Looking at Film from Every Angle

97th Academy Awards (2024): The Hopefuls

UPDATED: December 17, 2024

The critics’ prizes are giving us a preview of what may play well with the Academy but there are still many question marks. We also have the shortlists, so this is my first full list of nominations for the year. Wicked really picked up steam with its box office victory and the strong reviews while Blitz and Gladiator II faded into near-obscurity. Quite a few changes this go around with lots of new potential nominees added and quite a few hopeless prospects removed.

NOMINATIONS /		AWARDS
Emilia Pérez Wicked Conclave The Brutalist Dune: Part Two Anora The Substance Nickel Boys Sing Sing The Wild Robot	11 10 9 – 8 7 5 4 – 3	Wicked Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez Nickel Boys A Complete Unknown The Ice Cream Man Nosferatu Once Upon a Time in Ukraine Origami Sugarcane The Wild Robot	4 2 – – 1 – – – – – –

Best Picture

The Brutalist – A24 (c-9/17, n-9/17, o-12/15)
Anora – Neon (c-7/21, n-7/21)
A Complete Unknown – Searchlight (c-4/11, n-12/15)
Conclave – Focus Features (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Dune: Part Two – Warner Bros. (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Emilia Pérez – Netflix (c-4/11, n-12/15)
Nickel Boys – MGM (c-4/11, n-9/17)
Sing Sing – A24 (c-12/15, n-12/15)
The Substance – MUBI (c-12/15, n-12/15)
Wicked – Universal (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Challengers – MGM (c-12/15)
Hard Truths – Bleecker Street (c-4/11)
Juror #2 – Warner Bros. (c-4/11)
Maria – Netflix (c-4/11)
The Piano Lesson – Netflix (c-4/11)
A Real Pain – Searchlight (c-4/11)
The Room Next Door – Sony Pictures Classics (c-9/17)
September 5 – Paramount (c-10/17)

Best Animated Feature

The Wild Robot – DreamWorks (c-4/11, n-4/11, o-4/11)
Flow – Sideshow (c-10/20, n-10/20)
Inside Out 2 – Pixar (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Memoir of a Snail – IFC Films (c-7/21, n-12/15)
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Aardman Animation (c-7/21, n-7/21)
Art College 1994 – TBD (c-11/21)
Captain Avispa – TBD (c-11/21)
Chicken for Linda! – TBD (c-11/21)
The Colors Within – TBD (c-11/21)
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie – TBD (c-11/21)
Despicable Me 4 – Illumination (c-4/11)
The Garfield Movie – Columbia Pictures (c-4/11)
Ghost Cat Anzu – TBD (c-11/21)
The Glassworker – TBD (c-11/21)
The Imaginary – TBD (c-11/21)
Kensuke’s Kingdom – TBD (c-11/21)
Kung Fu Panda 4 – DreamWorks (c-4/11)
Living Large – TBD (c-11/21)
Look Back – TBD (c-11/21)
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – Warner Bros. (c-4/11)
Mars Express – GKIDS (c-4/11)
Moana 2 – Disney (c-4/11)
Piece by Piece – Focus Features (c-6/16)
Rocket Club: Across the Cosmos – TBD (c-11/21)
Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds – TBD (c-11/21)
Spellbound – TBD (c-11/21)
Sultana’s Dream – TBD (c-11/21)
That Christmas – TBD (c-11/21)
Thelma the Unicorn – TBD (c-11/21)
Transformers One – TBD (c-11/21)
Ultraman: Rising – TBD (c-11/21)

All of the Animated Films listed here are Official Selections of the Academy and the final five nominees will come only from these selected contenders. The fifteen films separated at the bottom are not organized in order of likelihood as they are unlikely to get nominated anyway.

