Final Oscar Predictions

It feels like Oscar season has flown by, mainly because everything is moved up a few weeks and we got some big announcements just a few days ago. I’m more prepared than I’ve ever been, having seen every movie I’m predicting for a bid aside from six shorts. I just want some exciting surprises rather than some miserable snubs.

It’s just as difficult to know which film will ultimately win the Best Picture Oscar at this point, though I’m betting on “Parasite” because I don’t think that “1917” will make it all the way. My out-there picks are “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” scoring for both Best Picture and Best Director and Martin Scorsese missing out in the director race. I’m also subbing “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” in for “The Irishman” for Best Cinematography since just those top two bids would be odd.

What I’d really love to see is room for both Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name) and Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes) in Best Actor. Acting bids for “Parasite,” specifically Jo Yeo-jeong, would be great. I’d also be ecstatic if either “Weathering with You” or “Bunuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles” made the Best Animated Feature list, and how awesome would it be if all sequels got snubbed, and they joined “Missing Link,” “Klaus,” and “I Lost My Body”? There’s very little chance of that happening, but one can dream.

I’m not getting up at 5:18am tomorrow to watch the nominations, but it’s the first thing I’ll be doing when I get up a bit later. Like last year, I’m not at Sundance, so this will be my primary focus, and you can expect detailed reactions by category as soon as I’m up and start posting tomorrow. Click on category headings below for full analysis for each race, and film titles to read my reviews! Leave your thoughts and predictions in the comments!

No guts, no glory:
Mati Drop (Atlantics) for Best Director
Jo Yeo-jeong (Parasite) for Best Supporting Actress
Margot Robbie in Best Supporting Actress, but for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Final Predictions:
Best Picture
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Best Director
Todd Phillips (Joker)
Sam Mendes (1917)
Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)
Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Adam Driver (Marriage Story)
Taron Egerton (Rocketman)
Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo (Harriet)
Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)
Lupita Nyong’o (Us)
Charlize Theron (Bombshell)
Renee Zellweger (Judy)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood)
Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes)
Al Pacino (The Irishman)
Joe Pesci (The Irishman)
Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Laura Dern (Marriage Story)
Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit)
Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers)
Margot Robbie (Bombshell)
Zhao Shuzhen (The Farewell)

Best Original Screenplay
The Farewell
Knives Out
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite

Best Adapted Screenplay
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women

Best Cinematography
Joker
The Lighthouse
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Best Production Design
The Irishman
Joker
Little Women
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Costume Design
Dolemite Is My Name
Downton Abbey
Hustlers
Little Women
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Film Editing
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
Knives Out
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite

Best Original Score
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
Little Women
1917
Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker

Best Original Song
“Into the Unknown” (Frozen II)
“Stand Up” (Harriet)
“Spirit” (The Lion King)
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again” (Rocketman)
“Glasgow” (Wild Rose)

Best Sound
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Sound Editing
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Bombshell
Joker
Judy
Little Women
Rocketman

Best Visual Effects
Alita: Battle Angel
Avengers: Endgame
The Lion King
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Animated Feature
Frozen II
I Lost My Body
Klaus
Missing Link
Toy Story 4

Best Documentary Short
After Maria
In the Absence
Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone (If You’re A Girl)
The Nightcrawlers
St. Louis Superman

Best Animated Short
Daughter
Hair Love
He Can’t Live Without Cosmos
Hors Piste
Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days

Best Documentary Short
Brotherhood
Miller and Son
Nefta Football Club
The Neighbor’s Window
Sometimes, I Think About Dying

Best Documentary
American Factory
Apollo 11
For Sama
Honeyland
Midnight Family

Best Foreign Language Film
Corpus Christi
Les Miserables
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Truth and Justice