Oscars 2024 Predictions: Who will, Could and Should Win?

The Academy Awards are here! Who will win, could win and should win the 2024 Oscars this year, and who should have been nominated? Read our predictions!

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It’s time to make our predictions for the 2024 Oscars, which will take place on Sunday, March 10! Who will, could and should win the Academy awards this year, and who should have been nominated? The Loud and Clear Reviews writers take a look at the nominees and guess the winners!

Keep scrolling for all our predictions on who will, could and should win the 2024 Oscars, and don’t forget to download our Oscars 2024 printable .pdf ballot sheet to make your own guesses for the 96th Academy Awards! Do you agree with our picks? Let us know on our socials!

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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

There’s absolutely no denying that this year’s Academy Awards have produced one of the most impressive Best Picture lineups in a long time. There’s an astounding amount of talent on display here, from blockbuster hits like Barbie and Oppenheimer, to indie dramas such as Past Lives and The Holdovers, with two foreign-language contenders in The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall. Every single one of these movies deserves its spot in the lineup, but there’s one film that’s risen above the rest and essentially cemented its Best Picture victory already: Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

The film has already won this category at the Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and BAFTA Awards, with none of the other contenders proving strong enough to take it down. Nolan’s unforgettable biopic is completely deserving of the award, not just because of the level of craft and precision that it displays, but also because of how beloved it has become by the general public. Oppenheimer winning Best Picture would (and likely will) be a monumental victory that will see Nolan finally rewarded for his countless contributions to the industry over the past 25 years. (Jack Walters)

1. Will Win: Oppenheimer
2. Could Win: Nothing else
3. Should Win: Oppenheimer
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: The Boy And The Heron / The Iron Claw

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BEST DIRECTOR

• Justine Triet — Anatomy of a Fall
• Martin Scorsese — Killers of the Flower Moon
• Christopher Nolan — Oppenheimer
• Yorgos Lanthimos — Poor Things
• Jonathan Glazer — The Zone of Interest

In a lot of ways this has felt inevitable since Oppenheimer was released. This will be just the second time Christopher Nolan has been nominated for Best Director, and it feels very likely that we’ll see him accept his first Academy Award in this category this year. He’s the overwhelming favorite after winning just about every possible precursor you could win. He became the fifth director in the past 10 years to sweep Best Director at BAFTA, Critics Choice, DGA and the Golden Globes, and in all five of those other cases they were able to complete that sweep on Oscar night. I don’t anticipate much different happening this year, even with such a talented field of nominees in a strong year like this. (Michael Carvelli)

1. Will Win: Christopher Nolan — Oppenheimer
2. Could Win: Maybe Yorgos Lanthimos — Poor Things? But most likely nothing else.
3. Should Win: Christopher Nolan — Oppenheimer
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Celine Song — Past Lives; Greta Gerwig — Barbie

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BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

• Bradley Cooper — Maestro
• Colman Domingo — Rustin
• Paul Giamatti — The Holdovers
• Cillian Murphy — Oppenheimer
• Jeffrey Wright — American Fiction

The Best Actor in a Leading Role award is a difficult one to predict this year. Just thinking of all the names that aren’t on the list but absolutely deserved to be on it goes to show how many fantastic performances we got this year. My personal winner is Kōji Yakusho, who wasn’t nominated. Not only did he give us one of the most memorable performances of the year in Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days — a film that has him in every single shot, often without saying a word — but he also made it look completely effortless. Leonardo DiCaprio also deserved a nomination for his incredible work in Killers of the Flower Moon, particularly a scene at the end that elevates the film immensely.

But this year’s nominees all gave us Oscar-worthy performances, and it’s hard to predict who’s going to walk home with an Award. The frontrunners are Cillian Murphy, who’s already won a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and a SAG, and Paul Giamatti, who got a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award. It could go either way, but my bets are on Giamatti, keeping in mind that it’s his second Oscar nomination and that he also absolutely deserved one for Sideways too.

