On Sunday, March 2nd, the highly anticipated 97th Academy Awards will take place, hosted by the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). This year’s ceremony promises to be particularly exciting as it will be broadcast live on ABC and, for the first time, will also be available for streaming on Hulu. With the awards season shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable, contentious, and controversial in recent history, all eyes are on who will take home the coveted Oscars.
The Next Best Picture team has gathered to share their predictions for the 97th Academy Awards, which are sure to be filled with shocks and surprises. These predictions can be read below or listened to in the latest episode of the Next Best Picture Podcast. The insights have been provided by a talented group of contributors including Alyssa Christian, Cody Dericks, Dan Bayer, Daniel Howat, Ema Sasic, Giovanni Lago, Josh Parham, Matt Neglia, Nadia Dalimonte, Sara Clements, Tom O’Brien, and Will Mavity.
The nominees for Best Picture include:
“Anora” “The Brutalist” “A Complete Unknown” “Conclave” (Sara) “Dune: Part Two” “Emilia Pérez” “Nickel Boys” “I’m Still Here” “The Substance” “Wicked”In the Best Director category, the following directors are in contention:
Jacques Audiard – “Emilia Pérez” Brady Corbet – “The Brutalist” (Giovanni & Sara) Sean Baker – “Anora” (Alyssa, Cody, Dan, Daniel, Ema, Josh, Matt, Nadia, Tom & Will) Coralie Fargeat – “The Substance” James Mangold – “A Complete Unknown”The nominees for Best Actress are:
Cynthia Erivo – “Wicked” Karla Sofía Gascón – “Emilia Pérez” Mikey Madison – “Anora” (Giovanni, Josh, Matt, Tom & Will) Demi Moore – “The Substance” (Alyssa, Cody, Dan, Daniel, Ema, Nadia & Sara) Fernanda Torres – “I’m Still Here”For Best Actor, the following performances are being recognized:
Adrien Brody – “The Brutalist” (ALL) Timothée Chalamet – “A Complete Unknown” Colman Domingo – “Sing Sing” Ralph Fiennes – “Conclave” Sebastian Stan – “The Apprentice”Best Supporting Actress nominees include:
Monica Barbaro – “A Complete Unknown” Ariana Grande – “Wicked” Felicity Jones – “The Brutalist” Isabella Rossellini – “Conclave” Zoe Saldaña – “Emilia Pérez” (ALL)For Best Supporting Actor, the contenders are:
Yura Borisov – “Anora” Kieran Culkin – “A Real Pain” (ALL) Edward Norton – “A Complete Unknown” Guy Pearce – “The Brutalist” Jeremy Strong – “The Apprentice”In the screenplay categories, the nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay are:
“A Complete Unknown” “Conclave” (ALL) “Emilia Pérez” “Nickel Boys” “Sing Sing”Meanwhile, the nominees for Best Original Screenplay include:
“Anora” (ALL) “The Brutalist” “A Real Pain” “September 5” “The Substance”The competition in the Best Animated Feature category features:
“Flow” (Daniel, Giovanni, Josh, Nadia & Sara) “Inside Out 2” “Memoir of a Snail” “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” “The Wild Robot” (Alyssa, Cody, Dan, Ema, Matt, Tom & Will)For the Best Documentary Feature category, the nominees are:
“Black Box Diaries” No Other Land (Alyssa, Cody, Dan, Daniel, Ema, Giovanni, Matt, Nadia, Sara & Tom) “Porcelain War” (Josh & Will) “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” “Sugarcane”The nominees for Best International Feature Film include:
France – “Emilia Pérez” (Daniel, Ema, Giovanni & Will) Latvia – “Flow” Denmark – “The Girl with the Needle” Brazil – “I’m Still Here” (Alyssa, Cody, Dan, Josh, Matt, Nadia, Sara & Tom) Germany – “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”In technical categories, nominees for Best Cinematography include:
“The Brutalist” (Alyssa, Cody, Dan, Daniel, Ema, Giovanni, Josh, Matt, Nadia, Tom & Will) “Dune: Part Two” “Emilia Pérez” “Maria” (Sara) “Nosferatu”For Best Costume Design, the nominees are:
“A Complete Unknown” “Conclave” “Gladiator II” “Nosferatu” “Wicked” (ALL)The nominees for Best Film Editing include:
“Anora” (Dan & Sara) “The Brutalist” “Conclave” (Alyssa, Cody, Daniel, Ema, Giovanni, Matt, Nadia, Tom & Will) “Emilia Pérez” “Wicked” (Josh)In the Best Make-Up & Hairstyling category, contenders are:
“A Different Man” “Emilia Pérez” “Nosferatu” “The Substance” (Alyssa, Cody, Dan, Daniel, Ema, Giovanni, Josh, Matt, Nadia, Tom & Will) “Wicked” (Sara)For Best Production Design, the nominees include:
“The Brutalist” “Conclave” “Dune: Part Two” “Nosferatu” “Wicked” (ALL)The nominees for Best Original Score are:
“The Brutalist” (ALL) “Conclave” “Emilia Pérez” “Wicked” “The Wild Robot”In the Best Original Song category, the nominees include:
“Elton John: Never Too Late” – “Never Too Late” “Emilia Pérez” – “El Mal” (ALL) “Emilia Pérez” – “Mi Camino” “Sing Sing” – “Like A Bird” “The Six Triple Eight” – “The Journey”For Best Visual Effects, the nominees are:
“Alien: Romulus” “Better Man” “Dune: Part Two” (Alyssa, Cody, Dan, Daniel, Ema, Giovanni, Josh, Matt, Nadia, Tom & Will) “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (Sara) “Wicked”The Best Animated Short Film nominees include:
“Beautiful Men” “Magic Candies” “In the Shadow of the Cypress” (Giovanni) “Yuck!” (Alyssa, Cody, Daniel, Ema, Josh, Matt, Nadia, Tom & Will) “Wander to Wonder” (Dan & Sara)In the Best Documentary Short Film category, the nominees are:
“Death by Numbers” (Dan) “I Am Ready, Warden” (Matt) “Incident” (Sara) “Instruments of a Beating Heart” “The Only Girl in the Orchestra” (Alyssa, Cody, Daniel, Ema, Josh, Nadia, Tom & Will)Lastly, the nominees for Live Action Short Film include:
“A Lien” (Alyssa, Cody, Daniel, Ema, Josh, Matt, Nadia, Sara & Will) “Anuja” “I’m Not a Robot” “The Last Ranger” “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” (Dan, Giovanni & Tom)As the 97th Academy Awards approach, the excitement builds within the film community and among audiences worldwide. With a diverse range of films and performances nominated, this year's Oscars could be one for the history books. Don't miss the live presentation to find out which films will emerge victorious!
