The 96th annual Academy Awards on Sunday will carry collectively nominees that embrace box office record-breakers, Hollywood veterans, newcomers and multiple epic drama as huge gamers and even larger movies contend for prestigious recognition. The 2024 Oscar poll guarantees to make for an fascinating evening. So, forward of the present, leisure {industry} specialists shared their predictions for the outcomes of a few of the prime classes.

Who will win the Oscar for greatest image?

“Oppenheimer” is the clear frontrunner to win the Oscar for greatest image. Christopher Nolan’s epic historic drama in regards to the nuclear physicist referred to as “the father of the atomic bomb” leads nominations on the Academy Awards this 12 months, with 13 nods.

It has additionally already taken residence every precursor prize at earlier awards exhibits this season — together with in equal classes on the Critics Choice and Golden Globe Awards, as properly from the Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild, Producers Guild and British Academy — giving huge hints as to the way it will fare in Sunday’s greatest image race. 

“I think there would be a crazy upset if ‘Oppenheimer’ did not win, simply because it has swept,” stated Lilliana Vazquez, a tv presenter and life-style professional who beforehand hosted E! News. “That’s always a really big indicator, if all of the individual guilds can come together and anoint a clear winner, then I think you really have to watch out for that specific film, in whatever category, or that particular actor or actress.”

Films not often earn such broad industry-wide help, and people who have usually go on to obtain the Oscars’ prime accolade, like “Argo” and “Slumdog Millionaire” in current a long time.

“I’m not sure if we’ve had an overwhelming favorite like ‘Oppenheimer’ in a while, but ‘Oppehnheimer’ really is the favorite to win best picture,” stated Erik Davis, the managing editor at Fandango, who praised the movie for its achievements on a number of fronts, together with its narrative, solid performances, cinematography, enhancing and rating.

“All of the parts of ‘Oppenheimer,’ when it’s assembled, help push it over the line for best picture, because it’s more than just an entertaining film,” Davis added. “Across the board, I think this film achieves at an Oscar-winning level.”

Vazquez echoed that sentiment.

“‘Oppenheimer,’ for me, is a lock,” she stated. “I think it hits on so many different levels. That style of film, the script, the acting, is so good. Sometimes, you get these indie darling films and people are like, ‘I don’t understand it.’ This is a topic that everyone can connect to.”

“Oppenheimer” will contend for greatest image alongside 9 different movies: “American Fiction,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Barbie,” “The Holdovers,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” “Past Lives,” “Poor Things” and “The Zone of Interest.”

Experts doubt any of these titles will handle to beat out Nolan’s film, they usually word {that a} loss for “Oppenheimer” on this class would in all probability be the shock of the evening.

“I think it’s one of those versatile films that reached everyone. And, you know, we always gravitate towards historical dramas,” stated Aramide Tinubu, a TV critic at Variety who can be betting on “Oppenheimer” to win. “As interesting as ‘The Holdovers’ was, and though it is kind of historically set, it’s a much quieter film. We love a good blockbuster here in America.”

But potential underdogs for the very best image prize might nonetheless embrace “The Holdovers,” Alexander Payne’s nostalgic crowd-pleaser, Justine Triet’s multilingual courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall” or Yorgos Lanthimos’ offbeat sci-fi comedy “Poor Things,” which follows “Oppenheimer” with 11 Oscar nominations.

“The thing that’s most interesting about the race this year is, you can’t even tell what’s going to be runner-up,” stated Joyce Eng, an leisure journalist and senior editor at Gold Derby, an {industry} weblog website that focuses on Hollywood awards predictions. Alongside Christopher Rosen, the location’s digital director, Eng co-hosts the podcast “Gold Derby Show,” the place the 2 focus on and forecast awards season.

Rosen identified that the projected triumph by “Oppenheimer” in the very best image race isn’t solely as a consequence of the truth that it has steamrolled by the awards circuit up up to now, however as a result of it has all of the makings of a winner. In addition to being a historic biopic, it was a essential hit and theatrical success, and each Eng and Rosen stated the movie’s early begin as a supposed darkish horse in all probability helped its reputation, too.

“I think it ran second a lot, at least over the summer, to ‘Barbie’ in terms of its box office and coverage. So, it had the sheen of an underdog even though it obviously wasn’t,” stated Rosen, calling “Oppenheimer” a “perfect consensus movie on top of being the steamroller.”

“There’s been no fatigue with it being a frontrunner, either,” stated Eng. “I think that’s key.”

Who will win the Oscar for greatest actor?

