The Academy Awards are right around the corner once again. The biggest night in movies is always an exciting time for cinephiles, and making predictions for who will win each Oscar is always a blast. Check out my predictions for each category below and let me know how they compare to yours.

See the full list of nominations here!

Best Actor In a Leading Role

Adrien Brody – The Brutalist

Adrien Brody won for this very same category back in 2003, and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see him win it again this year too. He’s an especially great actor, and his work in The Brutalist is no different. It’s a long film, and he carries the entire thing while giving an incredibly moving performance. He’s already won the BAFTA for this role, and he’s sure to win the Oscar for it as well.

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Mikey Madison – Anora

Mikey Madison shines as the titular role in Anora. She gives a nuanced performance, succeeding in the loud, showy aspects of her character as well as her more vulnerable side. She may be a lesser-known actress, but this role and nomination is enough to put her on the map.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain

A Real Pain feels like it was partly made to ensure Kieran Culkin gets the Supporting Actor Oscar. He completely steals the spotlight with a performance that’s equal parts entertaining and emotional. His character feels like a real, deep individual, and that’s heavily due to Culkin’s incredible acting. Even though he’s the supporting actor, it feels like it’s his story, which is usually a good indicator that he’ll take home the award.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Zoe Saldana – Emilia Perez

Emilia Perez is honestly a rather tough watch, but one of the few bright parts of the film is Zoe Saldana’s performance. While the movie is technically abouit the character of Emilia Perez, Saldana’s character, Rita, controls the spotlight. Her performance is emotional and believeable, and like with Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain, this feels like it’s more her movie at times, so she’s a safe prediction for the Supporting Actress Oscar.

Best Director

Sean Baker – Anora

This one is a tough choice between a few of the nominees, but I do think Sean Baker will take this one home for Anora. Not only did he win the Independent Spirit Award for it, but it’s overall a fantastic example of great directing. The shots are beautiful, and while each one is filled with life and detail, the focus is always clear. The story is told visually in clever ways, enough to earn the Academy Award.

Best Cinematography

Nosferatu

The story of Nosferatu is one told through its gorgeous cinematography. It guides the haunting tone of the film, creating a chilling sense of dread throughout its whole runtime. Some scenes were completely lit by candles, and they manage to look excellent. It’s all genuinely impressive. It would be quite a surprise to see this movie lose in this category.

Best International Feature Film

I’m Still Here

I’m Still Here is the International Feature Film nominee that’s also nominated for Best Picture (that’s not Emilia Perez), and that’s usually a pretty good indicator for who wins in this category. It’s also an especially moving and captivating drama with some powerful messages. This one seems like the fan-favorite to win based on what I’ve been seeing on social media, and it doesn;t surprise me one bit.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Sing Sing

Sing Sing is based on real events and even has some of the people who were actually involved cast in the film. It sheds light on something that’s very real and very interesting, and touches on important themes in the process. The dialogue is also brilliantly written and rather entertaining. This is one of the tougher categories this year, but I do think this one deserves the win.

Best Original Screenplay

Anora

Anora tells a unique and interesting story that’s entertaining, emotional, and humorous. It touches on some heavy topics to make one think while also having a fun moviegoing experience. It’s hard not to feel absorbed with the characters and their stories. This all works together for a surprisingly powerful story, and therefore deserves this win.

Best Live Action Short Film

The Last Ranger

This one’s especially tough to predict. The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent and A Lien are both incredibly powerful and touch on very important topics, with the former being based on a real person. Anuja is thought-provoking but has an unfortunately unsatisfying ending. I’m Not a Robot is great, but the movie Companion did the same thing but much better earlier this year. Then there’s The Last Ranger. It’s emotional, suspenseful, entertaining, and sheds light on an important issue. It’s also shot the best out of all the nominees for the category. I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of them take the win, but my money is on The Last Ranger.

Best Animated Short Film

Magic Candies 

My personal favorite in this category is actually Wander to Wonder because it’s delightfully weird and I love the topic. However, I do think the winner will absolutely be Magic Candies. It’s really entertaining and extremely well-animated, even taking advantage of different styles of animation. It’s emotional and hilarious, and encourages the audience to take a deeper look at the world around them.