I don’t think Bradley Cooper has many chances of winning at the moment, but we can’t rule out Jeffrey Wright, who has just won a Spirit Award for his incredible work in American Fiction, and Colman Domingo, whose first Oscar nomination (for Rustin) is not only well-deserved but also historically important, since he is only the second openly gay man to earn a nomination for playing a gay character. The Oscars might surpise us, after all. (Serena Seghedoni)

1. Will Win: Paul Giamatti — The Holdovers
2. Could Win: Cillian Murphy — Oppenheimer
3. Should Win: Paul Giamatti — The Holdovers
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Kōji Yakusho — Perfect Days; Leonardo DiCaprio — Killers of the Flower Moon

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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

Lead Actress might be the most exciting category come Oscars night. At this point, it’s a two horse race between Gladstone and Stone, and each performer has enough evidence to make predictors confident they will come out on top. Stone has won the Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and BAFTA, which means she only missed SAG to make it a clean sweep for wins. It’s clear that the industry loves her, and Poor Things, and of course, it helps that her turn as Bella Baxter is easily her best performance of her career so far. Personally, I believe that Bella Baxter will go down as one of the all time great cinematic characters, so it would be more than justified to give Stone her second Oscar.

However, you can’t discount the narrative that Gladstone has, and if there is one thing The Academy loves, it’s a narrative. Even though last year and this year have totally different films, I can’t help but compare the two races. Like Michelle Yeoh, Gladstone has both the SAG and the Golden Globe, with a strong narrative that surrounds representation. Killers of the Flower Moon is a devastating film that showcases some of the most tragic atrocities indigenous people have been through, and it seems right that if the Academy is going to reward this film, it would be by honoring the first indigenous person to be nominated for an Oscar. Even though I might change last minute, it feels like right now, Lily Gladstone will be our Best Actress winner, but I’m sure everyone will be guessing right until we hear “and the Oscar goes to…” (Jonathan Vargas)

1. Will Win: Lily Gladstone — Killers of the Flower Moon
2. Could Win: Emma Stone — Poor Things
3. Should Win: Emma Stone — Poor Things
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Greta Lee — Past Lives

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BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Sterling K Brown — American Fiction
• Robert De Niro — Killers of the Flower Moon
• Robert Downey Jr — Oppenheimer
• Ryan Gosling — Barbie
• Mark Ruffalo — Poor Things

This is probably one of the least exciting categories of the Oscars night, considering how much of a dead cert Robert Downey Jr is. But take nothing away from the actor; he is fully deserving of his expected victory for his unforgettable performance as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer, upon which much of the film’s last act’s dramatic thrust is built. RDJ has already won Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG awards for his role, and the Oscar is soon to follow.

The fact that two heavily comedic performances are nominated in Ryan Gosling for Barbie and Mark Ruffalo for Poor Things should be celebrated, but equally the absence of Charles Melton, who is spectacular in May December as a married man who seems to be mentally stuck as a groomed young boy, is nothing short of a travesty. Melton should have been not only nominated, but awarded the statuette. (William Stottor)

1. Will Win: Robert Downey Jr — Oppenheimer
2. Could Win: Ryan Gosling — Barbie
3. Should Win: Robert Downey Jr — Oppenheimer
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Charles Melton — May December

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BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Emily Blunt — Oppenheimer
• Danielle Brooks — The Color Purple
• America Ferrera — Barbie
• Jodie Foster — Nyad
• Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

It won’t be a shock to anyone when Da’Vine Joy Randolph wins the Oscar for her performance as Mary Lamb in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers. The actress has been winning every single precursor she has been nominated for, including the BAFTA and SAG awards most recently. Perhaps America Ferrera could sneak in and win for her magisterial supporting turn in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, but the chances of this happening are extremely slim. Penélope Cruz should’ve been nominated for her career-best turn in Michael Mann’s Ferrari, but this is a story to tell for another time… (Maxance Vincent)