Similar to the race for greatest image, specialists are, for essentially the most half, in settlement on the end result of the very best actor competitors. Cillian Murphy, who starred as the namesake scientist in “Oppenheimer,” is favored to win this award, they stated, owing to the large success of the film in addition to Murphy’s earlier wins on the SAG Awards and the BAFTAs — indicating robust help from {industry} members who overlap with the Oscars voting pool.

“It’s really hard to go against him [Murphy] with him having these two really important awards,” stated Eng. “The only thing Cillian has lost in terms of televised award shows was the Critics Choice to Paul Giamatti, so I think that gave the impression that this race is closer than it might actually be.”

Eight out of the final 13 greatest actor prizes on the Academy Awards have gone to somebody taking part in a real-life determine, Vazquez famous, including that “people love a story that is rooted in reality.”

“Usually playing a real-life person is always a leg up, it seems, for best actor especially,” stated Rosen. “And just the fact that ‘Oppenheimer’ is the best picture frontrunner … there’s really no reason why Cillian Murphy would ever have not won this. And the fact that he’s won the precursor awards really bears that out. So, I think it would be pretty surprising if he lost on Oscar night. Not unprecedented, obviously, but certainly surprising.”

Giamatti is nominated alongside Murphy on this class for his main efficiency as an embittered boarding school teacher in “The Holdovers,” which has additionally gained reward. Both veterans are first-time Oscar nominees for greatest actor, and, for Giamatti, the popularity got here virtually 20 years after what’s remembered as an notorious snub on this class for his work in Payne’s 2004 comedy-drama “Sideways.”

That has led some to recommend {that a} greatest actor win by Giamatti is overdue, to not point out believable, since he and Murphy gained counterpart awards for comedic and dramatic appearing on the Globes earlier than arguably changing into every others’ best competitors all through the remainder of awards season.

“Both men have won this award at various awards shows, so I think it’s definitely a two-man’s race in this category,” stated Davis. “Cillian Murphy has come out on top a little bit more than Paul Giamatti, and I think that’s due to the fact that ‘Oppenheimer’ is a major frontrunner and due to all that it’s achieved this year.”

Also within the working for the Oscar for greatest actor are Bradley Cooper, for “Maestro;” Colman Domingo, for “Rustin;” and Jeffrey Wright, for “American Fiction.”

Who will win the Oscar for greatest actress?

How the best actress race will play out on Sunday has formed as much as be maybe essentially the most debated Oscar competitors this 12 months, with Lily Gladstone and Emma Stone pacing neck-and-neck for his or her respective performances in “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Poor Things,” every of which was heralded because the gem of these films.

“Similar to the actor category, both of these performances are very different from one another,” stated Davis. “Emma Stone’s is a more physical performance, a more physical transformation, very out-there, very animated … whereas Lily Gladstone’s performance is much quieter. It’s much more internal.”

Both girls took residence greatest actress awards on the Golden Globes, in separate classes for comedy and drama, earlier than Stone went on to win on the Critics Choice Awards and the BAFTAs. Gladstone took the prize on the SAG Awards in a historic win, changing into the primary indigenous actor to obtain the award. She would even be the first Native American actor to obtain the Oscar on this class if she wins.

“I’m torn. I can’t call it between Lily Gladstone and Emma Stone,” stated Tinubu. “I thought Lily would take it for a long time, but things have ramped up for Emma as well. I loved ‘Poor Things,’ that’s my film of the year, but I do think both women are very deserving. So that, to me, is a toss-up still.”

“Poor Things” was additionally Vazquez’s favourite movie of 2023. She described Stone’s efficiency in it as “flawless” however nonetheless believes Gladstone will take the very best actress prize.

“Would I love to see Emma Stone win another Oscar? One hundred percent,” stated Vazquez. “Does she deserve another Oscar for this role? Yes, because the physicality of the role, matched with the emotion and also with the dialogue that she gives in the film is just insane. From that point of view, I would love to see her win it, if Lily Gladstone was not in this race.

“As a girl of shade, seeing her be the primary indigenous actress winner is unbelievable, for not simply her group however for us as a rustic,” Vazquez continued. “And I feel for her to shine the best way that she did when she’s in a Scorsese movie, and he or she’s sharing the display with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, that’s energy. That transcends.”

Overall, the competition is fierce in this category, as Gladstone and Stone contend for the title against Annette Bening, who’s nominated for “Nyad” along with Sandra Hüller, for “Anatomy of a Fall” and Carey Mulligan, for “Maestro.”