Best Directing

The Brutalist – Brady Corbet (c-9/17, n-9/17, o-12/15)
Anora – Sean Baker (c-7/21, n-7/21)
Conclave – Edward Berger (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Emilia Pérez – Jacques Audiard (c-12/15, n-12/15)
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat (c-12/15, n-12/15)
All We Imagine as Light – Payal Kapadia (c-12/15)
A Complete Unknown – James Mangold (c-4/11)
Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve (c-4/11)
Hard Truths – Mike Leigh (c-4/11)
Juror #2 – Clint Eastwood (c-4/11)
Maria – Pablo Larraín (c-4/11)
Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross (c-4/11)
The Piano Lesson – Malcolm Washington (c-4/11)
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg (c-4/11)
The Room Next Door – Pedro Almodóvar (c-9/17)
September 5 – Tim Fehlbaum (c-10/17)
Wicked – Jon M. Chu (c-4/11)

Best Actor

Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown (c-4/11, n-4/11, o-5/19)
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist (c-9/17, n-11/19)
Daniel Craig – Queer (c-4/11, n-9/17)
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave (c-4/11, n-5/19)
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain (c-12/15)
Hugh Grant – Heretic (c-12/15)
Keith Kupferer – Ghostlight (c-12/15)
Peter Sarsgaard – September 5 (c-10/17)
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice (c-4/11)
Sebastian Stan – A Different Man (c-4/11)
John David Washington – The Piano Lesson (c-4/11)

Best Actress

Cynthia Erivo – Wicked (c-4/11, n-4/11, o-11/19)
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez (c-10/20, n-12/15)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths (c-4/11, n-12/15)
Mikey Madison – Anora (c-7/21, n-9/17)
Demi Moore – The Substance (c-10/20, n-12/15)
Pamela Anderson – The Last Showgirl (c-12/15)
Angelina Jolie – Maria (c-4/11)
Nicole Kidman – Babygirl (c-9/17)
Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun (c-9/17)
Tilda Swinton – The Room Next Door (c-9/17)
Kate Winslet – Lee (c-4/11)

Best Supporting Actor

Guy Pearce – The Brutalist (c-9/17, n-11/19, o-11/19)
Yura Borisov – Anora (c-12/15, n-12/15)
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain (c-4/11, n-12/15)
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing (c-4/11, n-10/20)
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II (c-4/11, n-9/17)
Samuel L. Jackson – The Piano Lesson (c-4/11)
John Lithgow – Conclave (c-4/11)
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown (c-12/15)
Adam Pearson – A Different Man (c-12/15)
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice (c-4/11)
Stanley Tucci – Conclave (c-4/11)

Best Supporting Actress

Ariana Grande-Butera – Wicked (c-4/11, n-12/15, o-12/15)
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson (c-4/11, n-12/15)
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys (c-4/11, n-6/18)
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist (c-9/17, n-12/15)
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez (c-7/21, n-10/20)
Joan Chen – Dìdi (c-12/15)
Selena Gomez – Emilia Pérez (c-7/21)
Carol Kane – Between the Temples (c-12/15)
Natasha Lyonne – His Three Daughters (c-12/15)
Margaret Qualley – The Substance (c-12/15)
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave (c-4/11)

Best Original Screenplay

Anora – Sean Baker (c-7/21, n-7/21, o-10/20)
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold (c-9/17, n-9/17)
Hard Truths – Mike Leigh (c-4/11, n-4/11)
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg (c-4/11, n-12/15)
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat (c-10/20, n-12/15)
Blitz – Steve McQueen (c-4/11)
Challengers – Justin Kuritzkes (c-12/15)
A Complete Unknown – James Mangold, Jay Cocks (c-4/11)
His Three Daughters – Azazel Jacobs (c-4/11)
Maria – Steven Knight (c-4/11)
Saturday Night – Gil Kenan, Jason Reitman (c-10/20)
September 5 – Moritz Binder, Alex David, Tim Fehlbaum (c-10/17)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes (c-4/11, n-4/11, o-12/15)
Conclave – Peter Straughan (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Emilia Pérez – Jacques Audiard (c-10/20, n-10/20)
Sing Sing – Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John Divine G Whitfield (c-12/15, n-12/15)
Wicked – Winnie Holzman (c-4/11, n-11/19)
Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts (c-4/11)
Nosferatu – Robert Eggers (c-4/11)
The Piano Lesson – Malcolm Washington, Virgil Williams (c-4/11)
Queer – Justin Kuritzkes (c-4/11)
The Room Next Door – Pedro Almodóvar (c-9/17)
The Wild Robot – Chris Sanders (c-12/15)