1. Will Win: Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
2. Could Win: America Ferrera — Barbie
3. Should Win: Emily Blunt — Oppenheimer
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Penélope Cruz – Ferrari

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BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Anatomy of a Fall — Justine Triet & Arthur Harari
• The Holdovers — David Hemingson
• Maestro — Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer
• May December — Samy Burch (screenplay); Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik (story)
• Past Lives — Celine Song

Every year, I always look forward to seeing the screenplay categories during award season. This year is a particularly exciting one as all the nominees in Best Original Screenplay are not only excellent movies but also films that stand out, especially for their screenplay. It is also a very close race, making it even harder to predict who will go home with the prestigious golden statuette. Judging by the BAFTAs where Anatomy of a Fall triumphed in the Original Screenplay category, Justine Triet’s film may take the win on this one. But I would not count The Holdovers out just yet, after all, it did win Best Screenplay in multiple Critics’ association awards during this award season.

Of course, as per every year, there are some notable omissions, The Boy and the Heron and Saltburn are the two that stand out the most to me out of the pool of eligible entries, but sadly there are only five spots, and all of these five movies deserved their nomination and recognition for their writers. As one of my favourite films of the year Past Lives’ nomination makes me particularly happy. Unlike its contenders, Past Lives is not nominated in many categories, so having its incredible writing praised and acknowledged is an achievement in and of itself. It probably won’t happen, but it is the film I will be rooting for on Oscar night in a couple of weeks. (Clotilde Chinnici)

1. Will Win: Anatomy of a Fall
2. Could Win: The Holdovers
3. Should Win: Past Lives
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: The Boy and the Heron

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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• American Fiction — Cord Jefferson
• Barbie — Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach
• Oppenheimer — Christopher Nolan
• Poor Things — Tony McNamara
• The Zone of Interest — Jonathan Glazer

While most of the major awards this year seem fairly locked-down and predictable, Best Adapted Screenplay is one of the few where there’s definitely room for a surprise. Every single film nominated here is also nominated for Best Picture, which makes it even harder to choose the frontrunner. The obvious choice is Oppenheimer given its enormous success everywhere else, but Nolan’s screenplay has actually missed several of the important precursors that would help boost it to victory. Both the Critics Choice Awards and the BAFTAs went with Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction here, while the Golden Globes (where American Fiction wasn’t even nominated) gave their combined award to Anatomy of a Fall, which falls under Original Screenplay at the Oscars.

The WGA Awards are usually a good indicator for this category, but they’re not happening until April this year. This leaves Best Adapted Screenplay totally up in the air. Every single nominee has an outside chance at victory, but the safest option here is to predict the film that’s currently sweeping the other precursors: American Fiction. This definitely feels like the kind of project that the Academy would embrace here, blending comedy with drama into a witty, satirical narrative that comments on the state of the writing industry itself. It’s the safe choice, but this is definitely a category where prognostications could prove useless. (Jack Walters)

1. Will Win: American Fiction
2. Could Win: Oppenheimer
3. Should Win: Oppenheimer
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Killers Of The Flower Moon

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BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• The Boy and the Heron
• Elemental
• Nimona
• Robot Dreams
• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

After years of mostly Disney/Pixar dominance, 2023 saw Pinocchio win for Guillermo del Toro and the late Mark Gustafson. This year, the pair are outsiders once again, as it has been a two-horse race between Studio Ghibli and Sony. Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron is the favourite thanks to wins at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs (and is the worthy choice), but Across the Spider-Verse certainly has a chance to repeat the success of Into the Spider-Verse.

