93rd Academy Awards: Final Oscar Nomination Predictions

It’s that time of the year again (though a little bit later than usual)! The Academy Awards nominations will be revealed in a couple of days on March 15th, 2021. As always, there will be surprises, there will be upsets, and there will probably be a snub or two. Only time will tell how wrong or right awards analysts and precursors will be. This year, the BAFTAs tried out a new method that has shaken up the awards precursor traditions and that means there are numerous categories that are up for grabs at the Oscars.

In this article, I’ll give my final nomination predictions for the 93rd Academy Awards. However, I should mention that I won’t be predicting the short film awards. Before I present my predictions, I, as a Dane, would like to talk a little about Denmark’s chances at the Academy Awards, which means I also have to talk about my favorite film of 2020.

My favorite film of 2020 is Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round (Danish Title: Druk), and I really hope it gets the recognition it deserves at the Academy Awards, and, while it will probably have been a close call, I actually think there is a chance that it gets more than one nomination. Other than Best International Feature (which, I think, is an award Another Round can win), the Danish film’s best chance is probably in the Best Actor category (a category that the late, great Chadwick Boseman will probably win), and I hope Mads Mikkelsen will finally receive his very first Oscar nomination. But don’t count out Thomas Vinterberg in Best Director or Best Original Screenplay (with Tobias Lindholm) either. If European Academy members decide to throw all of their support behind the Best Picture winner from the 33rd European Film Awards, then Another Round should appear in more than one category at the Oscars.

There is also another major Danish contender this year at the Oscars. Sound of Metal film editor Mikkel E. G. Nielsen is a Dane. Sadly, I haven’t had the opportunity to watch his film yet due to the pandemic (it was not released on Prime Video in Denmark but was instead intended to be released in theaters). Nevertheless, I would absolutely love it if he got a nomination in that category since he is a bit of a veteran film editor in Denmark. Nielsen has previously worked on Danish films such as En Kongelig Affære, Kongekabale, Anja & Viktor and more.

But, without further ado, let’s get to my final 93rd Academy Awards nomination predictions!

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Best International Feature

1. Another Round
2. Quo Vadis, Aida?
3. Collective
4. Two of Us
5. La Llorona

Could Be Nominated: A Sun / I’m No Longer Here / Dear Comrades.

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Best Documentary Feature

1. Collective
2. Dick Johnson Is Dead
3. Crip Camp
4. Boys State
5. My Octopus Teacher

Could Be Nominated: All In: The Fight for Democracy / The Truffle Hunters / Time / Welcome to Chechnya.

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Best Animated Feature

1. Soul
2. Wolfwalkers
3. Onward
4. Over the Moon
5. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

Could Be Nominated: The Willoughbys / Trolls: World Tour / The Croods: A New Age.

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Best Original Song

1. Speak Now – One Night in Miami
2. lo sì (Seen) – The Life Ahead
3. Hear My Voice – The Trial of the Chicago 7
4. Turntables – All In: The Fight for Democracy
5. Húsavík – Eurovision Song Contest

Could Be Nominated: Fight For You (Judas and the Black Messiah) / Wuhan Flu (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) / Rain Song (Minari).

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Best Original Score

1. Soul
2. Mank
3. News of the World
4. Minari
5. The Midnight Sky

Should Be Nominated: Tenet.

Could Be Nominated: Tenet / Da 5 Bloods / The Trial of the Chicago 7 / The Little Things.

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Best Visual Effects

1. Tenet
2. The Midnight Sky
3. Welcome to Chechnya
4. Soul
5. The One and Only Ivan

Should’ve Been Shortlisted (and Nominated): The Invisible Man.

Could Be Nominated: Mank / Mulan / Birds of Prey / Bloodshot.

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Best Sound

1. Sound of Metal
2. News of the World
3. Greyhound
4. Soul
5. Nomadland

Could Be Nominated: Mank / Tenet / The Trial of the Chicago 7.

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Best Makeup and Hairstyling

1. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
2. Hillbilly Elegy
3. Birds of Prey
4. The Little Things
5. Emma.

Could Be Nominated: Mank / One Night in Miami / Pinocchio.

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Best Film Editing

1. Sound of Metal
2. The Trial of the Chicago 7
3. Nomadland
4. Minari
5. The Father

Could Be Nominated: Tenet / One Night in Miami / Promising Young Woman / News of the World / Mank.

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Best Costume Design

1. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
2. Emma.
3. Mank
4. Mulan
5. News of the World

Could Be Nominated: One Night in Miami / Promising Young Woman / Birds of Prey / Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey.

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Best Cinematography

1. Nomadland
2. Mank
3. News of the World
4. The Trial of the Chicago 7
5. I’m Thinking of Ending Things

Should Be Nominated: Da 5 Bloods.

Could Be Nominated: Cherry / Tenet / One Night in Miami / Judas and the Black Messiah / Minari.

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Best Production Design

1. Mank
2. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
3. Tenet
4. News of the World
5. Emma.

Could Be Nominated: Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey / The Midnight Sky / Rebecca.

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Best Adapted Screenplay

1. Nomadland
2. One Night in Miami
3. The Father
4. News of the World
5. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Could Be Nominated: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom / The White Tiger / I’m Thinking of Ending Things / The Mauritanian.

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Best Original Screenplay

1. The Trial of the Chicago 7
2. Promising Young Woman
3. Minari
4. Sound of Metal
5. Mank

Should Be Nominated: Another Round.

Could Be Nominated: Another Round / Judas and the Black Messiah / Soul / Da 5 Bloods.

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Best Supporting Actress

1. Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
2. Olivia Colman – The Father
3. Yuh-Jung Youn – Minari
4. Amanda Seyfried – Mank
5. Jodie Foster – The Mauritanian

Could Be Nominated: Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah) / Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy).

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Best Supporting Actor

1. Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah
2. Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of the Chicago 7
3. Leslie Odom, Jr. – One Night in Miami
4. Paul Raci – Sound of Metal
5. David Strathairn – Nomadland

Should Be Nominated: Chadwick Boseman – Da 5 Bloods.

Could Be Nominated: Chadwick Boseman (Da 5 Bloods) / Jared Leto (The Little Things) / Alan S. Kim (Minari) / Bo Burnham (Promising Young Woman).

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Best Actress

1. Frances McDormand – Nomadland
2. Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman
3. Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
4. Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman
5. Andra Day – The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Should Be Nominated: Elisabeth Moss – The Invisible Man.

Could Be Nominated: Amy Adams (Hillbilly Elegy) / Kate Winslet (Ammonite) / Sophia Loren (The Life Ahead).

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Best Actor

1. Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
2. Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal
3. Anthony Hopkins – The Father
4. Steven Yeun – Minari
5. Mads Mikkelsen – Another Round

Could Be Nominated: Gary Oldman (Mank) / Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods) / Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian).

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Best Director

1. Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
2. Lee Isaac Chung – Minari
3. Aaron Sorkin – The Trial of the Chicago 7
4. Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
5. David Fincher – Mank

Should Be Nominated: Thomas Vinterberg – Another Round.

Could Be Nominated: Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round) / Florian Zeller (The Father) / Regina King (One Night in Miami) / Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods).

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Best Picture

1. Nomadland
2. Minari
3. The Trial of the Chicago 7
4. Promising Young Woman
5. Mank
6. One Night in Miami
7. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
8. Sound of Metal
9. The Father
10. Judas and the Black Messiah

Should Be Nominated: Another Round.

Could Be Nominated: Soul / News of the World / Da 5 Bloods / Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

– Article and Predictions by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.