FROM a mainstream perspective, 2023 was a relatively weak year for big, blockbuster films, but a great battleground for huge, visionary films that were either available globally or had limited releases in certain countries.
Out of the eight superhero films sent out to die in 2023, only two crawled out of the trenches alive. On top of the battered, bruised bodies of The Marvels and The Flash, films like The Zone of Interest and Killers of the Flower Moon have planted their domineering flags into the skulls of fallen, generic films like Blue Beetle.
The upcoming 96th Academy Awards will celebrate these films on Wednesday from 7am onwards. Despite the odd exclusion of certain individuals, the announced nominees are relatively straightforward and in most cases, the winner for most of the categories is quite obvious.
For instance, despite the hype and blockbuster success around the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, Oppenheimer will sweep this Oscar season clean, as it has more nominations than Barbie does and in categories where it has a straight chance of winning, such as Best Cinematography.
Here are the nominees and theSun’s predictions for both the predicted winner in each category and each category’s potential dark horse winner:
Best Picture
▶ American Fiction
▶ Anatomy of a Fall
▶ Barbie
▶ The Holdovers
▶ Killers of the Flower Moon (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
▶ Maestro
▶ Oppenheimer (Predicted Winner)
▶ Past Lives
▶ Poor Things
▶ The Zone of Interest
Best Director
▶ Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest
▶ Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
▶ Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer (Predicted Winner)
▶ Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
▶ Justine Triet – Anatomy of a Fall
Best Actor in a Leading Role
▶ Bradley Cooper – Maestro
▶ Colman Domingo – Rustin
▶ Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
▶ Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer (Predicted Winner)
▶ Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
Best Actress in a Leading Role
▶ Annette Bening – Nyad
▶ Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon (Predicted Winner)
▶ Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
▶ Carey Mulligan – Maestro
▶ Emma Stone – Poor Things (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
▶ Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
▶ Robert DeNiro – Killers of the Flower Moon (Predicted Winner)
▶ Robert Downey Jr – Oppenheimer (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
▶ Ryan Gosling – Barbie
▶ Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
▶ Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
▶ Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
▶ America Ferrera – Barbie
▶ Jodie Foster – Nyad
▶ Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers (Predicted Winner)
Best Original Screenplay
▶ Anatomy of a Fall (Predicted Winner)
▶ The Holdovers
▶ Maestro
▶ May December
▶ Past Lives (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
Best Adapted Screenplay
▶ American Fiction (Predicted Winner)
▶ Barbie (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
▶ Oppenheimer
▶ Poor Things
▶ The Zone of Interest
Best Animated Feature
▶ The Boy and the Heron (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
▶ Elemental
▶ Nimona
▶ Robot Dreams
▶ Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Predicted Winner)
Best Production Design
▶ Barbie (Predicted Winner)
▶ Killers of a Flower Moon
▶ Napoleon
▶ Oppenheimer
▶ Poor Things (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
Best Cinematography
▶ El Conde
▶ Killers of the Flower Moon
▶ Maestro
▶ Oppenheimer (Predicted Winner)
▶ Poor Things (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
Costume Design
▶ Barbie (Predicted Winner)
▶ Killers of a Flower Moon
▶ Napoleon
▶ Oppenheimer
▶ Poor Things (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
Best Film Editing
▶ Anatomy of a Fall
▶ The Holdovers
▶ Killers of a Flower Moon (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
▶ Oppenheimer (Predicted Winner)
▶ Poor Things
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
▶ Golda
▶ Maestro (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
▶ Oppenheimer
▶ Poor Things (Predicted Winner)
▶ Society of the Snow
Best Sound
▶ The Creator
▶ Maestro (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
▶ Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
▶ Oppenheimer (Predicted Winner)
▶ The Zone of Interest
Best Visual Effects
▶ The Creator (Predicted Winner)
▶ Godzilla: Minus One (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
▶ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
▶ Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
▶ Napoleon
Best Original Score
▶ American Fiction
▶ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
▶ Killers of the Flower Moon (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
▶ Oppenheimer (Predicted Winner)
▶ Poor Things
Best Original Song
▶ American Symphony – “It Never Went Away”
▶ Barbie – “I’m Just Ken”
▶ Barbie – “What Was I Made For?” (Predicted Winner)
▶ Flamin’ Hot – “The Fire Inside”
▶ Killers of the Flower Moon – “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” (Predicted Dark Horse Winner)
