My 2024 Oscar Predictions.

In recent years I have played the Oscar predictions game and I have to say I have had a lot of fun with it. I’m actually still reeling from the shock that the overrated Everything Everywhere All At Once took home the top price last year. Though this year I can’t say I’m surprised by the strength of the field for Best Picture. Whoever wins will be worthy. I promise I won’t complain.

Leading the charge is Oppenheimer with a whooping 13 nominations. Interestingly, during this year’s awards season, Christopher Nolan’s epic biographical film about American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his vital role in the development of the atomic bomb, all but swept pretty much everything there was to win. At the Oscars I’m not so sure it will be a clean sweep. It will probably fall short of the record 11 Oscar wins, a title shared by Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003). But it will likely clean up in the prestigious categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Adapted Screenplay. On a person note , I was a little underwhelmed by Oppenheimer, but I’m not an idiot to recognise its importance to cinema and Nola’s masterclass in directing.

While everyone will be drooling over Oppenheimer, we shouldn’t discount the historical drama The Zone of Interest’s brutal take on Auschwitz or Yorgos Lanthimos’ black comedy Poor Things. The latter is arguably my favourite film of 2023 and it should pick up some consolation prizes throughout the night, maybe even the big one.

On the subject of acting awards, the single closest race will undoubtedly be between Lily Gladstone and Emma Stone. They say if Gladstone wins it will be historic, but my money says Stone is set to pick up for second Oscar for her performance as Bella Baxter. Earlier this year I said this about Stone’s performance: “With Poor Things Stone has clearly stepped outside of her comfort zone as an actress showcasing her versatility. We have never seen her play a role like this. And I’m not talking about the unabashed nudity and the sex scenes.”

The bookies don’t always get it right, and in a long history of shocking surprises and upsets, if there ever was going to be an upset on Sunday night, frontrunner Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) could lose out to sentiment favourite Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers). But unlike the lead acting categories, if I was Robert Downey Jr (Oppenheimer), I would be preparing another hilarious acceptance speech (just like his big BAFTA moment) as he walks up to receive the Best Supporting Actor award. And briefly, in the Best Supporting Actress category, the gorgeous Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers) is favourite to win for her role as Mary, a teacher and a cook at a New England boarding school set in the ’70s.

In truth, I could go on and on, but in a break from tradition here on this site, I have elected to only highlight in BLUE who I believe deserves to win without my usual short statement as to why. Please note, I have declined again to comment on the Best Documentary, Best Short Documentary, Live Action Short and Best Animated Short categories. I haven’t seen any of the nominees. Be sure to let me know if you agree or disagree with my choices. I will happily debate or explain my choices with you, if you ask me in the comments section here below. It’s always interesting to hear someone else’s perspective. So anyway, just ahead of the 96th annual Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday let’s see how I go. Enjoy!  

Best Picture:

“American Fiction” (MGM)
“Anatomy of a Fall” (Le Pacte)
“Barbie” (Warner Bros.)
“The Holdovers” (Focus Features)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Paramount/Apple)
“Maestro” (Netflix)
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
“Past Lives” (A24)
“Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
“The Zone of Interest” (A24)

Best Director:

Justine Triet, “Anatomy of a Fall”
Martin Scorsese, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “Poor Things”
Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest”

Best Actor:

Bradley Cooper, “Maestro”
Colman Domingo, “Rustin”
Paul Giamatti, “The Holdovers”
Cillian Murphy, “Oppenheimer”
Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”

Best Actress:

Annette Benning, “Nyad”
Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Sandra Hüller, “Anatomy of a Fall”
Carey Mulligan, “Maestro”
Emma Stone, “Poor Things”

Supporting Actor:

 Sterling K. Brown, “American Fiction”
Robert DeNiro, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Robert Downey Jr., “Oppenheimer”
Ryan Gosling, “Barbie”
Mark Ruffalo, “Poor Things”

Supporting Actress:

Emily Blunt, “Oppenheimer”
Danielle Brooks, “The Color Purple”
America Ferrera, “Barbie”
Jodie Foster, “Nyad”
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers”

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Cord Jefferson, “American Fiction” (based on “Erasure” by Percival Everett)
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, “Barbie”
Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer” (based on “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin)
Tony McNamara, “Poor Things” (based on the book by Alasdair Gray)
Jonathan Glazer, “Zone of Interest” (based on the book by Martin Amis)

Note: The Barbie screenplay should have been nominated as an original script. It relies on no source material. Consider the argument yourself. Seems like an injustice here considering the strong field for this category.

Best Original Screenplay:

Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, “Anatomy of a Fall”
David Hemingson, “The Holdovers”
Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer, “Maestro”
Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik, “May December”
Celine Song, “Past Lives”

Best Cinematography:

Edward Lachman, “El Conde”
Rodrigo Prieto, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Matthew Libatique, “Maestro”
Hoyte van Hoytema, “Oppenheimer”
Robbie Ryan, “Poor Things”

Best Costume Design:

“Barbie”
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Napoleon”
“Oppenheimer”
“Poor Things”

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

“Golda”
“Maestro”
“Oppenheimer”
“Poor Things”
“Society of the Snow”

Best Original Score:

Laura Karpman, “American Fiction”
John Willams, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”
Robbie Robertson, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Ludwig Göransson, “Oppenheimer”
Jerskin Fendrix, “Poor Things”

Best Original Song:

“The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot”
“I’m Just Ken,” from “Barbie”
“It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony”
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” from “Killers of the Flower Moon”
“What Was I Made For?,” by Billie Eilish and Finneas from “Barbie”

Best Production Design:

“Barbie”
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Napoleon”
“Oppenheimer”
“Poor Things”

Best International Film:

“The Teachers’ Lounge,” Germany
“Io Capitano,” Italy
“Perfect Days,” Japan
“Society of the Snow,” Spain
“The Zone of Interest,” United Kingdom

Best Sound:

“The Creator”
“Maestro”
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”
“Oppenheimer”
“The Zone of Interest”

Best Film Editing:

“Anatomy of a Fall”
“The Holdovers”
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Oppenheimer”
“Poor Things”

Best Visual Effects:

“The Creator”
“Godzilla Minus One”
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”
“Napoleon”

Best Animated Feature:

“The Boy and the Heron”
“Elemental”
“Nimona”
“Robot Dreams”
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”