The 96th Academy Awards are airing tonight, so it’s time to finally lock in our last minute predictions! While some of the major categories are easy to predict this year, there are some extremely tight races that will certainly provide for an exciting show. From Barbie vs Poor Things in Production Design and Costume Design, to Godzilla vs. The Creator in Visual Effects, it was truly difficult to formulate predictions in some of the below the line categories. Without further ado, here are our picks and predictions in all 23 categories.
BEST PICTURE
- “American Fiction” Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, Producers
- “Anatomy of a Fall” Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion, Producers
- “Barbie” David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, Producers
- “The Holdovers” Mark Johnson, Producer
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi, Producers
- “Maestro” Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers
- “Oppenheimer” Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, Producers
- “Past Lives” David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, Producers
- “Poor Things” Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone, Producers
- “The Zone of Interest” James Wilson, Producer
Our Prediction: Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
BEST DIRECTOR
- “Anatomy of a Fall” Justine Triet
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Martin Scorsese
- “Oppenheimer” Christopher Nolan
- “Poor Things” Yorgos Lanthimos
- “The Zone of Interest” Jonathan Glazer
Our Prediction: Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
BEST ACTOR
- Bradley Cooper in “Maestro”
- Colman Domingo in “Rustin”
- Paul Giamatti in “The Holdovers”
- Cillian Murphy in “Oppenheimer”
- Jeffrey Wright in “American Fiction”
Our Prediction: Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer (Tristan), Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers (Keith)
BEST ACTRESS
- Annette Bening in “Nyad”
- Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Sandra Hüller in “Anatomy of a Fall”
- Carey Mulligan in “Maestro”
- Emma Stone in “Poor Things”
Our Prediction: Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall (Tristan, Keith)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Sterling K. Brown in “American Fiction”
- Robert De Niro in “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Robert Downey Jr. in “Oppenheimer”
- Ryan Gosling in “Barbie”
- Mark Ruffalo in “Poor Things”
Our Prediction: Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Ryan Gosling – Barbie (Tristan), Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer (Keith)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Emily Blunt in “Oppenheimer”
- Danielle Brooks in “The Color Purple”
- America Ferrera in “Barbie”
- Jodie Foster in “Nyad”
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph in “The Holdovers”
Our Prediction: Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers (Tristan, Keith)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- “Anatomy of a Fall” Screenplay – Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
- “The Holdovers” Written by David Hemingson
- “Maestro” Written by Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer
- “May December” Screenplay by Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik
- “Past Lives” Written by Celine Song
Our Prediction: Anatomy of a Fall (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Anatomy of a Fall (Tristan), Past Lives (Keith)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- “American Fiction” Written for the screen by Cord Jefferson
- “Barbie” Written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach
- “Oppenheimer” Written for the screen by Christopher Nolan
- “Poor Things” Screenplay by Tony McNamara
- “The Zone of Interest” Written by Jonathan Glazer
Our Prediction: American Fiction (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Barbie (Tristan), American Fiction (Keith)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- “El Conde” Edward Lachman
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Rodrigo Prieto
- “Maestro” Matthew Libatique
- “Oppenheimer” Hoyte van Hoytema
- “Poor Things” Robbie Ryan
Our Prediction: Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
BEST FILM EDITING
- “Anatomy of a Fall” Laurent Sénéchal
- “The Holdovers” Kevin Tent
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Thelma Schoonmaker
- “Oppenheimer” Jennifer Lame
- “Poor Things” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Our Prediction: Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
- “Barbie” Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis
- “Napoleon” Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Elli Griff
- “Oppenheimer” Production Design: Ruth De Jong; Set Decoration: Claire Kaufman
- “Poor Things” Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek
Our Prediction: Poor Things (Tristan), Barbie (Keith)
Our Pick: Poor Things (Tristan), Barbie (Keith)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
- “Barbie” Jacqueline Durran
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Jacqueline West
- “Napoleon” Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
- “Oppenheimer” Ellen Mirojnick
- “Poor Things” Holly Waddingt
Our Prediction: Barbie (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Barbie (Tristan, Keith)
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
- “Golda” Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby and Ashra Kelly-Blue
- “Maestro” Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell
- “Oppenheimer” Luisa Abel
- “Poor Things” Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston
- “Society of the Snow” Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé
Our Prediction: Maestro (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Maestro (Tristan), Poor Things (Keith)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- “American Fiction” Laura Karpman
- “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” John Williams
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Robbie Robertson
- “Oppenheimer” Ludwig Göransson
- “Poor Things” Jerskin Fendrix
Our Prediction: Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
- “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren - “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie”
Music and Lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt - “It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony”
Music and Lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson - “Wahzhazhe (A Song For Our People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Music and Lyric by Scott George - “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie”
Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Our Prediction: What Was I Made For? – Barbie (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: What Was I Made For? – Barbie (Tristan, Keith)
BEST SOUND
- “The Creator” Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
- “Maestro” Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
- “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor
- “Oppenheimer” Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell
- “The Zone of Interest” Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn
Our Prediction: Oppenheimer (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Oppenheimer (Tristan), The Zone of Interest (Keith)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
- “The Creator” Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould
- “Godzilla Minus One” Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bialek
- “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould
- “Napoleon” Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould
Our Prediction: Godzilla Minus One (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick:Godzilla Minus One (Tristan, Keith)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
- “The Boy and the Heron” Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki
- “Elemental” Peter Sohn and Denise Ream
- “Nimona” Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan and Julie Zackary
- “Robot Dreams” Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé and Sandra Tapia Díaz
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and AOur Pascal
Our Prediction: Spider-Verse: Across the Spider-Verse (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: Elemental (Tristan), Nimona (Keith)
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
- “Io Capitano” Italy
- “Perfect Days” Japan
- “Society of the Snow” Spain
- “The Teachers’ Lounge” Germany
- “The Zone of Interest” United Kingdom
Our Prediction: The Zone of Interest (Tristan, Keith)
Our Pick: The Zone of Interest (Tristan, Keith)
BEST DOCUMENTARY
- “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp and John Battsek
- “The Eternal Memory” Maite Alberdi
- “Four Daughters” Kaouther Ben Hania and Nadim Cheikhrouha
- “To Kill a Tiger” Nisha Pahuja, Cornelia Principe and David Oppenheim
- “20 Days in Mariupol” Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath
Our Prediction: 20 Days in Mariupol (Tristan), Four Daughters (Keith)
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
- “The ABCs of Book Banning” Sheila Nevins and Trish Adlesic
- “The Barber of Little Rock” John Hoffman and Christine Turner
- “Island in Between” S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien
- “The Last Repair Shop” Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
- “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” Sean Wang and Sam Davis
Our Prediction: Nai Nai & Wài Pó (Tristan)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
- “The After” Misan Harriman and Nicky Bentham
- “Invincible” Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron
- “Knight of Fortune” Lasse Lyskjær Noer and Christian Norlyk
- “Red, White and Blue” Nazrin Choudhury and Sara McFarlane
- “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” Wes Anderson and Steven Rales
Our Prediction: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Tristan, Keith)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
- “Letter to a Pig” Tal Kantor and Amit R. Gicelter
- “Ninety-Five Senses” Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess
- “Our Uniform” Yegane Moghaddam
- “Pachyderme” Stéphanie Clément and Marc Rius
- “WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko” Dave Mullins and Brad Booker
Our Prediction: War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko (Tristan, Keith)
It’s been an exciting season with one of the strongest lineups we have seen in recent years. While Oppenheimer will likely take home the majority of awards, it’s still going to be an exciting show filled with great performances, unexpected moments and a truly well deserved Best Picture winner.
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