Best Original Song

The Journey – The Six Triple Eight (c-12/17, n-12/17, o-12/17)
Mi Camino – Emilia Pérez (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Beyond – Moana 2 (c-4/11, n-12/17)
Kiss the Sky – The Wild Robot (c-12/17, n-12/17)
El Mal – Emilia Pérez (c-11/19, n-12/17)
Forbidden Road – Better Man (c-12/17)
Winter Coat – Blitz (c-12/17)
Compress/Repress – Challengers (c-12/17)
Never Too Late – Elton John: Never Too Late (c-12/17)
Sick in the Head – Kneecap (c-12/17)
Tell Me It’s You – Mufasa: The Lion King (c-12/17)
Piece by Piece – Piece by Piece (c-6/16)
Like a Bird – Sing Sing (c-12/17)
Out of Oklahoma – Twisters (c-12/17)
Harper and Will Go West – Will & Harper (c-12/17)

All of the Songs listed here are Official Selections of the Academy’s Music branch and the final five nominees will come only from these selected contenders.

Best Original Score

Emilia Pérez – Camille, Clément Ducol (c-11/19, n-11/19, o-12/15)
The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg (c-9/17, n-12/15)
Challengers – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross (c-4/11, n-12/15)
Conclave – Volker Bertelmann (c-4/11, n-8/20)
The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers (c-10/22, n-10/22)
Alien: Romulus – Benjamin Wallfisch (c-12/17)
Babygirl – Cristobal Tapia de Veer (c-12/17)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Danny Elfman (c-4/11)
Blink Twice – Chanda Dancy (c-12/17)
Blitz – Hans Zimmer (c-4/11)
The Fire Inside – Tamar-kali (c-12/17)
Gladiator II – Harry Gregson-Williams (c-4/11)
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 – John Debney (c-12/17)
Inside Out 2 – Andrea Datzman (c-4/11)
Nosferatu – Robin Carolan (c-4/11)
The Room Next Door – Alberto Iglesias (c-9/17)
Sing Sing – Bryce Dessner (c-12/17)
The Six Triple Eight – Aaron Zigman (c-12/17)
Wicked – John Powell, Stephen Schwartz (c-12/17)
Young Woman and the Sea – Amelia Warner (c-12/17)

All of the Scores listed here are Official Selections of the Academy’s Music branch and the final five nominees will come only from these selected contenders.

Best Film Editing

The Brutalist – Dávid Jancsó (c-9/17, n-11/19, o-12/15)
Anora – Sean Baker (c-7/21, n-7/21)
Conclave – Nick Emerson (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Dune: Part Two – Joe Walker (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Emilia Pérez – Juliette Welfling (c-12/15, n-12/15)
Challengers – Marco Costa (c-12/15)
Civil War – Jake Roberts (c-12/15)
A Complete Unknown – Andrew Buckland, Scott Morris (c-4/11)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Margaret Sixel (c-4/11)
Gladiator II – Sam Restivo, Claire Simpson (c-4/11)
Hard Truths – Tania Reddin (c-4/11)
Maria – Sofía Subercaseaux (c-4/11)
Nickel Boys – Nicholas Monsour (c-4/11)
Nosferatu – Louise Ford (c-4/11)
A Real Pain – Robert Nassau (c-4/11)
September 5 – Hansjörg Weißbrich (c-10/17)
The Substance – Jérôme Eltabet, Coralie Fargeat, Valentin Féron (c-12/15)
Wicked – Myron Kerstein (c-4/11)

Best Cinematography

Nickel Boys – Jomo Fray (c-4/11, n-12/15, o-12/15)
Conclave – Stéphane Fontaine (c-4/11, n-10/20)
Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Maria – Edward Lachman (c-4/11, n-9/17)
Wicked – Alice Brooks (c-4/11, n-11/19)
Blitz – Yorick Le Saux (c-4/11)
The Brutalist – Lol Crawley (c-9/17)
Challengers – Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (c-12/15)
A Complete Unknown – Phedon Papamichael (c-4/11)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Simon Duggan (c-4/11)
Gladiator II – John Mathieson (c-4/11)
Hard Truths – Dick Pope (c-4/11)
Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke (c-12/15)
The Substance – Benjamin Kračun (c-12/15)