Best Animated Feature Film

The Wild Robot

I’ve been seeing a lot of folks leaning toward Flow for their prediction, but The Wild Robot did a lot of what Flow did, but better. The backgrounds and environments are gorgeous and the animation of the characters are fluid. The animation style is a unique one. It touches on several important themes, some that Flow also covered and others that pertain more to issues in our current political climate. It’s moving and impactful, and therefore needs to win this award.

Best Documentary Short Film

The Only Girl in the Orchestra

Incident definitely deserves the win and attention here, but the win will go to The Only Girl in the Orchestra instead. It has the best overall production compared to the rest of the nominees in the category. Plus, it sheds some light on how gender inequality is still such a huge issue, given how recent Orin O’Brien was the first (and only at the time) woman in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. It’s also a rather inspiring and hopeful story that encourages audiences to reach for their goals regardless of societal limitations.

Best Documentary Feature Film

Porcelain War

Each of the feature-length documentaries nominated this year are great for their own reasons, but I do think Porcelain War deserves the win. Outside of touching on an important subject, which each nominee does, this one does feel like it has the best production value. Every film here is important to see, but this one should earn the win for how incredible it looks.

Best Original Song

“Like a Bird” – Sing Sing

I’m unsure what goes into what makes one song better than another, as music is outside of my wheelhouse, but “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing gets my pick. It has powerful lyrics, isn’t as repetitive as some of the other nominees, and sounds fantastic. It sounds like it almost mixes genres, which I find really interesting. It’ll be exciting to see each of the nominees perform live during the big show, but “Like a Bird” deserves the win.

Best Original Score

The Wild Robot

It’s been a long while since an animated film has won the Oscar for Best Original Score, and the list of those winners is small and only consists of Disney movies. I think The Wild Robot has a great chance to be the next one to join that short list and be the first non-Disney animation to do it. The music sounds unique and adds a lot of emotion to the already-emotional movie. It’s a crucial part of the storytelling and helps immerse the audience into this incredible film.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

The Substance

Horror is a genre that should be nominated in this category more often, as it’s a genre that relies so heavily on the weird, scary, and grotesque appearing real. The Substance is the perfect horror movie to win, since the hair and makeup is so front-and-center. It’s essentially about the hair and makeup, so how could it lose in the category centered on it?

Best Costume Design

Wicked

From the Shiz University uniforms to the brilliant attire seen at the Emerald City, the costumes throughout Wicked are a true spectacle. They help transport the audience into this movie’s version of Oz, and they look fantastic, colorful, and creative while doing so. There are costumes here, especially in the Emerald City scene, that are some of the most incredible feats in movie costume design in quite some time.

Best Editing

Conclave

I had a tough time making a decision for the Best Editing category, but upon looking back at the nominees, Conclave really won me over. The voting scenes in particular show off how great the editing is. From the use of long, single shots without cuts to build tension, to the fast-paced editing and overlapped shots that make the audience feel the stress of the characters, the editing plays a major role in the storytelling, tone, and immersion of the movie. It’s overall quite brilliant.

Best Sound

Dune: Part 2

The first Dune film won for this same category a few years ago, and I think the sequel will likely do the same. The otherworldly ships, weapons, and wildlife, as well as the armies doing battle and the crowds cheering on fights, all sound incredible. Seeing this in the theater felt like you were truly there, and that’s heavily because of how immersive the sound design was throughout. This is a true achievement of sound in filmmaking, and it deserves that recognition.

Best Production Design

Wicked

Wicked definitely deserves the production design Oscar, and I’d be shocked if it doesn’t win. The rotating library, the giant mechanized head of the Wizard, and the massive and detailed structures of Shiz University and the Emerald City are all extremely impressive. Like the original Wizard of Oz movie, a lot of the success comes from the feeling of being transported into a whimsical world, and this insanely excellent set design does a lot of that heavy-lifting.

Best Visual Effects

Dune: Part Two

This one should be a no-brainer, right? Not only did the first Dune win this award, the sequel turns everything up a notch. Everything from the gigantic sand worms to the creatively-designed spaceships looks fantastic and life-like. It all somehow looks completely real. The effects here are simply jaw-dropping and should easily take this win.

Best Picture

Anora

There are some good choices nominated this year, but Anora is most likely to win the biggest award of the night. The writing, directing, and acting are all incredible achievements, and it provides an entertaining look into some heavy topics, like the exploitation of the working class and the legitimacy of sex work. It’s smart, creative, and fun. It’s everything a a great movie should be.

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