The 96th Oscars Predictions

By Anna Pile

The Oscars are the pinnacle of movie awards. For the past ninety-six years, the award has been considered the highest acclaim an actor or picture can receive. Yet, many people tend to forget that no movie is made for every person. The award is decided not only by the committee’s knowledge but also the public’s and their personal opinions. With that being said, I thought it would be fun to predict which movies will win which category this year, along with which movie I think deserves to win. Feel free to see if I was right by following along on March 10th! 

(I have not watched all of the movies that have been nominated since many of them have not been released on streaming. Also this is just for fun and most of these may be very wrong. My sources are Netflix, Peacock, the AMC Thoroughbred, and my dad (who saw The Zone of Interest.)

Actor in a Supporting Role

(Nominees: Sterling K. Brown, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan Gosling, and Mark Ruffalo)

I have heard amazing reviews about all of these actors, but I think that the award is going to be between the two Roberts (although I haven’t seen much of Brown’s performance). After watching Oppenheimer, I know that Downey Jr. did a very good job, and he has already won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his performance. That being said, Robert De Niro is an incredible actor, and although I haven’t seen Killers of the Flower Moon I have only heard good things about both the movie and De Niro. As much as I would love Ryan Gosling to win, and his portrayal of the iconic doll sent waves through social media in the best ways, I do think that it will be a surprise if he takes the award home. I also heard a lot of great responses to Ruffalo’s role in Poor Things, but I’m not sure if he can beat out the other actors in this category. 

Who I think will win: Robert Downey Jr. or Robert De Nero

Who I want to win: Ryan Gosling

Actress in a Supporting Role

(Nominees: Emily Blunt, Danielle Brooks, America Ferrera, Jodie Foster, and Da’vine Joy Randolph)

This category is definitely one of the most stacked. Every single actress is an incredible talent. While I do think America Ferrera was nominated for her fantastic speech about the many challenges women face today, that speech was the only time her character truly shined in the film. However, the impact that speech had after Barbie was released will definitely garner it some attention during the ceremony. I haven’t seen The Color Purple yet as I’m trying to finish the book first, so I can’t predict whether she will win the award, but the movie has been praised for its acting. Emily Blunt definitely left a memorable impression on me with her role in Oppenheimer, and a lot of her scenes were only as powerful and moving as they were because of her talent. I do believe she has a very high chance of winning the Oscar. With that being said, Da’vine Joy Randolph was absolutely amazing in The Holdovers and stuck out as an incredible actor in an already talent-packed cast. Her depiction of a grieving mother who is trying to hold it in while deepening her friendships with the people around her was so heartbreaking yet fulfilling at the same time and while I do think the screenplay was amazing, her performance definitely elevated it to another level and I was crying by the end.

Who I think will win: Emily Blunt

Who I want to win: Da’vine Joy Randolph

Actor in a Leading Role

(Nominees: Bradley Cooper, Colman Domingo, Paul Giamatti, Cillian Murphy, and Jeffery Wright)

Cillain Murphy definitely has the highest chance of winning this award. He’s won almost every award for Lead Actor, so it wouldn’t be surprising in the least. I also think he deserves the award because his acting carried Oppenheimer and was one of the main reasons for the movie’s success. I also loved Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers, as his character arc was one of the best and most natural I have seen of all time. Without Giamatti, this old, cranky high school teacher would’ve never had a friend so caring he would give up his entire livelihood to help a boy he had only just gotten close to. While I do think this arc was also heavily aided by the amazing script, Giamatti put so much heart and soul into the character that his talent cannot be left unmentioned and unrecognized. I think those two were the stand out actors for me, but I have yet to watch American Fiction or Rustin, so those two could be possible winners as well.

Who I think will win: Cillian Murphy

Who I want to win: Paul Giamatti

Actress in a Leading Role

(Nominees: Annette Bening, Lily Gladstone, Sandra Hüller, Carey Mulligan, and Emma Stone)

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen Killers of the Flower Moon. However, I have only heard amazing things about Lily Gladstone and her performance, and she has already won a lot of acclaim with other awards. She is definitely a big contender, along with Emma Stone, who is the other actress I have only heard great things about. Specifically in Poor Things, she apparently put her entire soul into embodying a very unique character and her acting was not only immersing but also required a lot of skill and confidence. I haven’t seen Nyad or Anatomy of a Fall, so I can’t say anything about Bening or Hüller’s performances. For Maestro, Mulligan and Cooper both helped the romance flourish but I lost interest pretty quickly, even with their chemistry. Honestly any of these women could win this award and deserve it, but I believe that Lily Gladstone has the highest chance and I hope her incredible performance is recognized.