Elsewhere, it would have been nice if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem got some recognition for its cool art style. However, there cannot be too many complaints with a category that found room for two smaller features in Robot Dreams and Nimona. The latter will have rubbed some salt in Disney’s wounds, as they cancelled the film before Annapurna and Netflix saved it. (Daniel Allen)

1. Will Win: The Boy and the Heron
2. Could Win: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
3. Should Win: The Boy and the Heron
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• El Conde — Edward Lachman
• Killers of the Flower Moon — a
• Maestro — Matthew Libatique
• Oppenheimer — Hoyte van Hoytema
• Poor Things — Robbie Ryan

Firstly, a quick shout-out to the surprising yet worthy nomination of El Conde. Edward Lachman took inspiration from F.W. Murnau for his black-and-white imagery, adding a rich and sludgy quality to what is already a majestic film. Otherwise, like with most of the technical categories, this looks like it is a lock for the stellar Oppenheimer and Hoyte van Hoytema (who has somehow only been nominated for an Oscar twice despite being one of the best DPs of the modern era).

Despite that, the field this year has a pretty flawless set of nominees, from Robbie Ryan and his use of fisheye lenses in Poor Things to Rodrigo Prieto’s sweeping camerawork in Killers of the Flower Moon. Although there should have been some recognition for Łukasz Żal and his remarkable work in The Zone of Interest, placing us right in the middle of the Höss family and the horrors just beyond their home. (Daniel Allen)

1. Will Win: Oppenheimer — Hoyte van Hoytema
2. Could Win: Nothing else
3. Should Win: Oppenheimer — Hoyte van Hoytema
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: The Zone of Interest — Łukasz Żal

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BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Barbie — Jacqueline Durran
• Killers of the Flower Moon — Jacqueline West
• Napoleon — Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
• Oppenheimer — Ellen Mirojnick
• Poor Things — Holly Waddington

Best Costume Design is a strong category and four of its nominees are for films that are also up for Best Picture. The odd one out is Napoleon, whose general lukewarm reception hasn’t extended to its more impressive qualities in production design, costume design, and visual effects. Janty Yates and David Crossman’s impressive costume work gives the film a strong historical quality (where perhaps in other areas it is lacking).

It is a category that seems to be a two way race between Barbie and Poor Things. Both films are infectiously vibrant in their costume design, fitting the other stellar aspects of each film perfectly to help create these tangible worlds we are viewing. Holly Waddington’s victory for Poor Things at the BAFTAs puts her in good stead here (just look at Emma Stone’s wonderful selection of sleeves), but don’t write off Jacqueline Durran’s chances for Barbie. There is a lot of pink, obviously, but costumes are far from one note and instead are frequently iconic. (William Stottor)

1. Will Win: Poor Things
2. Could Win: Barbie
3. Should Win: Poor Things
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: The Iron Claw

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BEST FILM EDITING

• Anatomy of a Fall — Laurent Sénéchal
• The Holdovers — Kevin Tent
• Killers of the Flower Moon — Thelma Schoonmaker
• Oppenheimer — Jennifer Lame
• Poor Things — Yorgos Mavropsaridis

This has been an award season where Oppenheimer has become a major favorite in so many categories that it’s hard to see this one going any other way. Much like you’ll hear about in the other technical categories, it’s a deserved win for the film and editor Jennifer Lame has already earned wins at Critics Choice and BAFTA with a very likely win at the ACE Eddie Awards on March 3. Could there be an outside chance that a film like Anatomy of a Fall or even The Holdovers could make a run and pull an upset here? Sure, but it doesn’t feel like those odds are very good as Best Film Editing should likely be one of a handful of indicators in the early part of the ceremony to solidify Oppenheimer as the runaway favorite to take home Best Picture. (Michael Carvelli)

1. Will Win: Oppenheimer
2. Could Win: Anatomy of a Fall
3. Should Win: Oppenheimer
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Past Lives; The Killer

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BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

• Golda — Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby and Ashra Kelly-Blue
• Maestro — Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell
• Oppenheimer — Luisa Abel
• Poor Things — Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston
• Society of the Snow — Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé

