Most years, I publish my predictions for the Oscar nominations the day before. This year, I’m able to publish two days before. I’ve been better this year than in previous years in being up to date on who received what accolades. The Golden Globes, Critics Choice, the various film critics circles and the respective Guild awards have been giving their nominees and some have even decided winners. Very good timing especially since the nominations are coming later in the year than expected.

Again this year, I will decide ten predictions for Best Picture nominees, five predictions for the other categories and possible upsetters that I sense could be surprise nominees. Interesting that there is a new category added this year, bringing the total back to twenty-four. The category is Best Casting. For that category, it makes you wonder who the nominees will be ? The top cast? Or the casting director?

So here are my predictions:

BEST PICTURE

• Bugonia
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• Jay Kelly
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners
• Train Dreams

BEST DIRECTOR

• Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
• Ryan Coogler – Sinners
• Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein
• Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
• Chloe Zhao – Hamnet

BEST ACTOR

• Timothee Chalamet – Marty Supreme
• Leonardo di Caprio – One Battle After Another
• Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
• Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
• Jesse Plemons – Bugonia

BEST ACTRESS

• Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
• Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
• Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
• Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
• Emma Stone – Bugonia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
• Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
• Delroy Lindo – Sinners
• Paul Mescal – Hamnet
• Stellan Skarsgard – Sentimental Value

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleas – Sentimental Value
• Amy Madigan – Weapons
• Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
• Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
• Ryan Coogler – Sinners
• Kleber Mendonca Filho – The Secret Agent
• Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby
• Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
• Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar – Train Dreams
• Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein
• Will Tracy – Bugonia
• Chloe Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Arco
• The Bad Guys 2
• Kpop Demon Hunters
• Little Amelie Or The Character Of Rain
• Zootopia 2

BEST CASTING

• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners
• Wicked: For Good

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners
• Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another
• Darius Khondji – Marty Supreme
• Claudio Miranda – F1: The Movie
• Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Miyako Bellizzi – Marty Supreme
• Ruth E. Carter – Sinners
• Kate Hawley – Frankenstein
• Paul Tazewell – Wicked: For Good
• Malgosia Turganska – Hamnet

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• 2000 Metres To Andriivka
• Cover-Up
• Mr. Nobody Against Putin
• My Undesirable Friends: Part 1
• The Perfect Neighbor

BEST FILM EDITING

• Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
• Affonso Goncalves and Chloe Zhao – Hamnet
• Andy Jurgenson – One Battle After Another
• Stephen Mirrione – F1: The Movie
• Michael P. Shawver – Sinners

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

• Belen – Argentina
• It Was Just An Accident – France
• The Secret Agent – Brazil
• Sentimental Value – Norway
• Sirat – Spain

BEST MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING

• Frankenstein
• Marty Supreme
• Sinners
• The Smashing Machine
• Wicked: For Good

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• Alexandre Desplat – Frankenstein
• Ludwig Goransson – Sinners
• Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another
• Kangding Ray – Sirat
• Max Richter – Hamnet

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “Dream As One” – Avatar: Fire and Ash
• “The Girl In The Bubble” – Wicked: For Good
• “Golden” – KPop Demon Hunters
• “I Lied To You” – Sinners
• “No Place Like Home” – Wicked: For Good

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• Sinners
• Wicked: For Good

BEST SOUND

• Avatar: Fire and Ash
• F1: The Movie
• Frankenstein
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Avatar: Fire and Ash
• F1: The Movie
• Frankenstein
• Jurassic World Rebirth
• The Lost Bus

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

• Autokar
• Butterfly (Papillon)
• Eiru
• The Girl Who Cried Pearls
• Snow Bear

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

• All The Empty Rooms
• Armed Only with a Camera
• Classroom 4
• The Devil Is Busy
• We Were The Scenery

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT

• Ado
• Beyond Silence
• The Boy with White Skin
• Extremist
• A Friend of Dorothy

Once again, I’ll be giving my predictions for the most likely upsetters. Sometimes these award shows and their nominees will hint as to who will upset the favorites and some may come out of nowhere. So here’s my take:

BEST PICTURE

• F1: The Movie
• It Was Just An Accident
• Wicked: For Good

BEST DIRECTOR

• Jafar Panahi – It Was Just An Accident
• Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value

BEST ACTOR

• Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
• Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon

BEST ACTRESS

• Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
• Tessa Thompson – Hedda

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
• Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Odessa A’Zion – Marty Supreme
• Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Zach Cregger – Weapons
• Jafar Panahi – It Was Just An Accident

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Park Chan-Wook, Lee Kyoung-Mi, Don McKellar and Lee Ja-Hye – No Other Choice
• James Vanderbilt and Jack El-Hai – Nuremberg

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Demon Slayer: The Movie
• Elio

BEST CASTING

• Frankenstein
• Sentimental Value

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Dan Lautsen – Frankenstein
• Lukasz Zal – Hamnet

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Jennifer Johnson – Bugonia
• Lindsay Hugh – Hedda

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• Apocalypse In The Tropics
• Seeds

BEST FILM EDITING

• Kirk Baxter – A House Of Dynamite
• Evan Schiff – Frankenstein

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

• Left-Handed Girl – Taiwan
• No Other Choice – South Korea

BEST MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING

• One Battle After Another

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• Daniel Lopatin – Marty Supreme
• Hans Zimmer – F1: The Movie

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “Drive” – F1: The Movie
• “Train Dreams” – Train Dreams

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Avatar: Fire and Ash
• The Fantastic Four: First Steps

BEST SOUND

• Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
• Wicked: For Good

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Sinners
• Superman

And there you go. Those are my predictions for the nominees for the 98th Academy Awards and the possible upsetters to my main predictions. It should make for an interesting morning on Thursday the 22nd. Even with Oscar nominations, nothing is sacred.

