The 96th Academy Awards will be held this Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 7p.m. ET. The 2024 award season has kept viewers guessing on who will be taking home the gold statues at this year's Oscars. Usually, the ceremonies leading up to the Oscars and the campaigns of the nominees are the telling signs for predicting winners. Taking into consideration every aspect of the film is also necessary when predicting future Oscar winners each year. After watching all of the nominated films the last several months, there are both obvious standouts and ones that will be making the race a close call. Let’s get into my 2024 Oscar predictions for this year's stellar lineup.
One of the categories that is bound to always create the most buzz is Best Picture. Usually for me, there’s always a clear standout winner here, and this year is no different. After winning the equivalent of Best Picture at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, Screen Actors Guild, and the British Academy Film and Television Awards, “Oppenheimer” is an obvious shoe in here. The film directed by Christopher Nolan is up for the most awards of the night with 13 nominations. The Best Picture category is undoubtedly stacked with talent this year, but after winning several major awards this season, I’m predicting “Oppenheimer” to undoubtedly be the Best Picture winner this year.
The Best Director category certainly stirred up some controversy this season after “Barbie” director, Greta Gerwig, was left off the list. Despite this, the film was nominated in 8 other categories including Best Picture. Considering the directors that are nominated this year, I once again am predicting “Oppenheimer” to win big in this category with Christopher Nolan taking home the award. While several of Nolan’s films have received Oscar wins over the years, Nolan has never received a win for Best Director. You can’t make a great movie without a great director, and if Christopher Nolan wins on Sunday, it will absolutely be deserved in my opinion.
One of the tightest races this season has been in the Best Actress category. Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone have almost been taking turns with their wins this award season. When Gladstone won the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) for her work in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” that secured my prediction for her to win Best Actress this year. Lily Gladstone has been making history during this awards season, and if she wins the Oscar, they will be the first Native American to win in this category.
My prediction for Best Actor will probably come as no surprise, but continuing on with the suspected “Oppenheimer” sweep, I’m predicting we will see Cillan Murphy win in this category. After winning both the SAG and the BAFTA, Murphy’s stellar performance as the titular character in the film will most likely secure his win for Sunday. If there is going to be an upset in any category, there is a chance it could be this one if Paul Giamatti beats out Murphy for his work in “The Holdovers.” Giamatti has been continuously praised this season for the film and won the Critics Choice for Best Actor.
Speaking of “The Holdovers,” my prediction for Best Supporting Actress lies with Da’Vine Joy Randolph. After winning all the major awards for Supporting Actress this season, Randolph is the clear front-runner for the Academy Award. This category is another that is stacked with talent, with Randolph being in the running alongside Jodie Foster, Emily Blunt, America Fererra and Danielle Brooks. All except Foster are first time nominees this year.
Much like the race for Supporting Actress, this category is yet another that is filled with talented performers. My Best Supporting Actor pick goes to Robert Downey Jr for “Oppenheimer.” Downey is nominated next to the likes of Robert De Nero, Mark Ruffalo, Sterling K. Brown and Ryan Gosling. Although this specific performance in “Oppenheimer” wasn't necessarily my favorite next to others in this category, this is a very different role from the work that Downey is usually known for, and I believe the praise is well deserved.
Original and Adapted Screenplay are two incredibly strong categories that could quite frankly be awarded to any of these films for good reason. For Original Screenplay, I’m predicting “The Holdovers” could take this, based solely on the love this film has garnered this season. For Adapted Screenplay, my vote goes to “American Fiction.” This category will probably be one of the biggest toss ups of the evening with “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” both being contenders as well.
To round out this year’s Oscar predictions, here are some rapid fire film production categories and who I think will be awarded. For Cinematography, Sound, and Score I predict these to go to “Oppenheimer”. For Film Editing, I’m predicting “Killers of the Flower Moon”. And lastly for Costume Design, Production Design, and Original Song (“What Was I Made For?” By Billie Eilish and FINNEAS), I’m locking it in with “Barbie.”
The Oscars will air live on ABC at 7p.m. ET / 4p.m. PT with Jimmy Kimmel hosting for the fourth time.
By Haileigh West, Associate Editor
Graphic by Shae-Lynn Henderson, EIC