The Oscar season is about to kick into a higher gear with the major end of the year festivals coming our way very soon. So, before we get to hear what major film critics think about Damien Chazelle, Barry Jenkins, and Alfonso Cuarón’s new films, I here provide you with the current update of my Oscar predictions.
Back in late February of this year, I released my inaugural edition of the ‘Crazy Early Oscar Predictions‘. I released those predictions for the upcoming Oscars before the last Oscars ceremony had even been held, and I plan to do that again next year.
Unlike the previous round of nomination-predictions, this August update will have below-the-line category nomination predictions. In fact, the only categories that I don’t feel confident making predictions for are the short film categories.
Now, I should note that I haven’t seen many of the films that I predict will be nominated. Unlike in the States, films like BLACKkKLANSMAN, Eighth Grade, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor? — among others — have not been released in Denmark yet — theatrically or otherwise. If the films listed below are marked by an asterisk, then that means I haven’t had the chance to see the film yet. Anyway, enough has been said, let’s get to it.
Best Documentary Feature
#1 – Won’t You Be My Neighbor?* – Dir. Morgan Neville.
#2 – RBG* – Dir. Betsy West & Julie Cohen.
#3 – King in the Wilderness – Dir. Peter W. Kunhardt.
#4 – Fahrenheit 11/9* – Dir. Michael Moore.
#5 – Three Identical Strangers* – Dir. Tim Wardle.
Best Animated Feature
#1 – Incredibles 2* – Disney/Pixar
#2 – Isle of Dogs* – Fox Searchlight
#3 – Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2* – Disney
#4 – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse* – Sony Pictures
#5 – The Grinch* – Universal Pictures
Best Foreign Language Film
#1 – Roma* – Spanish
#2 – Cold War* – Polish
#3 – Sunset* – Hungarian
#4 – Happy as Lazzaro* – Italian
#5 – Border* – Swedish
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
#1 – Mary Queen of Scots* – Focus Features
#2 – Black Panther – Marvel Studios
#3 – Bohemian Rhapsody* – 20th Century Fox
Best Original Score
#1 – First Man* – Justin Hurwitz.
#2 – Mary Queen of Scots* – Max Richter.
#3 – Isle of Dogs* – Alexandre Desplat.
#4 – Black Panther – Ludwig Göransson.
#5 – You Were Never Really Here – Johnny Greenwood.
Best Original Song
#1 – “The Shallow,” – A Star is Born*
#2 – “Old Ways,” – A Star is Born*
#3 – “All the Stars” – Black Panther
#4 – “Pray For Me,” – Black Panther
#5 – “Blink (One Million Miles)” – Heart Beats Loud*
Best Sound Editing
#1 – First Man*
#2 – Black Panther
#3 – Avengers: Infinity War
#4 – A Star is Born*
#5 – Annihilation
Best Sound Mixing
#1 – A Star is Born*
#2 – First Man*
#3 – Bohemian Rhapsody*
#4 – Black Panther
#5 – Mary Poppins Returns*
Best Production Design
#1 – The Favourite*
#2 – Mary Queen of Scots*
#3 – Mary Poppins Returns*
#4 – First Man*
#5 – Black Panther
Best Visual Effects
#1 – Avengers: Infinity War
#2 – Ready Player One
#3 – First Man*
#4 – Black Panther
#5 – Solo: A Star Wars Story
Best Costume Design
#1 – Mary Queen of Scots* – Alexandra Byrne
#2 – Black Panther – Ruth E. Carter
#3 – The Favourite* – Sandy Powell
#4 – Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald* – Colleen Atwood
#5 – Peterloo* – Jacqueline Durran
Best Film Editing
#1 – If Beale Street Could Talk* – Joi McMillon & Nat Sanders
#2 – First Man* – Tom Cross
#3 – BLACKkKLANSMAN* – Barry Alexander Brown
#4 – A Star is Born* – Jay Cassidy
#5 – Roma* – Alfonso Cuarón & Adam Gough
Best Cinematography
#1 – Roma* – Alfonso Cuarón
#2 – First Man* – Linus Sandgren
#3 – A Star is Born* – Matthew Libatique
#4 – If Beale Street Could Talk* – James Laxton
#5 – Suspiria* – Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
Best Adapted Screenplay
#1 – Spike Lee et. al. – BLACKkKLANSMAN*
#2 – Barry Jenkins – If Beale Street Could Talk*
#3 – Beau Willimon – Mary Queen of Scots*
#4 – Luke Davies – Beautiful Boy*
#5 – Joel Edgerton – Boy Erased*
Best Original Screenplay
#1 – Alfonso Cuarón – Roma*
#2 – Bo Burnham – Eighth Grade*
#3 – Adam McKay – Backseat*
#4 – Deborah Davis & Tony McNamara – The Favourite*
#5 – Orson Welles & Oja Kodar – The Other Side of the Wind*
Best Supporting Actress
#1 – Amy Adams – Backseat*
#2 – Margot Robbie – Mary Queen of Scots*
#3 – Olivia Colman – The Favourite*
#4 – Nicole Kidman – Boy Erased*
#5 – Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk*
Best Supporting Actor
#1 – Timothée Chalamet – Beautiful Boy*
#2 – Sam Elliott – A Star is Born*
#3 – Russell Crowe – Boy Erased*
#4 – Mahershala Ali – Green Book*
#5 – Sam Rockwell – Backseat*
Best Actress in a Leading Role
#1 – Saoirse Ronan – Mary Queen of Scots*
#2 – Glenn Close – The Wife*
#3 – Lady Gaga – A Star is Born*
#4 – Viola Davis – Widows*
#5 – Toni Collette – Hereditary
Best Actor in a Leading Role
#1 – Christian Bale – Backseat*
#2 – Bradley Cooper – A Star is Born*
#3 – Ryan Gosling – First Man*
#4 – Robert Redford – The Old Man and the Gun*
#5 – Willem Dafoe – At Eternity’s Gate*
Best Director
#1 – Spike Lee – BLACKkKLANSMAN*
#2 – Barry Jenkins – If Beale Street Could Talk*
#3 – Bradley Cooper – A Star is Born*
#4 – Damien Chazelle – First Man*
#5 – Alfonso Cuarón – Roma*
Best Popular Film
#1 – Black Panther – Marvel Studios.
#2 – Avengers: Infinity War – Marvel Studios.
#3 – Mission: Impossible – Fallout – Paramount Pictures.
#4 – A Quiet Place – Paramount Pictures.
#5 – Ready Player One – Warner Bros. Pictures.
Do note that, as of yet, the guidelines for this category have not been published, so my predictions are based on what I presume would logically be the ‘popular films’ that the Oscars would want in this category.
Best Picture
#1 – BLACKkKLANSMAN* – Focus Features.
#2 – Backseat* – Annapurna Pictures.
#3 – A Star is Born* – Warner Bros. Pictures.
#4 – First Man* – Universal Pictures.
#5 – Roma* – Netflix.
#6 – If Beale Street Could Talk* – Annapurna Pictures.
#7 – Mary Queen of Scots* – Focus Features.
#8 – Widows* – 20th Century Fox.
#9 – Black Panther – Marvel Studios.
#10 – Beautiful Boy* – Amazon Studios.
PSA: You can, at all times, check my current Oscar predictions by clicking here, or by clicking on the menu above titled ‘Oscar Predictions.’
– Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 