With Oscar nomination morning right around the corner, awards season is officially entering its most nerve-wracking phase: the final predictions for the 98th Academy Awards.
From Best Picture heavyweights to volatile acting races and tech category curveballs, I run through every major category.
After this week’s podcast, it’s time to lock the picks in. Which films are safely locked? Which contenders are clinging to the bubble? And which performances could surge at the last minute or shockingly miss out altogether? I make those calls below.
Best Picture
- One Battle After Another
- Sinners
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- Frankenstein
- Sentimental Value
- Bugonia
- Train Dreams
- The Secret Agent
- F1
Best Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson (ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER)
- Ryan Coogler (SINNERS)
- Chloé Zhao (HAMNET)
- Josh Safdie (MARTY SUPREME)
- Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (NEON)
Best Actor
- Timothée Chalamet (MARTY SUPREME)
- Leonardo DiCaprio (ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER)
- Ethan Hawke (BLUE MOON)
- Michael B. Jordan (SINNERS)
- Wagner Moura (THE SECRET AGENT)
Best Actress
- Jessie Buckley (HAMNET)
- Rose Byrne (IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU)
- Renate Reinsve (SENTIMENTAL VALUE)
- Emma Stone (BUGONIA)
- Chase Infiniti (ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER)
Best Supporting Actor
- Stellan Skarsgård (SENTIMENTAL VALUE)
- Benicio Del Toro (ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER)
- Jacob Elordi (FRANKENSTEIN)
- Sean Penn (ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER)
- Paul Mescal (HAMNET)
Best Supporting Actress
- Teyana Taylor (ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER)
- Amy Madigan (WEAPONS)
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (SENTIMENTAL VALUE)
- Wunmi Mosaku (SINNERS)
- Odessa Azion (MARTY SUPREME)
Best Original Screenplay
- SINNERS (Ryan Coogler)
- IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (Jafar Panahi, Nader Saeivar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian)
- MARTY SUPREME (Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie)
- SENTIMENTAL VALUE (Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt)
- SORRY BABY (Eva Victor)
Best Adapted Screenplay
- ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- HAMNET (Maggie O’Farrell & Chloe Zhao)
- FRANKENSTEIN (Guillermo Del Toro)
- TRAIN DREAMS (Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar)
- BUGONIA (Will Tracy)
Achievement in Casting
- Francine Maisler (SINNERS)
- Cassandra Kulukundis (ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER)
- Jennifer Venditti (MARTY SUPREME)
- Nina Gold (HAMNET)
- Allison Jones (WEAPONS)
Best Animated Feature
- KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
- ZOOTOPIA 2
- LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN
- ARCO
- ELIO
Best International Feature Film
- THE SECRET AGENT (Brazil)
- IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (France)
- SENTIMENTAL VALUE (Norway)
- SIRĀT (Spain)
- THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB (Tunisia)
Best Documentary Feature
- THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR
- MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART I – LAST AIR IN MOSCOW
- 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA
- APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS
- CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS
Best Original Score
- SINNERS (Ludwig Göransson)
- ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (Jonny Greenwood)
- FRANKENSTEIN (Alexandre Desplat)
- HAMNET (Max Richter)
- MARTY SUPREME (Daniel Lopatin)
Best Original Song
- “Golden” (KPOP DEMON HUNTERS)
- “I Lied to You” (SINNERS)
- “Dear Me” (DIANE WARREN: RELENTLESS)
- “Train Dreams” (TRAIN DREAMS)
- “The Girl in the Bubble” (WICKED FOR GOOD)
Best Sound
- SINNERS
- ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
- F1
- FRANKENSTEIN
- SIRAT
Best Production Design
- FRANKENSTEIN
- SINNERS
- MARTY SUPREME
- WICKED: FOR GOOD
- HAMNET
Best Cinematography
- SINNERS (Autumn Durald Arkapaw)
- ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (Michael Bauman)
- TRAIN DREAMS (Adolpho Veloso)
- MARTY SUPREME (Darius Khondji)
- FRANKENSTEIN (Dan Laustsen)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
- FRANKENSTEIN
- SINNERS
- THE SMASHING MACHINE
- WICKED: FOR GOOD
- ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Best Costume Design
- FRANKENSTEIN
- SINNERS
- WICKED: FOR GOOD
- HAMNET
- MARTY SUPREME
Best Film Editing
- ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
- SINNERS
- MARTY SUPREME
- F1
- FRANKENSTEIN
Best Visual Effects
- AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH
- F1
- SUPERMAN
- THE LOST BUS
- SINNERS
Best Live Action Short Film
- THE SINGERS
- ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS
- TWO PEOPLE EXCHANGING SALIVA
- BEYOND SILENCE
- EXTREMIST
Best Animated Short Film
- ÉIRU
- PLAYING GOD
- BUTTERFLY
- THE GIRL WHO CRIED PEARLS
- THE SHYNESS OF TREES
Best Documentary Short Subject
- THE DEVIL IS BUSY
- ARMED ONLY WITH A CAMERA: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BRENT RENAUD
- ALL THE EMPTY ROOMS
- WE WERE THE SCENERY
- ALL THE WALLS CAME DOWN
With a projected 15 nominations, I have Sinners breaking the all-time record nomination record. Here is the predicted leaders in nominations on the morning.
- Sinners — 15 nominations
- One Battle After Another — 14 nominations
- Marty Supreme — 11 nominations
- Frankenstein — 10 nominations
- Hamnet — 9 nominations
- Sentimental Value — 6 nominations