Who I think will win: Lily Gladstone (Or Emma Stone)

Who I want to win: Lily Gladstone

Animated Feature Film

(Nominees: The Boy and the Heron, Elemental, Nimona, Robot Dreams, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse)

Animated movies are one of my guilty pleasures, so this category is one I have a lot to say about. Firstly, in some animated drama news, Walt Disney’s fiftieth anniversary motion picture Wish (that was meant to be the culmination of the entire discography of Disney Animated Studios) was not nominated. Yet, Nimona was. For those who do not know, Nimona was first created under Blue Sky, which was then bought out by Disney who decided to completely shut down the company and throw away the thousands of hours and money put into Nimona.

Eventually, the animators and writers of the movie were able to successfully pitch it to Netflix, who then continued to fund the project. Now, not only was it more successful when released onto the streaming service, but it was also nominated over the Disney movie that was meant to be one of their best. This Oscar nomination is ultimately a showcase of how Disney has been struggling over the past few years in almost all of their movies. Anyways, I digress. Back to the nominations, I think that it is a strong battle between The Boy and the Heron and Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse. Every movie nominated was great this year, and all of them could win the award. However, these two are immaculate works of art. Personally, I was much more engaged during Spiderman and the animation was incredibly impressive, but The Boy and the Heron is so beautiful and definitely one of Studio Ghibli’s best, which is extremely high praise. The only point I have against Spiderman is that they overworked the animators, 

Which they hopefully won’t repeat for the sequel. My guess is that The Boy and the Heron will win because Miyazaki has already taken home many awards, but I will not be mad if either wins. 

Who I think will win: The Boy and the Heron

Who I think should win: Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse

Cinematography

(Nominees: El Conde, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, and Poor Things)

Cinematography was one of the main aspects of Maestro that stuck with me. To be fully honest, I didn’t finish the film, but I definitely remember the unique production and shots. I also heard great things about the cinematography of Poor Things, and there are some memorable choices just in the trailer alone. However, I do think Oppenheimer will likely take the award home since it has already dominated many of the major award ceremonies and the cinematography absolutely heightened the drama and intensity of the more important scenes. I think I preferred the more creative and risky shots in Poor Things. 

Who I think will win: Oppenheimer

Who I want to win: Poor Things

Costume Design

(Nominees: Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon, Oppenheimer, and Poor Things)

Seeing as Barbie has only been nominated for a few major awards, I do hope it wins this one. Already many of the costumes have become popular staples, and you can tell that each was created with a specific doll in mind. Also, the number of costumes that needed to be created for this movie was considerable, and each one was required to express a specific personality each time. However, I did also love the costume design in Poor Things. All of Emma Stone’s dresses were impeccably designed and fit well with both the tone and themes of the film. And while I cannot say myself, I read in many different articles that the outfits in Killers of the Flower Moon were authentic and accurate.

Who I think will win: Past Lives

Who I want to win: Barbie or Past Lives

Directing

(Nominees: Anatomy of a Fall, Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest)

To be honest, I think both this award and the Best Picture award will go to Oppenheimer. While I don’t think that is a bad thing, I do think that the other nominations also had very talented directors, specifically Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon. My dad also particularly liked the ominously inconspicuous decisions made in The Zone of Interest. Directing isn’t my strong suit, so I don’t feel exactly qualified to judge which movies had better directing, but either way I think I can accurately guess that Oppenheimer will take home the Oscar. This won’t upset me, even though it is pretty obvious, since the entire movie definitely felt well-directed when I watched it.

Who I think will win: Oppenheimer

Who I want to win: Oppenheimer or Poor Things

Best Picture

(Nominees: American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest)

To be fully honest, this isn’t much of a competition. I know that Oppenhimer will likely win, and Killers of the Flower Moon has also been a large contender, but The Holdovers was the only movie I watched that engaged me from start to finish. Although sad at the beginning, it was also one of the few movies that left me feeling an abundance of happiness. The characters are so well-written and acted, the story is simple yet extremely heartfelt and moving, and some of the moments are just too emotional it’s hard not to cry. Nevertheless, since it hasn’t received too many nominations compared to others, I doubt it will win. I wish Barbie had a fighting chance, but since Gerwig wasn’t nominated for directing and it hasn’t been nominated in many other large categories either, I don’t think it will win (and I say that with an extremely heavy heart). Ultimately, even if it doesn’t win, it has already gathered enough attention to go down in history. Oppenheimer certainly has the biggest chance of winning this major award, with all its other awards, nominations, and acclaim, and it is definitely deserving of it, but The Holdovers will stay the best picture of the year in my heart. 

Who I think will win: Oppenheimer

Who I want to win: The Holdovers