The nominations have dropped and we now have less than two months to binge all the nominated films before making our own wildly inaccurate picks. But we do know the films the Academy chose to go before their members.
The Barbinheimer phenomenon has appeared in the nominations though Oppenheimer leads in the count significantly. The Holdovers which has been a late year favourite, with Poor Things being an interesting addition, which did also get a best director nom unlike The Holdovers.
Best picture
American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killer of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Tough call this year with so many good films—American Fiction and The Holdovers are two really good small wonders based on simple storytelling, Barbie and Oppenheimer won the box office this past summer and revitalized cinema with epic blockbuster budgets (and equally epic stories), while there were some big names and important message behind Killers of the Flower Moon.
Best director
Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)
Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon)
Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest)
Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things)
Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall)
Considering who made it this far (sad to see Barbie miss out), there’s strong attraction and reaction for Christopher Nolan, though legendary director Martin Scorsese could be a challenger.
Best actress in a leading role
Annette Bening (Nyad)
Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)
Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall)
Carey Mulligan (Maestro)
Emma Stone (Poor Things)
Lily Gladstone is the favourite here in the race given her performance that carried the Scorsese film from Apple TV+
Best actor in a leading role
Bradley Cooper (Maestro)
Colman Domingo (Rustin)
Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)
Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)
This statue may go in one of three ways—Cillian Murphy for his incredible performance, Paul Giamatti who is equally deserving and pervious overlooked (Sideways), and of course Jeffrey Wright for clearly an amazing performance.