The 2023 Academy Awards was one of the most monumental Oscar ceremonies in years. Daniels’ “Everything Everywhere All at Once” won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Michelle Yeoh became the first woman of Asian descent to win the Best Actress award, which was one of many achievements of the night.
This coming Oscar season looks like it will be another monumental time at the Academy Awards. With films by Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Greta Gerwig and David Fincher being released, I thought it would be fun to look at what has the potential to be nominated for the 23 awards in the academy’s catalog. Here are my personal predictions for what will be nominated for the 2024 Academy Awards.
Best Picture
- “Oppenheimer” - Christopher Nolan
- "Killers of the Flower Moon” - Martin Scorsese
- “Poor Things” - Yorgos Lanthimos
- “The Holdovers” - Alexander Payne
- “Past Lives” - Celine Song
- “Barbie” - Greta Gerwig“
- "Anatomy of a Fall” - Justine Triet
- “American Fiction” - Cord Jefferson
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" - Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson
- “The Color Purple” - Blitz Bazawule
The academy usually has a variety of blockbuster and independent films in their lineup, and this list is a good mix of both types of films. I find it hard to believe that the academy will pass on “Barbenheimer” due to the critical and financial success. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” would be one of four animated films ever to be nominated for Best Picture if it makes the category, and I think it will due to the innovative animation style and massive critical success.
Best Director
- Christopher Nolan - “Oppenheimer”
- Martin Scorsese - “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Yorgos Lanthimos - “Poor Things”
- Alexander Payne - “The Holdovers”
- Greta Gerwig - “Barbie”
These five directors’ films are in my top six predictions for Best Picture, so it is easy to say they will likely be some of the top contenders for Best Director. I chose Greta Gerwig over Celine Song for “Past Lives” because I believe that Gerwig had a more impactful and impressive feat of directing than Song. Celine Song would be my number six. If there are no women nominees in the directing category, it will be slight due to both the quality and quantity of female-directed films that were released this year.
Best Actress
- Emma Stone - “Poor Things”
- Sandra Huller - “Anatomy of a Fall”
- Fantasia Barrino - “The Color Purple”
- Carey Mulligan - “Maestro”
- Lily Gladstone - “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Although Emma Stone has already won an Oscar, it seems that “Poor Things” is unanimously one of her best performances according to critics who saw the film at the Venice Film Festival. The film will also likely be a huge contender in nearly every category, which will give Stone a boost in this one. I really wanted to put Margot Robbie in, but most of the focus has been put on getting Ryan Gosling nominated rather than Robbie according to early polls
Best Actor
- Cillian Murphy - “Oppenheimer”
- Colman Domingo - “Rustin”
- Paul Giamatti - “The Holdovers”
- Leonardo DiCaprio - “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Bradley Cooper - “Maestro”
Since I have “Oppenheimer” winning Best Picture, it is hard for me to deny the leading actor an Oscar win for the 3 hour biopic. Cillian Murphy has previously been in many Christopher Nolan movies, but “Oppenheimer” was the first film that he could utilize his full potential as an actor in.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph - “The Holdovers”
- Danielle Brooks - “The Color Purple”
- Emily Blunt - “Oppenheimer”
- Taraji P. Henson - “The Color Purple”
- Penelope Cruz - “Ferrari”
With Lily Gladstone being campaigned for Leading Actress, it leaves this category wide open for a winner. The same thing happened to Michelle Williams last year in “The Fablemans” when she was deemed the front runner early in the year for Supporting Actress, but her switch in campaigning allowed for Jamie Lee Curtis to take the award. I have Da’Vine Joy Randolph as my current winner because her performance is described as heartfelt and endearing, which will make it easier for voters to enjoy her performance and connect with her character.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- Robert Downey Jr. - “Oppenheimer”
- Ryan Gosling - “Barbie”
- Robert De Niro - “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Mark Ruffalo - “Poor Things”
- Dominic Sessa - “The Holdovers”
Robert Downey Jr. is beloved by pretty much everyone. With this being his first big role since stepping down from playing Iron Man, I can imagine a lot of people want to see him receive this award.
Best Original Screenplay
- Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach - “Barbie”
- David Hemingson - “The Holdovers”
- Celine Song - “Past Lives”
- Arthur Harari and Justine Triet - “Anatomy of a Fall”
- Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer - “Maestro”
In the past few years, the Oscar for Original Screenplay has gone to a film that takes a creative direction on a societal problem (“Get Out,” “Promising Young Woman,” “Parasite”). I can’t think of another movie this year that is as creative as “Barbie.” There may be films with better overall dialogue, but I find it hard to believe that the academy will pass up on awarding a film that had this much of an impact on pop culture. Besides its popularity on social media, the film was a success due to its commentary on gender roles and the female experience that no major blockbuster has done before it.
Best Adapted Screenplay
- Tony McNamara - “Poor Things”
- Christoper Nolan - “Oppenheimer”
- Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese- “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Dave Callaham, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller - “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
- Cord Jefferson - “American Fiction”
“Oppenheimer” is most people’s answer for what is winning, but, like the Original Screenplay category, I feel that the academy will choose the film that is unique in the way it tells its story. “Poor Things” is said to be a wildly unique take on “Frankenstein’s Monster” that delves into ideas on identity and feminism. With the high critics rating and extremely unique premise, I feel that this is the film to beat in this category.
Best International Feature
- “The Zone of Interest” - Jonathan Glazer
- “About Dry Grasses” - Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- “The Taste of Things” - Tran Anh Hung
- “Perfect Days” - Wim Wenders
- “The Promised Land” - Nikolaj Arcel
With France submitting “The Taste of Things” rather than “Anatomy of a Fall,” it leaves this category open for “The Zone of Interest” to win this award. Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, it is one of the highest rated movies of the year on Metacritic. With A24 backing the film, I feel that voter’s recognition of the cast and crew and the high critics rating will make it more likely for voters to check the box for this film on their ballot.
Best Animated Feature
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" - Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson
- “The Boy and the Heron” - Hayao Miyazaki
- “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” - Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears
- “Elemental” - Peter Sohn
- “Nimona” - Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
“The Boy and the Heron” had a narrative to win Best Animated Feature because it was supposed to be Hayao Miyazaki’s last film and the academy’s last chance to award him. Since it has been confirmed that it is not going to be his last film, I think “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is easily taking this category. Like Best International Feature, this is also the only movie that I have getting into the Best Picture lineup, so it makes it easy for me to predict the film to win this category.
Trevor Stucker (he/him) is a sophomore majoring in Applied Film and Journalism. This is his second year writing for The Campus Citizen.
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