It’s a new year, which means the Oscar nominations are only a few weeks away. Broadly speaking, the 91st Academy Awards should see a bit of a spike due to the level of popular films likely to be included in the nominations, like Black Panther, A Star Is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody, alongside the typical list of moderate indie hits. Those higher up in the Academy are certainly hoping for big smashes in this year’s lineup, due to mounting pressure from ABC and its advertisers, but the voting mass tends to do whatever it wants, as former Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs can attest during the #OscarsSoWhite years.
This time around, I am anticipating a big uptick in nominations for films dealing with race, as Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, Green Book, and If Beale Street Could Talk are some of the most celebrated films of the year. There are also multiple music-centric films in the race, like A Star Is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody and Mary Poppins Returns, which I all expect to perform well.
Here is my full list of nomination predictions for the 91st Academy Awards, which will be announcing on Jan. 22.
Best Picture
- Black Panther
- BlacKkKlansman
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- The Favourite
- Green Book
- If Beale Street Could Talk
- Roma
- A Star Is Born
- Vice
Best Director
- Ryan Coogler for Black Panther
- Bradley Cooper for A Star Is Born
- Alfonso Cuarón for Roma
- Yorgos Lanthimos for The Favourite
- Spike Lee for BlacKkKlansman
Best Actor
- Christian Bale as Dick Cheney in Vice
- Bradley Cooper as Jack in A Star Is Born
- Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody
- Viggo Mortensen as Tony Lip in Green Book
- John David Washington as Ron Stallworth in BlacKkKlansman
Best Actress
- Yalitza Aparicio as Cleo in Roma
- Glenn Close as Joan Castleman in The Wife
- Olivia Colman as Queen Anne in The Favourite
- Lady Gaga as
Ally in A Star Is Born - Melissa McCarthy as Lee Israel in Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Best Supporting Actor
- Mahershala Ali as Don Shirley in Green Book
- Adam Driver as Flip Zimmerman in BlacKkKlansman
- Sam Elliott as Bobby in A Star Is Born
- Richard E. Grant as Jack Hock in Can You Ever Forgive Me?
- Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger in Black Panther
Best Supporting Actress
- Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney in Vice
- Emily Blunt as Evelyn Abbott in A Quiet Place
- Regina King as Sharon Rivers in If Beale Street Could Talk
- Emma Stone as Abigail in The Favourite
- Rachel Weisz as Lady Sarah in The Favourite
Best Original Screenplay
- Eighth Grade – Bo Burnham
- The Favourite – Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
- First Reformed – Paul Schrader
- Green Book – Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie and Peter Farrelly
- Roma – Alfonso Cuarón
Best Adapted Screenplay
- BlacKkKlansman – Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee
- Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
- If Beale Street Could Talk – Barry Jenkins
- Leave No Trace – Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini
- A Star Is Born – Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper and Will Fetters
Best Animated Feature Film
- Incredibles 2
- Isle of Dogs
- Mirai
- Ralph Breaks the Internet
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Best Documentary Feature
- Free Solo
- Hale County This Morning, This Evening
- Minding the Gap
- Three Identical Strangers
- Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Best Foreign Language Film
- Burning (South Korea)
- Capernaum (Lebanon)
- Cold War (Poland)
- Roma (Mexico)
- Shoplifters (Japan)
Best Cinematography
- Cold War – Łukasz Żal
- The Favourite – Robbie Ryan
- If Beale Street Could Talk – James Laxton
- Roma – Alfonso Cuarón
- A Star Is Born – Matthew Libatique
Best Costume Design
- Black Panther – Ruth E. Carter
- Bohemian Rhapsody – Julian Day
- The Favourite – Sandy Powell
- Mary Poppins Returns – Sandy Powell
- Mary Queen of Scots – Alexandra Byrne
Best Film Editing
- BlacKkKlansman – Barry Alexander Brown
- The Favourite – Yorgos Mavropsaridis
- First Man – Tom Cross
- Roma – Alfonso Cuarón and Adam Gough
- A Star Is Born – Jay Cassidy
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
- Black Panther
- Mary Queen of Scots
- Vice
Best Original Score
- Black Panther – Ludwig Göransson
- BlacKkKlansman – Terence Blanchard
- First Man – Justin Hurwitz
- If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell
- Mary Poppins Returns – Marc Shaiman
Best Original Song
- “All the Stars” from Black Panther (Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Sounwave and Al Shux)
- “Girl in the Movies” from Dumplin’ (Dolly Parton and Linda Perry)
- “I’ll Fight” from RBG (Diane Warren)
- “Shallow” from A Star Is Born (Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt)
- “Trip a Little Light Fantastic” from Mary Poppins Returns (Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman)
Best Production Design
- Black Panther – Hannah Beachler; Jay Hart
- The Favourite – Fiona Crombie; Alice Felton
- First Man – Nathan Crowley; Kathy Lucas
- Mary Poppins Returns – John Myhre; Gordon Sim
- Roma – Eugenio Caballero; Bárbara Enríquez
Best Sound Editing
- Black Panther
- First Man
- Mary Poppins Returns
- A Quiet Place
- Ready Player One
Best Sound Mixing
- Black Panther
- First Man
- Mary Poppins Returns
- A Quiet Place
- A Star Is Born
Best Visual Effects
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Black Panther
- Christopher Robin
- Mary Poppins Returns
- Ready Player One
Best Animated Short Film
- Age of Sail
- Bao
- Lost & Found
- Pépé le Morse
- Weekends
Best Documentary Short Subject
- Black Sheep
- Lifeboat
- Los Comandos
- Period. End of Sentence.
- Zion
Best Live Action Short Film
- Caroline
- Detainment
- Fauve
- Marguerite
- May Day