Gautam Anand
Finally the day has arrived for which we have been laying ground all these months. Over the last few weeks or so, several other industry guilds (SAG, PGA, DGA to name a few) have announced their nominations, and even though they do help in making the Oscar predictions, the truth is they can’t be trusted 100%. Though one thing can be derived clearly from whatever we have seen up until now: ‘La La Land’ is the clear frontrunner. Yes, ‘Manchester by the Sea’ and ‘Moonlight’ have held their own, but January 24th is going to be La La Land’s day. And, despite what many Oscar experts are saying, I am still standing by September prediction: ‘La La Land’ will win Best Picture. It is the “perfect” movie that the Academy can come behind — especially given the grimness that has engulfed movie industry after Donald Trump’s win. But that’s for later, since today we are only going to focus on the nominations.
Anyway, as you all know, we here at The Cinemaholic do our best to bring to you the most accurate Oscar predictions. (We can officially claim to be most accurate predictors on internet considering we have consistently and correctly predicted at least 85 nominees out of 106/107 in 21 main categories for the past three years — a feat no publication, other than us, can claim to make). But each year is different. This year, I have realized, the below the line categories are really difficult to predict.
There are films like ‘Hidden Figure’ and ‘Arrival’ that have picked steam over last few days, whereas films like ‘Fences’ and ‘Loving’ have lost steam. ‘Silence’ has completely lost its ground and I would be surprised if it shows anywhere except Best Cinematography.
At this point, I would like to extend my thanks to Hollywood Elsewhere and Awards Daily, websites that I trust when it comes to getting a sense of the pulse of the industry during the awards season. As far as making Oscar predictions is concerned, I trust my gut instinct and common sense more than anything else.
With that said, take your time to go through the predictions of all the 21 categories (we don’t predict the 3 shorts categories). It is a long list and will need some time to go through one by one. You can also come back, after the nominations are announced, to check how many correct predictions we made. Oscar nominations announcement will happen on Tuesday, 24th January.
All the nominees are listed in alphabetical order.
Best Picture
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Best Director
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
David Mackenzie, Hell or High Water
Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Best Actor
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Denzel Washington, Fences
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Best Actress
Amy Adams, Arrival
Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
Emma Stone, La La Land
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
Best Supporting Actor
Dev Patel, Lion
Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Best Supporting Actress
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Viola Davis, Fences
Best Original Screenplay
Captain Fantastic
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
Best Adapted Screenplay
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight
Best Cinematography
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence
Best Editing
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Best Costume Design
The Dressmaker
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
A Man Called Ove
Florence Foster Jenkins
Star Trek Beyond
Best Production Design
Arrival
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hail, Caesar!
Jackie
La La Land
Best Original Score
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Nocturnal Animals
Best Original Song
“Audition,” La La Land
“Can’t Stop the Feeling,” Trolls
“City of Stars,” La La Land
“How Far I’ll Go,” Moana
“Runnin’,” Hidden Figures
Best Sound Editing
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Sully
Best Sound Mixing
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Best Visual Effects
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Best Animated Feature
Kubo and the Two Strings
My Life As a Zucchini
Moana
The Red Turtle
Zootopia
Best Foreign Film
A Man Called Ove
Land of Mine
Tanna
Toni Erdmann
The Salesman
Best Documentary Feature
13th
Cameraperson
I Am Not Your Negro
O.J.: Made in America
Weiner
Final Tally
La La Land: 13 nominations
Arrival: 10 nominations
Moonlight: 8 nominations
Manchester by the Sea: 7 nominations
Lion: 6 nominations
Hacksaw Ridge: 5 nominations
Hell or High Water: 4 nominations
Hidden Figures: 4 nominations
