2023 Academy Award Best Picture nominees.
The 95th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 12th and with it will come the end of the 2023 award season.
Following Will Smith’s “slap heard around the world” at last year’s Oscar ceremony, the Academy had hoped to get back to normal this year but has already had to deal with the controversy surrounding Andrea Riseborough’s surprise nomination for Best Actress for her performance in ‘To Leslie.’
With an unusual number of box office hits nominated for Best Picture this year including ‘Avatar: The Way of Water,’ Top Gun: Maverick,’ and ‘Elvis,’ and an awards season that has seen several frontrunners emerge but some categories still too close to call, Sunday’s ceremony promises to be an entertaining event, once again hosted by the returningJimmy Kimmel.
Below are our predictions for who will win Oscars on Sunday at the 95th Academy Awards. We are only breaking down our predictions for the six major categories, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
Let’s Begin!
BEST PICTURE
(L to R) Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh, and Ke Huy Quan in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ Photo Credit: Allyson Riggs.
In the Best Picture race, basically three frontrunners have emerged, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ ‘The Banshees of Inisherin,’ and ‘The Fabelmans,’ with ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ and to a lesser degree ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ still in the mix.
Award season began with ‘Fabelmans’ and ‘Banshees’ both winning Best Picture at the Golden Globes, but since then ‘Everything Everywhere’ has definitely taken the lead winning Best Picture from the Critics Choice, Hollywood Critics Association, Independent Spirit Awards, Screen Actors Guild, and the coveted Producers Guild Award, which is usually a pretty good precursor of who will win Best Picture at the Oscars.
It is worth mentioning that ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ won Best Picture at the BAFTA’s, and it is not outside the realm of possibility that it could cause a surprise win, but given the Academy’s dislike for Netflix, I don’t think that will happen. And don’t forget ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ which has been given credit for saving the film industry, and it is possible that Tom Cruise, who would win his first Oscar ever as a producer, and longtime super producer Jerry Bruckheimer will be rewarded by the Academy for their contributions.
That being said, safe money is certainly still on ‘Everything Everywhere’ taking the top prize, and I would be very surprised if that doesn’t happen.
Nominees:
‘All Quiet on the Western Front ’
‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
‘Elvis’
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
‘The Fabelmans’
‘TÁR’
‘Top Gun: Maverick’
‘Triangle of Sadness’
‘Women Talking’
Who Will Win: ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Who Could Win: ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’
BEST DIRECTOR
(L to R) Directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert on the set of A24’s ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of A24.
Steven Spielberg began the award season winning Best Director from the Golden Globes, but since then The Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) have emerged as the frontrunners winning Best Director from Critics Choice, HCA, Independent Spirit Awards, and the Director’s Guild, which usually correctly predicts the Oscars.
While Edward Berger won Best Director from the BAFTA’s for ‘All Quiet,’ the chances of him winning are very slim, and director Martin McDonagh’s Oscar night win will most likely come in the Best Original Screenplay category for ‘Banshees.’
The Daniels biggest competition is still living legend Spielberg, who is the only filmmaker ever to be nominated in 6 different decades, which is ironic since he had a hard time being accepted by the Academy early in his career (He wasn’t even nominated for ‘The Color Purple!’). The Academy may recognize Spielberg for his very personal work on ‘Fabelmans,’ which would be his forth Oscar win for Best Director, tying him with John Ford for most wins of all time.
But with their DGA win, The Daniels are the safest bet, and if they do win, they will only be the third directing team to win Best Director in Oscar history behind Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for 1961’s ‘West Side Story,’ and Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (the Coen Brothers) for ‘No Country for Old Men.’
Nominees:
Martin McDonagh – ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert – ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Steven Spielberg – ‘The Fabelmans’
Todd Field – ‘TÁR’
Ruben Östlund – ‘Triangle of Sadness’
Who Will Win: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert – ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Who Could Win: Steven Spielberg – ‘The Fabelmans’
BEST ACTOR
Austin Butler as Elvis in Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama ‘Elvis,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright: © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Related Article: 2023 Oscar Nominations Announced
Awards season started off with both Colin Farrell and Austin Butler winning Golden Globes for ‘Banshees’ and ‘Elvis,’ respectively. But since then Brendan Fraser has come on strong winning The Critic’s Choice, HCA, and SAG Awards for his performance in ‘The Whale.’
‘Banshees’ won big at the BAFTA’s, but Farrell still lost to Butler, basically eliminating his chances at the Oscars. With Butler’s BAFTA and Fraser’s SAG win, it’s really too close to call, but I feel Butler will most likely take the win.
Hollywood loves a good comeback story and Fraser’s move from 90’s action star to dramatic actor after several years of obscurity and personal issues is one that the Academy might not ignore. But Butler gave the superior performance, and if Rami Malek can win Best Actor for lip-syncing as Freddy Mercury in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ then Butler deserves the win for actually singing.
