty Supreme
6. Bugonia
7. Hamnet
8. Sentimental Value
9. Eleanor the Great
10. Avatar: Fire and Ash

Next in Line: 11. The Ballad of a Small Player 12. The Life of Chuck 13. Highest 2 Lowest 14. The Smashing Machine 15. Caught Stealing 16. Is This Thing On? 17. After the Hunt 18. Untitled Kathryn Bigelow White House Thriller 19. Die, My Love 20. The Lost Bus 21. A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey 22. Frankenstein 23. Anemone 24. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery 25. F1

Also Consider: 26. Eddington 27. Hedda 28. The History of Sound 29. Blue Moon 30. Good Fortune

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
2. Jon M. Chu – Wicked: For Good
3. Scott Cooper – Deliver Me From Nowhere
4. Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
5. Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value

Next in Line: 6. Yorgos Lanthimos – Bugonia 7. Noah Baumbach – Jay Kelly 8. Benny Safdie – The Smashing Machine 9. Scarlett Johansson – Eleanor the Great 10. Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme

Also Consider: TBD

BEST ACTOR

1. Jeremy Allen White – Deliver Me From Nowhere
2. Timotheé Chalamet – Marty Supreme
3. Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
4. Paul Mescal – Hamnet
5. Dwayne Johnson – The Smashing Machine

Next in Line: 6. Daniel Day-Lewis – Anemone 7. Colin Farrell – The Ballad of a Small Player 8. Denzel Washington – Highest 2 Lowest 9. Oscar Isaac – Frankenstein 10. Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon

Also Consider: TBD

BEST ACTRESS

1. June Squibb – Eleanor the Great
2. Cynthia Erivo – Wicked: For Good
3. Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
4. Emma Stone – Bugonia
5. Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value

Next in Line: 6. Julia Roberts – After the Hunt 7. Jennifer Lawrence – Die, My Love 8. Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another 9. Sydney Sweeney – Untitled Christy Martin Movie 10. Tessa Thompson – Hedda

Also Consider: TBD

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Jeremy Strong – Deliver Me From Nowhere
2. Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
3. Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
4. Jesse Plemons – Bugonia
5. Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value

Next in Line: 6. Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another 7. Josh O’Connor – The History of Sound 8. Bradley Cooper – Is This Thing On? 9. Idris Elba – Untitled Kathryn Bigelow Thriller 10. Jonathan Bailey – Wicked: For Good

Also Consider: TBD

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Emily Blunt – The Smashing Machine
2. Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
3. Ayo Edebiri – After the Hunt
4. Regina Hall – One Battle After Another
5. Gaby Hoffman – Deliver Me From Nowhere

Next in Line: 6. Alicia Silverstone – Bugonia 7. Anne Hathaway – Mother Mary 8. Laura Dern  – Jay Kelly 9. Tilda Swinton – The Ballad of a Small Player 10. Emily Watson – Hamnet

Also Consider: TBD

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Jay Kelly
2. One Battle After Another
3. Sentimental Value
4. Marty Supreme
5. The Smashing Machine

Next in Line: 6. Eleanor the Great 7. Aneomone 8. Good Fortune 9. Untitled Kathryn Bigelow Thriller 10. After the Hunt

Also Consider: TBD

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. Deliver Me From Nowhere
2. Bugonia
3. Hamnet
4. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
5. The Life of Chuck

Next in Line: 6. Wicked: For Good 7. The Ballad of a Small Player 8. Frankenstein 9. Highest 2 Lowest 10. Caught Stealing

Also Consider: TBD

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

1. Elio
2. Zootopia 2
3. In Your Dreams
4. Predator: Killer of Killers
5. Fixed

BEST CASTING

1. Deliver Me From Nowhere
2. One Battle After Another
3. Marty Supreme
4. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
5. Wicked: For Good

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. Wicked: For Good
2. Avatar: Fire and Ash
3. Deliver Me From Nowhere
4. One Battle After Another
5. The Phoenician Scheme

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Deliver Me From Nowhere
2. Wicked: For Good
3. One Battle After Another
4. F1
5. Avatar: Fire and Ash

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1. Wicked: For Good
2. Deliver Me From Nowhere
3. Hamnet
4. Frankenstein
5. Blue Moon

BEST FILM EDITING

1. Deliver Me From Nowhere
2. F1
3. One Battle After Another
4. Wicked: For Good
5. Avatar: Fire and Ash

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

1. Wicked: For Good
2. Frankenstein
3. The Smashing Machine
4. Mother Mary
5. Deliver Me From Nowhere

BEST SOUND

1. F1
2. Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning
3. Deliver Me From Nowhere
4. Wicked: For Good
5. Warfare

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. Avatar: Fire and Ash
2. Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning
3. Superman
4. Jurassic World: Rebirth
5. The Fantastic Four: First Steps

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. One Battle After Another
2. Bugonia
3. F1
4. Frankenstein
5. Avatar: Fire and Ash

*The rest are TBD…*

Stay tuned for an update to these year in advance Oscar predictions as springtime continues on!