Your Guide to the Oscars

For the fifth year in a row, I managed to see every single film nominated in every category. It’s been a long time between the nominations announcement and the big night, so things have had a chance to shift over those weeks and now there are only a few races that are truly up in the air, most notably Best Picture and Best Actress. At this point, I’m excited to be predicting my personal choices for both of those races – “CODA” and Jessica Chastain.

I’ve detailed the nominees and their chances in each of the categories below, and you can click on each race heading to read my full Oscar winner predictions. Additionally, I was able to speak with almost all of the filmmakers in the shorts categories, so click on those titles to watch them. Predicted winners are in bold – at this point, I’m betting on “CODA” going three for three on its nominations with “Dune” picking up six trophies and “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” scoring two, and just one win for all the rest. Click on feature film titles for full reviews of each. Happy watching!

Best Picture
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Drive My Car
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story

Best Director
Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)
Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car)
Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)
Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)
Steven Spielberg (West Side Story)

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog)
Andrew Garfield (tick, tick…BOOM!)
Will Smith (King Richard)
Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter)
Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers)
Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos)
Kristen Stewart (Spencer)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Ciarán Hinds (Belfast)
Troy Kotsur (CODA)
Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog)
J.K. Simmons (Being the Ricardos)
Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter)
Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)
Judi Dench (Belfast)
Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog)
Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)

Best Original Screenplay
Belfast
Don’t Look Up
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
The Worst Person in the World

Best Adapted Screenplay
CODA
Drive My Car
Dune
The Lost Daughter
The Power of the Dog

Best Cinematography
Dune
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
The Tragedy of Macbeth
West Side Story

Best Production Design
Dune
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
The Tragedy of Macbeth
West Side Story

Best Costume Design
Cruella
Cyrano
Dune
Nightmare Alley
West Side Story

Best Film Editing
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
The Power of the Dog
tick, tick…BOOM!

Best Original Score
Don’t Look Up
Dune
Encanto
Parallel Mothers
The Power of the Dog

Best Original Song
“Down to Joy” (Belfast)
“Dos Oruguitas” (Encanto)
“Be Alive” (King Richard)
“No Time to Die” (No Time to Die)
“Somehow You Do” (Four Good Days)

Best Sound
Belfast
Dune
No Time to Die
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Coming to America
Cruella
Dune
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
House of Gucci

Best Visual Effects
Dune
Free Guy
No Time to Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Spider-Man: No Way Home

Best Live Action Short Film
Ala Kachuu – Take and Run
The Dress
The Long Goodbye
On My Mind
Please Hold

Best Animated Short Film
Affairs of the Art
Bestia
Boxballet
Robin Robin
The Windshield Wiper

Best Animated Feature
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Raya and the Last Dragon

Best Documentary Short Film
Audible
Lead Me Home
The Queen of Basketball
Three Songs for Benazir
When We Were Bullies

Best Documentary
Ascension
Attica
Flee
Summer of Soul
Writing with Fire

Best International Feature
Drive My Car
Flee
The Hand of God
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
The Worst Person in the World