FINAL Oscar Predictions 2022

Here we are once more! I can’t believe it’s been nearly a year since last years Oscars, and how much has changed since then, both in the industry and my personal life!

Seeming as I haven’t been around much this season, here’s my brief thoughts on this years awards season… so many categories are up in the air and I love it!

It’s nice to have a year where about half the categories are 50/50 and I’m glad we have another race in Best Picture. Whilst deserved, last years Nomadland sweep did get a bit boring, so it’s nice we have a two horse race with The Power of the Dog vs. Coda. Both completely different movies that deserve to win for different reasons. TPOTD having the technical, cinephile element to it, whilst CODA is the well written, heart warmer of the year.

It’s also crazy the stats CODA will break if it triumphs come Sunday night. It’ll be the first in a LONG time to win Best Picture with; only three noms including picture itself, no editing or director nomination, and to have an early year release (premiering all the way back in January!).

The Power of the Dog seems to be the more sensible pick in terms of stats, but it is losing momentum whilst it rival rises. We’ve seen this before with Moonlight and Parasite taking the gold last minute as it peaked at the exact right moment. Will CODA do the same? I guess only time will tell.

Here are my FINAL predictions for the 94th Academy Awards:

Best Picture

1 – CODA (Apple Original Films)

2 – The Power of the Dog (Netflix)

3 – Belfast (Focus Features)

4 – King Richard (Warner Bros/HBO Max)

5 – Don’t Look Up (Netflix)

6 – West Side Story (20th Century Studios)

7 – Dune (Warner Bros/HBO Max)

8 – Licorice Pizza (MGM/UAR)

9 – Drive My Car (Sideshow/Janus Films)

10 – Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Director

1 – Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog (Netflix) – GG, CCA, BAFTA, DGA   

2 – Steven Spielberg – West Side Story (20^th Century Studios) – GG, CCA, DGA

3 – Kenneth Branagh – Belfast (Focus Features) – GG, CCA, DGA   

4 – Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza (MGM/UAR) – CCA, BAFTA, DGA 

5 – Ryusuke Hamaguchi – Drive My Car (Sideshow/Janus Films) – BAFTA  

Best Actress

1 – Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Searchlight Pictures) – GG, CCA, SAG

2 – Kristen Stewart – Spencer (NEON) – GG, CCA

3 – Penélope Cruz – Parallel Mothers (Sony Pictures Classics)

4 – Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos (Amazon Studios) – GG, CCA, SAG

5 – Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter (Netflix) – GG, CCA, SAG

Best Actor

1 – Will Smith – King Richard (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – GG, CCA, SAG, BAFTA

2 – Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog (Netflix) – GG, CCA, SAG, BAFTA

3 – Andrew Garfield – tick, tick…BOOM! (Netflix) – GG, CCA, SAG

4 – Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth (A24/Apple Original Films) – GG, CCA, SAG

5 – 5. Javier Bardem – Being the Ricardos (Amazon Studios) – GG, SAG

Best Supporting Actress

1 – Ariana DeBose – West Side Story (20th Century Studios) – GG, CCA, SAG, BAFTA

2 – Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – GG, CCA, BAFTA

3 – Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog (Netflix) – GG, CCA, SAG

4 – Jessie Buckley – The Lost Daughter (Netflix) – BAFTA

5 – Judi Dench – Belfast (Focus Features)

Best Supporting Actor

1 – Troy Kotsur – CODA (Apple Original Films) – GG, CCA, SAG, BAFTA

2 – Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog (Netflix) – GG, CCA, SAG, BAFTA

3 – Ciarán Hinds – Belfast (Focus Features) – GG, CCA, BAFTA

4 – Jesse Plemons – The Power of the Dog (Netflix) – BAFTA

5 – J.K. Simmons – Being the Ricardos (Amazon Studios) – CCA

Adapted Screenplay

1 – CODA – Siân Heder (Apple Original Films) – CCA, BAFTA, WGA 

2 – The Power of the Dog – Jane Campion (Netflix) – GG, CCA, BAFTA, USC

3 – The Lost Daughter – Maggie Gyllenhaal (Netflix) – CCA, BAFTA, USC

4 – Drive My Car – Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe (Sideshow/Janus Films) – BAFTA

5 – Dune – Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, Eric Roth (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – CCA, BAFTA, USC, WGA

