As awards season comes to a close, it’s time to look back at the best Hollywood had to offer in 2022. Austin Butler amazed us. Ke Huy Quan made an incredible comeback. Angela Bassett did the thing. What do all of these stars have in common? They’re vying for recognition at this year’s Oscars, along with countless other actors, filmmakers and designers. Read on to see the Daily’s predictions in all 23 categories ahead of the 95th Academy Awards on March 12.
Best Picture
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.”
Since last year’s rule change that expanded Best Picture to a fixed 10 nominees, we’ve seen more variety in this category, including foreign films like “All Quiet” and box-office hits like “Avatar” and “Top Gun.” But it’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the little indie movie that could, that deserves to take home the top prize this year. The Michelle Yeoh-led A24 film faces stiff competition from “Banshees” and “The Fabelmans,” but after big wins at the Critics’ Choice and Producers Guild Awards, it looks like Hollywood is finally ready to embrace the absurd and give “Everything Everywhere” the award.
Will Win: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Could Win: “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Should Win: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Directing
Nominees: Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”), Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”), Todd Field (“Tár”), Ruben Östlund (“Triangle of Sadness”)
Oscars history will tell you that Best Picture and Best Directing usually go to the same film, and it looks like this year’s ceremony will keep the trend going with Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the young directing duo collectively known as the “Daniels.” Even with big names like Spielberg and McDonagh in the mix, this award should (and will) go to Daniels, who recently won Directors Guild and Critics’ Choice Awards for their incredible, genre-bending work on “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Will Win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Could Win: Steven Spielberg
Should Win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees: Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”), Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”), Bill Nighy (“Living”)
This is probably the toughest acting category to predict. Right now, it’s looking like a three-way race between Butler, Farrell and Fraser. All three gave incredible performances but Brendan Fraser seems to be the favorite going into the Oscars for his emotionally charged performance in “The Whale.” After Critics’ Choice and SAG wins, an Oscar victory would be a remarkable end to the awards season for Fraser, who made a triumphant return to Hollywood after years out of the spotlight.
Will Win: Brendan Fraser
Could Win: Austin Butler
Should Win: Colin Farrell
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees: Cate Blanchett (“Tár”), Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”), Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”), Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)
Although Andrea Riseborough’s controversial nomination initially shook up the category, Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh remain the frontrunners. Yeoh, the winner at last weekend’s SAG Awards, deserves the award for her remarkable performance as Evelyn Wang in “Everything Everywhere,” but expect Critics’ Choice and BAFTA winner Blanchett to take home her third Oscar for her virtuosic leading role in “Tár.”
Will Win: Cate Blanchett
Could Win: Michelle Yeoh
Should Win: Michelle Yeoh
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: There’s so many great performances in this category, but it would be a shame if voters don’t reward Ke Huy Quan for his show-stopping turn as Waymond Wang in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: This one is Angela Bassett’s to lose. She’s long overdue for an Oscar, and her performance as the grieving Queen Ramonda in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” would make her the first actor to win an Oscar for their performance in a Marvel movie.
Best Original Screenplay: It could easily go to “Banshees,” but odds are “Everything Everywhere All at Once” will pick up another award here for its mind-boggling script.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” has the best script in this category, but “Women Talking,”a drama about sexual abuse in a Mennonite colony, has all the right ingredients to win the award.
Best Animated Feature Film: The new “Puss in Boots” sequel, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” was great, but this award has to go to the beautiful stop-motion animation of “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.”
Best International Feature Film: With nine nominations this year (including Best Picture), Germany’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” seems like a lock in this category.
Best Original Score: John Williams deserves the win for his work on “The Fabelmans,” but the award will probably go to Justin Hurwitz, who composed the score for “Babylon.”
Best Original Song: The Indian historical epic “RRR” was one of the best movies of the last year and this is its only nomination, so the least Academy voters could do is award it for the catchy “Naatu Naatu,”which underscores an incredible dance sequence in the film.
And here’s who we think is going to win in the remaining categories:
Best Film Editing: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Cinematography: “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Best Production Design: “Babylon”
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: “The Whale”
Best Costume Design: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
Best Sound: “Top Gun: Maverick”
Best Visual Effects: “Avatar: The Way of Water”
Best Documentary Feature Film: “Navalny”
Best Documentary Short Film: “The Elephant Whisperers”
Best Short Film (Live Action): “Le pupille”
Best Short Film (Animated): “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
