Final Oscar Picks & What to Watch
The 97th Academy Awards take place on Sunday, March 2nd at 7:00 Eastern time on ABC.
Movie lovers and award show geeks, it’s time for livin’. Unlike most years where the pre-cursor shows have vacuumed up all crumbs of surprise by now, this year’s race is wide open.
To get you up to speed in the quickest amount of time, here are the top five films to see before Sunday and where to find them, followed by my predictions and hopes for what’s inside all 24 envelopes.
ANORA
The film flew out of last fall’s festival season as the top contender for Best Picture. Then, crickets. Regional critics associations largely passed it over, relegating it into a puzzling obscurity.
But like Muhammad Ali, Mikey Madison’s Anora (Ani, to her friends) is a fighter. The film sprung the ol’ rope-a-dope a few weeks ago, scoring Best Picture at the PGA awards and Best Director at the DGA awards, making it once again the heavy odds-on favorite to take the big prize on Sunday.
Sean Baker has a not-insignificant chance to win four gold trophies Sunday evening: Best Picture (as a producer), Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editor. Will he make Oscar history?
Where to Watch: in theaters and available to stream on-demand
CONCLAVE
If there’s a challenger to the racy, slapstick, emotional behemoth that is Anora, it is the stoic Conclave, which is nominated for eight Oscars.
To move from the boxing ring to the wrestling ring, Anora had every opponent pinned to the mat after its big weekend, inevitably poised to win the title. But then Conclave won Best Picture at the BAFTAs and Best Ensemble at the SAG awards, which is like a rogue wrestler diving into the ring and whacking Anora over the head with a folding chair right before the count of three. Could Conclave turn out to be the Vatican Villain?
Where to Watch: in theaters and available to stream on Peacock
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
Timothee Chalamet did the same to Adrien Brody at the SAG awards, winning Best Actor after a cavalcade of Brody wins. Chalamet also sounded more like a professional wrestler than an actor during his acceptance speech, announcing his desire to be the greatest of all time. Will he take his first step toward the championship belt on Sunday? And can Monica Barbaro score an upset over Zoe Saldana’s performance from the epically faltering Emilia Perez?
Where to Watch: in theaters and available to stream on-demand
THE BRUTALIST
If you’ve got 3 ½ hours to spare, check out Brady Corbet’s epic masterpiece. Nominated for ten Oscars, it’s the type of film where one can just as easily see it walking away with ten wins or none. The only way to know if justice has been served is to make sure you see it.
Where to Watch: in theaters and available to stream on-demand
THE SUBSTANCE
Will current favorite Demi Moore finally triumph on Hollywood’s biggest stage? Or will Anora’s ingenue, Mikey Madison, score what would be a well deserved (and massively ironic) victory? Originally deemed to be way too horror and waaaaay too gross to be an actual contender, the film has emerged as a very real possibility to win Best Screenplay and Best Makeup.
Where to Watch: in theaters and available to stream on MUBI
FINAL PREDICTIONS & WISHES
BEST PICTURE
My Prediction: Anora
My Vote: Anora
BEST DIRECTOR
My Prediction: Sean Baker, Anora
My Vote: Sean Baker, Anora
BEST ACTRESS
My Prediction: Demi Moore, The Substance
My Vote: Mikey Madison, Anora
BEST ACTOR
My Prediction: Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
My Vote: Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
My Prediction: Zoe Saldana, Emilia Perez
My Vote: Zoe Saldana, Emilia Perez
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
My Prediction: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
My Vote: Yura Borisov, Anora
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
My Prediction: Conclave
My Vote: Sing Sing
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
My Prediction: Anora
My Vote: Anora
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
My Prediction: The Brutalist
My Vote: The Brutalist
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
My Prediction: Wicked
My Vote: Nosferatu
BEST FILM EDITING
My Prediction: The Brutalist
My Vote: Anora
BEST MAKEUP & HAIR STYLING
My Prediction: The Substance
My Vote: A Different Man
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
My Prediction: Wicked
My Vote: The Brutalist
BEST SCORE
My Prediction: The Brutalist
My Vote: The Brutalist
BEST SONG
My Prediction: El Mal, Emilia Perez
My Vote: Like a Bird, Sing Sing
BEST SOUND
My Prediction: Dune, Part 2
My Vote: Dune, Part 2
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
My Prediction: Dune, Part 2
My Vote: Dune, Part 2
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
My Prediction: The Wild Robot
My Vote: Flow
BEST DOCUMENTARY
My Prediction: No Other Land
My Vote: Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
My Prediction: I’m Still Here
My Vote: Flow
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
My Prediction: Beautiful Men
My Vote: Have not seen
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
My Prediction: The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
My Vote: Have not seen
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
My Prediction: I am Ready, Warden
My Vote: Have not seen