Best Production Design

Wicked – Nathan Crowley; Lee Sandales (c-4/11, n-4/11, o-4/11)
The Brutalist – Judy Becker; Patricia Cuccio, Mercédesz Nagyváradi (c-9/17, n-12/15)
Conclave – Suzie Davies (c-4/11, n-10/20)
Dune: Part Two – Patrice Vermette (c-4/11, n-4/11)
The Substance – Stanislas Reydelle; Cécilia Blom (c-12/15, n-12/15)
Alien: Romulus – Naaman Marshal; Zsuzsanna Sipos (c-4/11)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Mark Scruton; David Morison (c-4/11)
Blitz – Adam Stockhausen; Anna Pinnock (c-4/11)
A Complete Unknown – François Audouy; Regina Graves (c-4/11)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Colin Gibson; Katie Sharrock (c-4/11)
Gladiator II – Arthur Max; Jille Azis, Elli Griff (c-4/11)
Megalopolis – Beth Mickle, Bradley Rubin; Lisa K. Sessions (c-4/11)
Nosferatu – Craig Lathrop; Beatrice Brentnerova (c-4/11)
The Piano Lesson – David J. Bomba; Patrick Cassidy (c-4/11)

Best Costume Design

Wicked – Paul Tazewell (c-4/11, n-4/11, o-4/11)
Conclave – Lisy Christl (c-4/11, n-12/15)
Dune: Part Two – Jacqueline West (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Maria – Massimo Cantini Parrini (c-4/11, n-11/19)
Nosferatu – Linda Muir (c-4/11, n-11/19)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Colleen Atwood (c-4/11)
Blitz – Jacqueline Durran (c-4/11)
The Brutalist – Kate Forbes (c-9/17)
A Complete Unknown – Arianne Phillips (c-4/11)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Jenny Beavan (c-4/11)
Gladiator II – Janty Yates (c-4/11)
The Last Showgirl – Jacqueline Getty (c-12/15)
The Piano Lesson – Francine Jamison-Tanchuk (c-4/11)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

Nosferatu (c-4/11, n-4/11, o-4/11)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (c-4/11, n-4/11)
A Different Man (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Dune: Part Two (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Wicked (c-4/11, n-5/19)
The Apprentice (c-12/17)
Emilia Pérez (c-12/17)
Maria (c-4/11)
The Substance (c-12/15)
Waltzing with Brando (c-12/17)

All of the Films listed here are Official Selections of the Academy’s Makeup branch and the final five nominees will come only from these selected contenders.

Best Sound

Dune: Part Two (c-4/11, n-4/11, o-4/11)
A Complete Unknown (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Emilia Pérez (c-11/19, n-12/17)
Gladiator II (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Wicked (c-4/11, n-5/19)
Alien: Romulus (c-4/11)
Blitz (c-4/11)
Deadpool & Wolverine (c-4/11)
Joker: Folie à Deux (c-12/17)
The Wild Robot (c-12/17)

All of the Films listed here are Official Selections of the Academy’s Sound branch and the final five nominees will come only from these selected contenders.

Best Visual Effects

Dune: Part Two (c-4/11, n-4/11, o-4/11)
Better Man (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (c-4/11, n-11/19)
Mufasa: The Lion King (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Wicked (c-4/11, n-4/11)
Alien: Romulus (c-4/11)
Civil War (c-4/11)
Deadpool & Wolverine (c-4/11)
Gladiator II (c-4/11)
Twisters (c-4/11)

All of the Films listed here are Official Selections of the Academy’s Visual Effects branch and the final five nominees will come only from these selected contenders.

Best International Feature Film

Emilia Pérez – France (c-11/21, n-12/17, o-12/17)
Dahomey – Senegal (c-11/21, n-12/17)
Flow – Latvia (c-11/21, n-12/17)
The Girl with the Needle – Denmark (c-11/21, n-12/17)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Germany (c-11/21, n-12/17)
Armand – Norway (c-11/21)
From Ground Zero – Palestine (c-11/21)
How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies – Thailand (c-11/21)
I’m Still Here – Brazil (c-11/21)
Kneecap – Ireland (c-11/21)
Santosh – United Kingdom (c-11/21)
Touch – Iceland (c-11/21)
Universal Language – Canada (c-11/21)
Vermiglio – Italy (c-11/21)
Waves – Czech Republic (c-11/21)

All of the Films listed here are Official Selections of the Academy’s Foreign Language Film branch and the final five nominees will come only from these selected contenders.