While each of these nominees deserves to be here, there’s really only one project among these five that feels tailor-made to secure this award. Bradley Cooper’s Maestro might not be getting the attention it deserves for the above-the-line categories such as Best Actor and Best Actress, but this is where it’s most likely to find success. The prosthetic work alone is enough to justify Maestro winning here, but even beyond Cooper’s transformation into multiple different eras of Leonard Bernstein, the makeup in general does a great job of immersing the audience in this period piece and making the characters feel like they’ve genuinely been plucked from the different eras in which the narrative takes place. There’s an outside shot that something like Poor Things or Oppenheimer could kick Maestro aside, but it’s impossible to watch that film without being in awe of Cooper’s on-screen transformation. (Jack Walters)

1. Will Win: Maestro
2. Could Win: Poor Things
3. Should Win: Maestro
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Beau Is Afraid

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BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Barbie — Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
• Killers of the Flower Moon — Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis
• Napoleon — Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Elli Griff
• Oppenheimer — Production Design: Ruth De Jong; Set Decoration: Claire Kaufman
• Poor Things — Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek

Asteroid City should’ve been nominated and won, but for now, Sarah Greenwood will likely take the Oscar for her incredible work on Barbie. However, don’t underestimate Ruth De Jong’s work in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer or James Price and Shona Heath’s work on Poor Things. I’d even say it would be a battle between the three – with Barbie having the most chance of winning. Still, it’s anyone’s game, and I’d be wary about anyone predicting this category with certainty. (Maxance Vincent)

1. Will Win: Barbie
2. Could Win: Oppenheimer
3. Should Win: Poor Things
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Asteroid City

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BEST SOUND

• The Creator — Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
• Maestro — Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning — Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor
• Oppenheimer — Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell
• The Zone of Interest — Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn

The Zone of Interest will surely win at least one award on March 10th, and I’m betting its biggest likelihood is to snag the Best Sound trophy. Johnnie Burn and Tarn Willers recently won a BAFTA for their work on the movie, making them ones to watch during the upcoming Oscar ceremony. Critics have consistently praised the film since its festival premiere, but more often than not, its inventive use of sound has been the main reason why the film is such a powerful — and important one. The film’s visual world is completely disassociated from what audiences are hearing, making the overall viewing experience haunting and skin-crawling. It’s exactly why the film stays with you long after the credits have rolled. (Maxance Vincent)

1. Will Win: The Zone of Interest
2. Could Win: Oppenheimer
3. Should Win: The Zone of Interest
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: The Killer

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BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• The Creator — Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould
• Godzilla Minus One — Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 — Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bialek
• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning — Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould
• Napoleon — Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould

Visual effects might be the hardest category to predict and that’s because almost all of the other awards that include visual effects award Oppenheimer. Some other awards’ bodies such as the Visual Effects Society have rewarded The Creator and BAFTA gave their award to Napoleon. Godzilla Minus One has the most “momentum” at this point, because a lot of voters have been discussing how great the effects are for a film with a 15 million dollar budget. Any of these three films can win, but I think The Creator will come out on top as long as voters have seen the film. It wasn’t the box office success that the trailers made it seem like, but no matter the film quality, the visual effects work is extremely impressive and I believe the win will age well. (Jonathan Vargas)

1. Will Win: The Creator
2. Could Win: Godzilla Minus One
3. Should Win: Godzilla Minus One
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Oppenheimer

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BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• American Fiction — Laura Karpman
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny — John Williams
• Killers of the Flower Moon — Robbie Robertson
• Oppenheimer — Ludwig Göransson
• Poor Things — Jerskin Fendrix

American Fiction and Killers of the Flower Moon are worthy nominees—the former a jazzy, playful backdrop to the drama comedy, the latter an energetic, evocative composition—but neither live long in the memory. Not to disrespect one of the best composers in film history, but John Williams’ nomination for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is severely undeserving. His score is better than the shocking film it accompanies, but it is never anything more than just fine. Mica Levi’s outstanding minimalist score for The Zone of Interest would have been far more deserving of its place.

