The Academy Awards are right around the corner. The prestigious awards show represents the end of awards season, providing the nominees a chance to rest and process the past couple of months, which have been filled with some of the most prestigious and demanding events in the entertainment industry.
This year’s Academy Awards will be hosted on March 10th, with the nominees being announced on January 23rd. Now is the perfect time to take a few guesses at the list of possible nominees. Scroll down to learn some of our predictions:
Best picture
Best picture is the biggest award of the night, rewarding the best film of the year. No easy feat. The award encapsulates the entire evening, with ideal best picture film having the best story, best performances, best direction, and more. This is never the case.
Still, best picture is an award that’s handed out to the film that’s most liked by Academy voters, or that was deemed most important on that particular year. It’s one of the most polarizing awards of the night.
- What will most likely get nominated: Killers of the Flower Moon, Poor Things, Oppenheimer, Barbie, and The Holdovers.
- What might sneak in: Past Lives, Maestro, Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest.
- Dark horse: Origin, The Color Purple, May December.
Best lead actor and actress
Best actor and actress are also some of the biggest awards of the night, with this year boasting great performances on all fronts.
- Who will most likely get nominated: Paul Giamatti, Cillian Murphy, Bradley Cooper, and Leonardo DiCaprio; Lily Gladstone, Emma Stone, Carey Mulligan and Margot Robbie.
- Who might sneak in: Jeffrey Wright; Greta Lee, Natalie Portman, and Annette Bening.
- Dark horse: Sandra Huller.
Best supporting actor and actress
- Who will most likely get nominated: Ryan Gosling, Robert Downey Jr., and Robert DeNiro; Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Emily Blunt.
- Who might sneak in: Dominic Sessa, Mark Ruffalo, Andrew Scott, and Charles Melton; Jodie Foster, and Danielle Brooks.
- Dark horse: Paul Mescal; America Ferrera, Penelope Cruz, and Julianne Moore.
Best director
Lastly, best director is also an exciting award. Best director is meant to reward the person who steered the film in the most exemplary way; it’s a tough category, especially since there are so many parts involved in directing, but this year it’s pretty safe to assume that Christopher Nolan might take the trophy, with there being some competition from Martin Scorsese.
- Who will most likely get nominated: Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Greta Gerwig, and Alexander Payne.
- Who might sneak in: Celine Song, Justine Triet, and Yorgos Lanthimos.
- Dark horses: Jonathan Glazer.