12.12: The Day – South Korea (c-11/21)
8 Views of Lake Biwa – Estonia (c-11/21)
Abang Adik – Malaysia (c-11/21)
Aire Just Breathe – Dominican Republic (c-11/21)
Algiers – Algeria (c-11/21)
And So It Begins – Philippines (c-11/21)
The Antique – Georgia (c-11/21)
Arzé – Lebanon (c-11/21)
Back to Life – Venezuela (c-11/21)
Baghdad Messi – Iraq (c-11/21)
Bauryna Salu – Kazakhstan (c-11/21)
Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day – Croatia (c-11/21)
Behind the Mist – Ecuador (c-11/21)
Castillo – Malta (c-11/21)
Cloud – Japan (c-11/21)
Come Closer – Israel (c-11/21)
The Devil’s Bath – Austria (c-11/21)
Drowning Dry – Lithuania (c-11/21)
Everybody Loves Touda – Morocco (c-11/21)
Family Therapy – Slovenia (c-11/21)
Family Time – Finland (c-11/21)
Flight 404 – Egypt (c-11/21)
The Glassworker – Pakistan (c-11/21)
Grand Tour – Portugal (c-11/21)
The Hungarian Dressmaker – Slovakia (c-11/21)
If Only I Could Hibernate – Mongolia (c-11/21)
In Her Place – Chile (c-11/21)
In the Arms of the Tree – Iran (c-11/21)
Julie Keeps Quiet – Belgium (c-11/21)
Kill the Jockey – Argentina (c-11/21)
Kismet – Cameroon (c-11/21)
The Last Journey – Sweden (c-11/21)
The Last Ones – Paraguay (c-11/21)
Life – Turkey (c-11/21)
Lost Ladies – India (c-11/21)
La Luna – Singapore (c-11/21)
Mai Martaba – Nigeria (c-11/21)
Meeting with Pol Pot – Cambodia (c-11/21)
Melody – Tajikistan (c-11/21)
Memories of a Burning Body – Costa Rica (c-11/21)
Memory Lane – Netherlands (c-11/21)
Murderess – Greece (c-11/21)
My Late Summer – Bosnia and Herzegovina (c-11/21)
Nawi – Kenya (c-11/21)
Old Fox – Taiwan (c-11/21)
Old Righteous Blues – South Africa (c-11/21)
Own Hand – Bolivia (c-11/21)
La Palisiada – Ukraine (c-11/21)
Paradise at Mother’s Feet – Kyrgyzstan (c-11/21)
Peach Blossom, Pho and Piano – Vietnam (c-11/21)
Queens – Switzerland (c-11/21)
Rita – Guatemala (c-11/21)
Russian Consul – Serbia (c-11/21)
Saturn Return – Spain (c-11/21)
Semmelweis – Hungary (c-11/21)
Shambhala – Nepal (c-11/21)
Sujo – Mexico (c-11/21)
Supermarket – Montenegro (c-11/21)
La Suprema – Colombia (c-11/21)
Take My Breath – Tunisia (c-11/21)
Three Kilometres to the End of the World – Romania (c-11/21)
Triumph – Bulgaria (c-11/21)
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In – Hong Kong (c-11/21)
Under the Volcano – Poland (c-11/21)
Wake Up Mom – Panama (c-11/21)
Waterdrop – Albania (c-11/21)
Women from Rote Island – Indonesia (c-11/21)
The Wrestler – Bangladesh (c-11/21)
Yana-Wara – Peru (c-11/21)
Yasha and Leonid Brezhnev – Armenia (c-11/21)

Best Documentary Feature

Sugarcane (c-11/21, n-12/17, o-12/17)
Dahomey (c-11/21, n-12/17)
No Other Land (c-11/21, n-12/17)
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (c-11/21, n-12/17)
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (c-11/21, n-12/17)
The Bibi Files (c-11/21)
Black Box Diaries (c-11/21)
Daughters (c-11/21)
Eno (c-11/21)
Frida (c-11/21)
Hollywoodgate (c-11/21)
Porcelain War (c-11/21)
Queendom (c-11/21)
Union (c-11/21)
Will & Harper (c-11/21)

All of the Documentary Features listed here are Official Selections of the Academy and the final five nominees will come only from these selected contenders.

