Predictions for winners in the 2024 Oscars have been coming in, with a few surprises happening recently.
Based on who wins the BAFTA’s or the SAG awards, Oscar predictions can be pretty solid right now.
Here’s my take on the top awards:
Best Picture
- “American Fiction”
- “Anatomy of a Fall”
- “Barbie”
- “The Holdovers”
- “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- “Maestro”
- “Oppenheimer”
- “Past Lives”
- “Poor Things”
- “The Zone of Interest”
Who Will Win: “Oppenheimer”
A three-hour long biopic drama about the creator of the atomic bomb is going to sweep this year? Well, yes. “Oppenheimer “has won the Critics Choice, BAFTA, and Golden Globes for Best Picture so far, and is the number one contender for Best Picture at the 2024 Oscars. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” was a blockbuster this summer. People and critics alike loved “Oppenheimer”; the acting was fantastic, the score was stunning, and the morality issues are interesting. The “Oppenheimer” sweep through the award season will continue Sunday.
Best Actress
- Annette Bening, “Nyad”
- Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Sandra Hüller, “Anatomy of a Fall”
- Carey Mulligan, “Maestro”
- Emma Stone, “Poor Things”
Who Will Win: Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon”
The Best Actress category is shaping up to be the most interesting and closest race this year. This award win will ultimately come down to Emma Stone versus Lily Gladstone. The way the awards normally work is. whoever wins the SAG and BAFTA awards will win, but Stone won BAFTA, and Gladstone won SAG, so the tight race continues unti Sunday.
Stone’s performance in “Poor Things” was iconic and showed how incredible of an actress she is. “Poor Things” follows Stone as Bella Baxter, a young woman on the journey of self-discovery. The role relied heavily on physical performance, and Stone really delivered.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” is a heavier western drama about murders in the Osage Nation after the discovery of oil on their land in the 1920s. Lily Gladstone plays Mollie Burkhart, husband to Ernest Burkhart, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. This was a stunning performance by Gladstone and if she wins, she will make history as the first Native American woman to win the award.
Best Actor
- Bradley Cooper, “Maestro”
- Colman Domingo, “Rustin”
- Paul Giamatti, “The Holdovers”
- Cillian Murphy, “Oppenheimer”
- Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”
Who Will Win: Cillian Murphy, “Oppenheimer”
Paul Giamatti’s performance in “The Holdovers” was wonderful and he is the only real contender against Cillian Murphy right now. Giamatti won the Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice Award for best actor, but Murphy won SAG and BAFTA. If Giamitti keeps up the campaigning, perhaps he could overtake Murphy and win Best Actor, but right now, it seems Murphy will be going home with the Best Actor Award on Sunday.
“The Holdovers” was the surprise Oscar movie for me; a heartfelt, sweet movie about a kid who gets stuck at his boarding school with his curmudgeon of a teacher and the cafeteria cook. The performances were great, the movie was sweet, and Paul Giamatti was truly the star of this movie.
Cillian Murphy’s impressive physical transformation, first huge blockbuster, and the perception that he isn’t campaigning nearly as hard as others, does help set him up to win Best Actor this weekend.
“Oppenheimer” and Murphy’s performance were so impressive, and neither could have succeeded nearly this well without the other.
Best Supporting Actress
- Emily Blunt, “Oppenheimer”
- Danielle Brooks, “The Color Purple”
- America Ferrera, “Barbie”
- Jodie Foster, “Nyad”
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers”
Who Will Win: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers”
Randloph has swept the Best Supporting Actress category this awards season, so there’s no reason to stop this weekend. She was the glue that held “The Holdovers” together. Her performance is vulnerable and funny, and so well-deserving of the Oscar.
Best Supporting Actor
- Sterling K. Brown, “American Fiction”
- Robert De Niro, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Robert Downey Jr., “Oppenheimer”
- Ryan Gosling, “Barbie”
- Mark Ruffalo, “Poor Things”
Who Will Win: Robert Downey Jr., “Oppenheimer”
And the “Oppenheimer” sweep continues. Robert Downey Jr. has won every award for Best Supporting Actor, much like Da’Vine Joy Randolph swept for Best Supporting Actress. This trend shall continue, and Downey Jr. will be winning on Sunday. His role as J. Robert Oppenheimer’s adversary shows the strength of his acting skills as he played someone a bit different than previous roles.
Larissa Goalder is on Substack at jam jars in the cellar of your heart.
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