This year’s full list of Oscar nominees has been announced. It’s a mix of up-and-coming stars and Hollywood royalty. The ceremony recognizes the work of many in the industry, including actors, directors, cinematographers, costume designers, and more, according to what they’ve achieved in the last 12 months.
Thanks to record-breaking nominations for movies like Sinners, everyone wants to predict who will take the top awards. You can find options to wager on Best Picture and more categories at Texas sports betting sites. For now, the main guide for bettors is critical acclaim and the results of other award ceremonies.
Let’s explore the front-runners in the top categories.
Quality Across Multiple Categories
The members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had plenty of high-quality options to choose from when it came to voting. Sinners is the leader of the pack, with 16 nominations, more than any other movie in Oscars’ history. Not far behind is One Battle After Another with 13 nominations.
As we know, nominations don’t always translate into wins. With awards season well underway, we’ve already seen Timothee Chalamet beat Leonardo DiCaprio when it came to the Golden Globe in the lead male actor category. Will it go Leo’s way at the Oscars? We’ll only find out on the night, but let’s look at who else could head home with an accolade.
Standout Stars on the Shortlist
There are quite a few surprises on the shortlist. Some of those come from names that haven’t been included. Neither Paul Mescal for his role in Hamnet nor Chase Infiniti for her role in One Battle After Another were nominated, despite the movies attracting a lot of attention.
Being left off the list is more a sign of the high standard of the performances than a direct reflection on the two actors. Interestingly, there’s a new category this year, which recognizes casting directors for Best Casting. Nominees in that category include Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, and Sinners.
Best Picture
Perhaps the most talked about category is Best Picture. The nominees in the category are diverse. The list includes period dramas, such as Hamnet and Train Dreams. There are several movies which span several genres, including period, sci-fi drama Frankenstein, and black comedy and sci-fi film Bugonia. Plus, there’s the sports drama F1.
Another sports drama is in the running and is one of the favorites: Marty Supreme. However, it has tough competition from One Battle After Another and Sinners. Two movies from the international category also made it into this one: the Norwegian movie, Sentimental Value, and the Brazilian wonder, The Secret Agent.
International Feature Film
Besides the two titles mentioned above, there are three other contenders for the International Feature Film category. They seem more like outsiders compared to the profiles of the Norwegian and Brazilian entries. They are Sirat from Spain, The Voice of Hind Rajab from Tunisia, and the French entry: It Was Just an Accident.
Animated Feature Film
There are five nominees in the Animated Feature Film category. Some are high-profile, including Elio from Disney/Pixar and Zootopia 2 from Disney. Plus, there’s arguably the top contender and the viral, big hit of the year, KPop Demon Hunters. The two other nominees are Arco and Little Amelie or the Character of Rain.
Directing
Unsurprisingly, the nominees for Directing come from five of the nominees for Best Picture. The frontrunners are Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another and Chloe Zhao for Hamnet. The golden statue could be anybody’s, though, with fierce competition from Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value, and Ryan Coogler for Sinners.
Actress in a Leading Role
The Actress in a Leading Role category brings attention to some movies overlooked in other categories. That includes Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue and Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. The other three nominees come from Best Picture contenders: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet, Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value, and Emma Stone, Bugonia.
Actor in a Leading Role
Only one nominee in the Actor in a Leading Role category comes from a movie not nominated for Best Picture. Ethan Hawke has that honor for his role in Blue Moon. The other nominees are Michael B. Jordan in Sinners, Wagner Moura in the Secret Agent, and, of course, Timothee Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio for Marty Supreme and One Battle After Another, respectively.
The Big Night
Before the big night, you can check out the full list of nominees. The ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 15, at the Dolby Theatre.