1489 (c-11/21)
2073 (c-11/21)
500 Days in the Wild (c-11/21)
64 Days – The Insurrection Playbook (c-11/21)
Adrianne & the Castle (c-11/21)
After the Rain: Putin’s Stolen Children Come Home (c-11/21)
Agent of Happiness (c-11/21)
Am I Racist? (c-11/21)
America’s Burning (c-11/21)
American Cats: The Good, the Bad & the Cuddly (c-11/21)
Americans with No Address (c-11/21)
And So It Begins (c-11/21)
At the Door of the House Who Will Come Knocking (c-11/21)
Bad Actor: A Hollywood Ponzi Scheme (c-11/21)
Bad Faith (c-11/21)
Bad River (c-11/21)
Behind the Mist (c-11/21)
Black Girls (c-11/21)
Blind Spot (c-11/21)
Blink (c-11/21)
Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion (c-11/21)
The Body Politic (c-11/21)
Bread & Roses (c-11/21)
Brief Tender Light (c-11/21)
Carol Doda Topless at the Condor (c-11/21)
Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid (c-11/21)
¡ Casa Bonita Mi Amor! (c-11/21)
Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg (c-11/21)
Celebrating Laughter, The Life and Films of Colin Higgins (c-11/21)
The Commandant’s Shadow (c-11/21)
Copa 71 (c-11/21)
The Cowboy and the Queen (c-11/21)
Death without Mercy (c-11/21)
Einhundertvier (c-11/21)
Elton John: Never Too Late (c-11/21)
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found (c-11/21)
Escape from Extinction Rewilding (c-11/21)
Every Little Thing (c-11/21)
The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine (c-11/21)
Farming the Revolution (c-11/21)
Favoriten (c-11/21)
Federer: Twelve Final Days (c-11/21)
Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain’s Journey (c-11/21)
The Flats (c-11/21)
Flipside (c-11/21)
Following Harry (c-11/21)
Food and Country (c-11/21)
Food, Inc. 2 (c-11/21)
Forgetting the Many: The Royal Pardon of Alan Turing (c-11/21)
Frank Miller: American Genius (c-11/21)
From Ground Zero (c-11/21)
Gaucho Gaucho (c-11/21)
Girls State (c-11/21)
God & Country (c-11/21)
Gonzo for Democracy (c-11/21)
The Grab (c-11/21)
The Greatest Night in Pop (c-11/21)
Happy Campers (c-11/21)
Happy Clothes: A Film about Patricia Field (c-11/21)
Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes (c-11/21)
Homegrown (c-11/21)
How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer (c-11/21)
Hummingbirds (c-11/21)
I Am: Celine Dion (c-11/21)
I Can’t Breathe (c-11/21)
In Between Stars and Scars: Masters of Cinema (c-11/21)
Indigo Girls: It’s Only Life After All (c-11/21)
Intercepted (c-11/21)
Invisible Nation (c-11/21)
It Happened on Our Ground (c-11/21)
Jewel of the Desert (c-11/21)
Jim Henson Idea Man (c-11/21)
Join or Die (c-11/21)
Just a Bit Outside: The Story of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers (c-11/21)
King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones (c-11/21)
Kiss the Future (c-11/21)
The Landscape and the Fury (c-11/21)
The Last Journey (c-11/21)
The Last of Sea Women (c-11/21)
The Last Ones (c-11/21)
Leap of Faith (c-11/21)
Left Behind (c-11/21)
Legacy: The De-Colonized History of South Africa (c-11/21)
Look into My Eyes (c-11/21)
Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill (c-11/21)
The Lost Legacy of Tony Gaudio (c-11/21)
Lovely Jackson (c-11/21)
Lover of Men, The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln (c-11/21)
Luther: Never Too Much (c-11/21)
Mad about the Boy – The Noel Coward Story (c-11/21)
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (c-11/21)
Majority Rules (c-11/21)
Marching in the Dark (c-11/21)
Martha (c-11/21)
Maya and the Wave (c-11/21)
Mediha (c-11/21)
Merchant Ivory (c-11/21)
Mom & Dad’s Nipple Factory (c-11/21)
Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery (c-11/21)
Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa (c-11/21)
Music by John Williams (c-11/21)
My Sweet Land (c-11/21)
Natterer’s Treasure (c-11/21)
Never Look Away (c-11/21)
A New Kind of Wilderness (c-11/21)
New Wave (c-11/21)
No One Asked You (c-11/21)
Nocturnes (c-11/21)
Nurse Unseen (c-11/21)
October H8te: The Fight for the Soul of America (c-11/21)
Of Color and Ink (c-11/21)
One Person, One Vote? (c-11/21)
One with the Whale (c-11/21)
Ozogoche (c-11/21)
Patrice: The Movie (c-11/21)
A Photographic Memory (c-11/21)
Piece by Piece (c-11/21)
Power (c-11/21)
Ray of Hope (c-11/21)
Remembering Gene Wilder (c-11/21)
Resurgo Detroit: The Rise from Within (c-11/21)
Resynator (c-11/21)
Sabbath Queen (c-11/21)
Samuel: Hollywood vs Hollywood (c-11/21)
Seeking Mavis Beacon (c-11/21)
Separated (c-11/21)
She Rises Up (c-11/21)
The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru (c-11/21)
The Sixth (c-11/21)
Skywalkers: A Love Story (c-11/21)
Sorry/Not Sorry (c-11/21)
State Organs: Unmasking Transplant Abuse in China (c-11/21)
Stolen Time (c-11/21)
Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink (c-11/21)
Studio One Forever (c-11/21)
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (c-11/21)
Sweetheart Deal (c-11/21)
Taking Venice (c-11/21)
The Taste of Mango (c-11/21)
The Tuba Thieves (c-11/21)
Uncropped (c-11/21)
Unfightable (c-11/21)
Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World (c-11/21)
Vigilantes Inc.: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen (c-11/21)
War Game (c-11/21)
We Will Dance Again (c-11/21)
Welcome to Babel (c-11/21)
Whale Restaurant (c-11/21)
Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law? (c-11/21)
William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill (c-11/21)
The World According to Allee Willis (c-11/21)
The World Is Family (c-11/21)
Yintah (c-11/21)
Zurawski v Texas (c-11/21)