Jerskin Fendrix’s delightful, twangy accompaniment to Poor Things could spring a surprise, but Ludwig Göransson is widely expected to pick up his second Oscar (after Black Panther) for Oppenheimer. It doesn’t hurt that Christopher Nolan’s historical biopic is expected to sweep most categories, but either way, Göransson’s score would be a firm favourite for what is undoubtedly the best of the year, a score that haunting distortion and fluctuating emotions. (William Stottor)

1. Will Win: Oppenheimer
2. Could Win: Poor Things
3. Should Win: Oppenheimer
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: The Zone of Interest

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BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “The Fire Inside” – Flamin’ Hot (Diane Warren)
• “I’m Just Ken” – Barbie (Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt)
• “It Never Went Away” – American Symphony (Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson)
• “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” – Killers of the Flower Moon (Scott George)
• “What Was I Made For?” – Barbie (Billie Eilish & Finneas O’Connell)

Although the rules do allow it, it is very unusual for a film to have two songs nominated at the same time for the same award. With “Dance the Night” being on the shortlist for the Best Original Song category, Barbie had three entries but, as per Academy rules, only two songs from the same film can be nominated. Interestingly, if any of the Barbie songs nominated go on to win on the 10th of March, the Oscar will go to a team that has already won before. In fact, Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell won in 2021 for No Time to Die and Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt did in 2018 for A Star is Born.

“What Was I Made For?” seems to be not only a fan-favourite but also the frontrunner for the Best Original Song category. It seems only right, after all, as the song is fundamental to the message of the movie, Barbie, and key to one of the most beautiful scenes in the whole movie. However, after its win at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, “I’m Just Ken” might still surprise us. Either way, Ryan Gosling will be performing his iconic song at the award ceremony – which is already a win for those of us who loved his performance in the movie – and Barbie is most likely to go home with the prize whatever song ends up winning in the end. (Clotilde Chinnici)

1. Will Win: “What Was I Made For?” – Barbie (Billie Eilish & Finneas O’Connell)
2. Could Win: “I’m Just Ken” – Barbie (Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt)
3. Should Win: “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” – Killers of the Flower Moon (Scott George)
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: “For the First Time” – The Little Mermaid (Alan Menken & Lin-Manuel Miranda)

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BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• Bobi Wine: The People’s President
• The Eternal Memory
• Four Daughters
• To Kill a Tiger
• 20 Days in Mariupol

Documentary feature is notoriously hard to predict, especially when it comes to nominations, but this year, 20 Days in Mariupol seems like the clear choice. It has won the most precursors out of the nominees, and given the global politics that dominate the media at this current moment in time, it feels like the right choice for The Academy to make. Bobi Wine: The People’s President does have a chance, since it is more of a crowd pleaser and slightly more popular, but I don’t think it will build enough steam to win come Oscars night. (Jonathan Vargas)

1. Will Win: 20 Days in Mariupol
2. Could Win: Bobi Wine: The People’s President
3. Should Win: Four Daughters
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé

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BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

• Io Capitano
• Perfect Days
• Society of the Snow
• The Teachers’ Lounge
• The Zone of Interest

The Zone of Interest Review: Haunting Holocaust Drama

Every year, I always think that it is a shame that there is only one category that recognises international feature films. Of course, that is not always the case, as non-English language and international films have occasionally been nominated in other categories to – just think of Life is Beautiful in 1999 or, more recently, the critically acclaimed Parasite, but it is admittedly quite rare. This year, out of the five nominees, only The Zone of Interest was nominated in other categories as well, most notably for Best Picture. This is already an indication of the direction in which the Academy is most likely to go on Oscar night. 