It’s finally coming tomorrow, but it would be wrong to be impatient for them. The Oscar nominations were originally planned to be announced on Friday, January 17th, but the wildfires in the various areas of Los Angeles changed everything. At first, the AMPAS Academy changed the date to Sunday January 19th and then to Thursday January 23rd. That’s the thing. It is a troubling time but the show must go on.

Once again for making predictions, I will make ten predictions for Best Pictures nominees, five predictions for the other categories and a set of possible upsetters.

So here I go with my predictions:

BEST PICTURE
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part 2
Emilia Perez
A Real Pain
Sing Sing
The Substance
Wicked

BEST DIRECTOR
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Perez
Sean Baker – Anora
Edward Berger – Conclave
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part 2

BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothee Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice

BEST ACTRESS
Pamela Anderson – The Last Showgirl
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofia Gascon – Emilia Perez
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jamie Lee Curtis – The Last Showgirl
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Issabella Rossellini – Conclave
Zoe Saldana – Emilia Perez

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Coralee Fargeat – The Substance
Payal Kapadia – All We Imagine As Light

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Perez
Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar – Sing Sing
Winnie Holzman & Dana Fox – Wicked
James Mangold & Jay Cocks – A Complete Unknown
Peter Straughan – Conclave

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoirs Of A Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu
Alice Brooks – Wicked
Lol Crawley – The Brutalist
Stephane Fontaine – Conclave
Greg Fraser – Dune: Part 2

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Lisy Christl – Conclave
Linda Muir – Nosferatu
Massimo Cantini Parrini – Maria
Paul Tazewell – Wicked
Jacqueline West – Dune Part 2

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Black Box Diaries
Daughters
No Other Land
Soundtrack For A Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane

BEST FILM EDITING
Sean Baker – Anora
Nick Emerson – Conclave
Myron Kerstein – Wicked
Joe Walker – Dune Part 2
Juliette Welfling – Emilia Perez

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Emilia Perez – France
Flow – Latvia
The Girl With The Needle – Denmark
I’m Still Here – Brazil
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig – Germany

BEST MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Emilia Perez
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Volker Bertelamm – Conclave
Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
Clement Ducol & Camille – Emilia Perez
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Challengers
Hans Zimmer – Blitz

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“El Mai” – Emilia Perez
“Kiss The Sky” – The Wild Robot
“Mi Camino” – Emilia Perez
“Never Too Late” – Elton John: Never Too Late
“Winter Coat” – Blitz

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Brutalist
Conclave
Gladiator II
Nosferatu
Wicked

BEST SOUND
A Complete Unknown
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune Part 2
Gladiator II
Wicked

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dune Part 2
Gladiator II
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
Twisters
Wicked

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
A Bear Named Wojtek
Beautiful Men
A Crab In The Pool
Me
Yuck!

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Makayla’s Voice: A Letter To The World
Once Upon A Time In Ukraine
The Only Girl In The Orchestra

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
The Compatriot
Dovecote
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
The Masterpiece
An Orange From Jaffa

As I do year after year, I also add in my predictions for possible upsetters to my predictions in most of the categories. There’s often one in each category and even a real shocker form out of nowhere. So here are my picks for the potential upsetters:

BEST PICTURE
Challengers
Nickel Boys
September 5

BEST DIRECTOR
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
James Mangold – A Complete Unknown

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Craig – Queer
Hugh Grant – The Heretic

BEST ACTRESS
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jonathan Bailey – Wicked
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown
Selena Gomez – Emilia Perez

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Alex Garland – Civil War
Justin Kuritzkes – Challengers

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Ramemm Ross & Joslyn Barnes – Nickel Boys
TDenis Villeneuve & Jon Spaihts – Dune: Part 2

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Moana 2
That Christmas

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Paul Guilhaume – Emilia Perez
Phedon Papamichael – A Complete Unknown

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Arianne Phillips – A Complete Unknown
Janty Yates & Jade Crossman – Gladiator II

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Porcelain War
Will & Harper

BEST FILM EDITING
Marco Costa – Challengers
David Jansco – The Brutalist

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Universal Language – Canada
Vermiglio – Italy

BEST MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING
Dune: Part 2

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Compress – Repress” – Challengers
“Harper and Will Go West” – Harper and Will

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part 2

BEST SOUND
Emilia Perez

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Better Man
Twisters

Those are my predictions for the nominations for the 2024 Academy Awards. The nominees will be revealed tomorrow morning. Also despite the nominations date moved six days later, the Awards will still be held Sunday, March 2nd. It will be a big question of what they’ll keep in and what they’ll exclude in lieu of the wildfire aftermath. Even a question if they shorten it. We’ll see.