Best Documentary Short Subject

Once Upon a Time in Ukraine (c-12/17, n-12/17, o-12/17)
Chasing Roo (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Death by Numbers (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Keeper (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Eternal Father (c-12/17)
I Am Ready, Warden (c-12/17)
Incident (c-12/17)
Instruments of a Beating Heart (c-12/17)
Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World (c-12/17)
The Only Girl in the Orchestra (c-12/17)
Planetwalker (c-12/17)
The Quilters (c-12/17)
A Swim Lesson (c-12/17)
Until He’s Back (c-12/17)

All of the Short Subjects listed here are Official Selections of the Academy and the final five nominees will come only from these selected contenders.

Best Animated Short Film

Origami (c-12/17, n-12/17, o-12/17)
Au Revoir Mon Monde (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Bottle George (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Maybe Elephants (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Wander to Wonder (c-12/17, n-12/17)
The 21 (c-12/17)
A Bear Named Wojtek (c-12/17)
Beautiful Men (c-12/17)
A Crab in a Pool (c-12/17)
In the Shadow of the Cypress (c-12/17)
Magic Candies (c-12/17)
Me (c-12/17)
Percebes (c-12/17)
The Wild-Tempered Clavier (c-12/17)
Yuck! (c-12/17)

All of the Animated Short Films listed here are Official Selections of the Academy and the final five nominees will come only from these selected contenders.