Although the winner seems set already, the Best International Feature Film category has so many excellent entries that I would not be upset if any of them won in the end. Perfect Days would admittedly be my pick if I had an Oscar ballot and its win does not actually seem that unlikely, especially considering its commercial and critical success – after all, it did win two prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. Speaking of the latter, the Cannes Film Festival seemed to appreciate The Taste of Things, the French entry for this year’s Oscars, as it won Best Director at the festival but, interestingly, did not make it in the final five. (Clotilde Chinnici)

1. Will Win: The Zone of Interest
2. Could Win: Perfect Days
3. Should Win: Perfect Days
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: The Taste of Things

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BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

• Letter to a Pig
• Ninety-Five Senses
• Our Uniform
• Pachyderme
• War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko

There is an interesting selection of short films in the Best Animated short category. Pachyderme is an animated, introspective short about a girl who deals with her demons; Ninety-Five Senses is the sensorial experience of a man who waits for his last meal on death row. Our Uniform makes us think about gender and politics with the story of an Iranian girl who talks about the role of the hijab and what it means for people to see her in public. But the real contenders are Letter to a Pig and War is Over!, who each have chances of winning for different reasons.

Letter to a Pig, winner of the Grand Prize at the Animation Is Film Festival, is about a Holocaust survivor who reads a letter he wrote to the pig who saved his life. But this tale unleashes something in a young schoolgirl who listens to it, and we experience the dark, introspective journey she embarks on. This short combines thematic depth with innovative animation, and the Academy might reward it for it.

But War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko is also a strong contender, if only for the sheer inventiveness of its premise. This stunning short takes us to an alternate version of World War I, where two soldiers who are on different sides of the battle face each other by means of a game of chess and notes delivered by a carrier pigeon. The music is fantastic, the message is strong, and it will probably win. (Serena Seghedoni)

1. Will Win: War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
2. Could Win: Letter to a Pig
3. Should Win: War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Dog Apartment (Koerkorter)

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BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

• The After
• Invincible
• Knight of Fortune
• Red, White and Blue
• The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: Film Review – Loud And Clear

Review: Short but very sweet, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is a concentrated dose of Anderson’s symmetrical style.

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Ultimately this feels like the easiest of the short film categories to pick this year as we should see The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar secure Wes Anderson his first Oscar win. All of this year’s live action shorts were worth checking out, but The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar just felt on a different level. In a year where the other four nominees all take on darker, heavier subject matter and shoot them in a naturalistic way, Anderson’s light and entertaining style shot with the same aesthetics you would expect to see from him really help this feel distinct from everything else up in this category.

There’s a world where a short like Red, White and Blue could gain some momentum from people who resonate with the story or are turned off by Anderson’s style of filmmaking or the fact that Henry Sugar is longer than the other nominees. But it does feel like this will be the year we finally see Anderson win his first Academy Award. (Michael Carvelli)

1. Will Win: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
2. Could Win: Red, White and Blue
3. Should Win: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: The Anne Frank Gift Shop; The Swan

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BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM

• The ABCs of Book Banning
• The Barber of Little Rock
• Island in Between
• The Last Repair Shop
• Nai Nai and Wài Pó

In an arguably not-so-vintage year for the short categories, there are a few interesting nominees here. Previous winner Ben Proudfoot – quietly one of the best documentary filmmakers working today – returns with The Last Repair Shop, co-directed by King Richard composer Kris Bowers. And this short that tells the stories of a quartet repairing instruments for LA students is a contender. However, Nai Nai and Wài Pó might get the most attention thanks to its elderly subjects and its director Sean Wang (who was just at Sundance with Dìdi). Plus, it would be the deserving choice – inventive, personal and rather beautiful.

Of the shortlisted shorts that didn’t make it into the final five, my favourite was Deciding Vote. It is informative and important watch about moral conscience over political gain that you can watch Deciding Vote out on YouTube right now. (Daniel Allen)

1. Will Win: Nai Nai and Wài Pó
2. Could Win: The Last Repair Shop
3. Should Win: Nai Nai and Wài Pó
4. Should’ve Been Nominated: Deciding Vote

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The 96th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 7e|4p, and will air live on ABC and in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide. Download our Oscars 2024 printable ballot sheet to make your predictions!

2024 Oscars: Download Our Printable Ballot Sheet!