Nominees:
Austin Butler – ‘Elvis’
Colin Farrell – ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
Brendan Fraser – ‘The Whale’
Paul Mescal – ‘Aftersun’
Bill Nighy – ‘Living’
Who Will Win: Austin Butler – ‘Elvis’
Who Could Win: Brendan Fraser – ‘The Whale’
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BEST ACTRESS
Michelle Yeoh in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of A24.
By far this is the closest race of the night as Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh are essentially in a dead heat. Both Blanchett and Yeoh started the season strong winning Golden Globes, then Blanchett took the Critics Choice and BAFTA’s, while Yeoh took home HCA, SAG, and Independent Spirit Awards honors.
Blanchett already has two Oscars, and a third would tie her with Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Frances McDormand for living actor with the most Oscar wins. However, she would still need to win one more to tie with the late Katharine Hepburn for most Oscar wins of all time at four.
If Yeoh wins, she will be the first Asian woman in history to win Best Actress, and if ‘Everything Everywhere’ goes big on Oscar night, as I think it will, that could help put the actress over the top. Personally, I am rooting for Yeoh to be rewarded for her incredible body of work, and the momentum seems to be on her side going into Sunday.
Nominees:
Cate Blanchett – ‘TÁR’
Ana de Armas – ‘Blonde’
Andrea Riseborough – ‘To Leslie’
Michelle Williams – ‘The Fabelmans’
Michelle Yeoh – ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Who Will Win: Michelle Yeoh – ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Who Could Win: Cate Blanchett – ‘TÁR’
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ke Huy Quan as Waymond Wang in A24’s ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’
If there has been any locked category this season it has definitely been in Best Supporting Actor as Ke Huy Quan has won almost every award there is to win including a Golden Globe, Critics Choice, HCA, Independent Spirit Awards and SAG.
Yes, Barry Keoghan won the BAFTA, but he is an Irish actor and the BAFTA’s tend to reward Europeans over Americans when they can, so I wouldn’t read too much into that.
Again, Hollywood loves a comeback story and no one (even Fraser) has a better one than Quan, who after becoming a child star thanks to ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ and ‘The Goonies,’ had to leave acting altogether because of a lack of roles. The actor has returned in a big way, and especially if the movie has a good night, I completely expect Quan to win, which will make him only the second Asian actor in history to do so in this category after Haing S. Ngor’s win in 1984 for ‘The Killing Fields.’
Nominees:
Brendan Gleeson – ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
Bryan Tyree Henry – ‘Causeway’
Judd Hirsch – ‘The Fabelmans’
Barry Keoghan – ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
Ke Huy Quan – ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Who Will Win: Ke Huy Quan – ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Who Could Win: Brendan Gleeson – ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Angela Bassett as Ramonda in Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.’ Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 Marvel.
This may be the most interesting category of the night. After being the frontrunner all season and winning a Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and HCA, Bassett lost the BAFTA to Kerry Condon for ‘Banshees.’ More importantly, she lost the coveted SAG award to Jamie Lee Curtis for ‘Everything Everywhere,’ who hadn’t won an award all season, completely throwing this category into chaos.
Again, I wouldn’t read too much into Condon’s BAFTA win, but Curtis’ win should be troubling for Bassett, as the SAG Awards are usually a good predictor for the acting categories on Oscar night. However, both actresses have long and distinguished careers, are well respected amongst their peers, and frankly, deserve to win.
If Bassett wins, she will be only the 23 Black actor to ever win a competitive acting Oscar. She would also make history as the first actor ever to win an Oscar for a Marvel movie, and only the third actor overall to ever win for appearing in a superhero movie, after actors Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix both won for playing the Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Joker,’ respectively.
If ‘Everything Everywhere’ has a really big night, Curtis could win in an upset, and she does seem to have more momentum coming off of her big SAG win.
But I think safe money is still on Bassett, who will not only win for her strong performance and the longevity of her career, but also for the memory of the late ‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman. His last opportunity to win an Oscar was taken away by the Academy a few years ago when they awarded Anthony Hopkins for ‘The Father’ over Boseman’s final performance in ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.’ I think that too will factor in voter’s minds, wanting to right a wrong, and reward Bassett in his memory.
Nominees:
Angela Bassett – ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’
Hong Chau – ‘The Whale’
Kerry Condon – ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
Jamie Lee Curtis – ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Stephanie Hsu – ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Who Will Win: Angela Bassett – ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’
Who Could Win: Jamie Lee Curtis – ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Don’t forget to watch the 95th Academy Award ceremony Sunday, March 12th on ABC.
The 94th Oscars®. Photo credit: Blaine Ohigashi / A.M.P.A.S.
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