Best Live Action Short Film

The Ice Cream Man (c-12/17, n-12/17, o-12/17)
Anuja (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Crust (c-12/17, n-12/17)
A Lien (c-12/17, n-12/17)
An Orange from Jaffa (c-12/17, n-12/17)
Clodagh (c-12/17)
The Compatriot (c-12/17)
Dovecote (c-12/17)
Edge of Space (c-12/17)
I’m Not a Robot (c-12/17)
The Last Ranger (c-12/17)
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (c-12/17)
The Masterpiece (c-12/17)
Paris 70 (c-12/17)
Room Taken (c-12/17)

All of the Live Action Short Films listed here are Official Selections of the Academy and the final five nominees will come only from these selected contenders.

NEW: April 16, 2024

We start things off with a surprisingly tumultuous list. There aren’t a lot of films that are guaranteed for a 2024 release, so some of these films will eventually disappear. As always, these are extremely early predictions, so don’t put too much faith in them as yet.

UPDATED: May 19, 2024

Not a lot of changes as yet. I remain bearish on Megalopolis even though it divided critics at Cannes. I’ve decreased its chances in some places but have overall left it unchanged. Added in Long Day’s Journey Into Night and eliminated a handful of potential contenders. Nothing outlandish this time.

UPDATED: June 18, 2024

Very little movement this month with the biggest change being Megalopolis taking a bit of a dive but few other changes.

UPDATED: July 21, 2024

Megalopolis completed its descent from my predictions list while Anora, Here, and The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat (among others) make their debuts. I’m now not as certain that Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will release this year, so its chances are dwindling, though not gone. Horizon collapsed while The Bikeriders became a box office dud. My predictions for winners have not changed but might once the dust of the season begins to settle. There’s still a lot of volatility and in the next two months, we’ll see a handful of changes, but this is where I’m at currently.

UPDATED: August 20, 2024

Not a lot of big changes this month as we wait for Venice/Telluride/Toronto at the end of this month, beginning of next. I finally pulled Spider-Man out of the list since it’s clear it isn’t coming out this year as they haven’t released any trailers or set a release date and that’s a sure sign a big film like that isn’t coming out this year. Beyond that, just a few other minor changes and we’re good to go.

UPDATED: September 17, 2024

With the big three festivals now done, some new films have entered the conversation. The Brutalist, The Room Next Door, and The Life of Chuck being the most significant. Hardly anyone was talking about Chuck until it won the audience award at Toronto, which is a sign of a potential Oscar contender. However, the film just doesn’t feel like an Oscar player. That’s especially true when you consider all the heavy contenders this year. It’s possible it could still make the final slate as most such winners do but I’m not convinced it can do so yet. The Brutalist seems like one of those films that everyone talks about but not everyone votes for. It gets nominations but isn’t beloved enough to win. The Room Next Door, on the other hand, is probably now your winner for Best Actress and Almodóvar has already proved he can win awards and that was before the Academy became more receptive to international features (even though this is an English-language feature, his first to be exact). So they are much more willing to recognize foreign talent. Beyond that, The Piano Lesson and Here took the biggest hits on my list, not that Here was a festival entry, it’s just been such a non-entity buzz wise, that it will struggle without that festival exposure. Piano Lesson, on the other hand, did have a festival bow and while it got good reviews, so did Nickel Boys and the latter seemed to get more raves than the former. Things can still shake out differently. It is only September so we’ve still got 3 months for things to firm up but we are well on our way.

UPDATED: October 20, 2024

The big festivals are over and although there are still some films unseen (Here, Juror #2, Wicked), many have been seen, at least somewhat (Gladiator II was screened but not for film critics, which isn’t a good sign), and others will only benefit from a critics’ prizes boost. I removed several films from the lists and made several changes. I tried to fix some oversights that I hadn’t caught before (I can’t believe I hadn’t gotten Demi Moore listed until now) but for this point in time, I’m feeling good about 80% of these.

(10/22/24 Addendum: Dune: Part Two was declared ineligible for Original Score. Replaced with The Wild Robot for a nomination and Blitz for the win.)

UPDATED: November 19, 2024

Most of the last few films that remain unseen are now in the hands of critics and of them, Gladiator II seems to have lost the most. It has been relegated to lower categories only with a few nods still potential if another film falters with critics. There are still a handful we don’t know enough about to make certain predictions: The Brutalist, Juror #2, and A Complete Unknown haven’t screened broadly (if at all in the latter case) so they remain question marks for now.