Original Screenplay

1 – Belfast – Kenneth Branagh (Focus Features) – GG, CCA, BAFTA 

2 – Licorice Pizza – Paul Thomas Anderson (MGM/UAR) – GG, CCA, BAFTA, WGA

3 – Don’t Look Up – Adam McKay, David Sirota (Netflix) – GG, CCA, BAFTA, WGA

4 – The Worst Person in the World – Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier (NEON)

5 – King Richard – Zach Baylin (Warner Bros/ HBO Max) – CCA, BAFTA, WGA

Original Song

1 – “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto (Walt Disney) – GG, CCA, HMMA

2 – “No Time to Die” from No Time to Die (MGM/UAR) – GG, CCA, HMMA, SCL 

3 – “Be Alive” from “King Richard (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – GG, CCA, HMMA

4 – “Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days (Vertical Entertainment) – HMMA (indie), SCL

5 – “Down to Joy” from Belfast (Focus Features) – GG, HMMA (Indie)

Original Score

1 – Dune (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – GG, CCA, HMMA (Sci-Fi), SCL, BAFTA

2 – The Power of the Dog (Netflix) – GG, CCA, HMMA, SCL, BAFTA

3 – Encanto (Walt Disney) – GG, SCL

4 – Parallel Mothers (Sony Pictures Classics) – GG, HMMA (Foreign Language), SCL

5 – Don’t Look Up (Netflix) – CCA, HMMA, SCL, BAFTA

Cinematography

1 – Dune (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – CCA, BAFTA, ASC

2 – The Power of the Dog (Netflix) – CCA, BAFTA, ASC

3 – The Tragedy of Macbeth (A24/Apple Original Films) – CCA, BAFTA, ASC

4 – Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures) – CCA, ASC, BAFTA

5 – West Side Story (20th Century Studios) – CCA

Sound

1 – Dune (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – BAFTA, MPSE, CAS

2 – No Time to Die (MGM/UAR) – BAFTA, MPSE (2x), CAS

3 – West Side Story (20th Century Studios) – BAFTA, MPSE, CAS

4 – The Power of the Dog (Netflix) – MPSE, CAS

5 – Belfast (Focus Features) – MPSE

Film Editing

1 – King Richard (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – ACE

2 – Dune (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – CCA, BAFTA, ACE

3 – tick, tick…BOOM! (Netflix) – ACE

4 – The Power of the Dog (Netflix) – CCA, ACE

5 – Don’t Look Up (Netflix) – ACE

Visual Effects

1 – Dune (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – CCA, BAFTA, VES (4x)

2 – No Time to Die (MGM/UAR) – CCA, BAFTA, VES

3 – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Walt Disney/Marvel Studios) – CCA, Annie, VES (4x)

4 – Spider-Man: No Way Home (Sony Pictures/Marvel Studios) – VES

5 – Free Guy (20^th Century Studios) – BAFTA

Makeup and Hairstyling

1 – The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Searchlight Pictures) – CCA, BAFTA, MUAH (3x)

2 – Coming 2 America (Amazon Studios) – MUAH (3x)

3 – Dune (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – CCA, BAFTA, MUAH (2x)

4 – Cruella (Walt Disney) – CCA, BAFTA, MUAH

5 – House of Gucci (MGM/UAR) – CCA, BAFTA, MUAH (3x) 

Production Design

1 – Dune (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – CCA, BAFTA, SDSA, ADG

2 – Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures) – CCA, BAFTA, SDSA, ADG

3 – West Side Story (20th Century Studios) – CCA, BAFTA, SDSA, ADG  

4 – The Tragedy of Macbeth (A24/Apple Original Films) – SDSA, ADG

5 – The Power of the Dog (Netflix) – SDSA

Costume Design

1 – Cruella (Walt Disney) – CCA, BAFTA, CDG 

2 – Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures) – CCA, BAFTA, CDG  

3 – Dune (Warner Bros/HBO Max) – CCA, BAFTA, CDG

4 – West Side Story (20th Century Studios) – CCA, CDG

5 – Cyrano (MGM/UAR) – BAFTA, CDG

Documentary Feature

1 – Summer of Soul (Searchlight Pictures/Hulu) – CEH, CCA, IDA, PGA, BAFTA

2 – Flee (NEON) – CEH, CCA, DOC NYC, Gotham, IDA, EFA, PGA, BAFTA

3 – Ascension (MTV Documentary Films) – CEH, CCA, DOC NYC, Gotham, IDA, PGA 

4 – Attica (Showtime) – CCA

5 – Writing with Fire (Music Box Films) – IDA, PGA

Animated Feature

1 –  Encanto (Walt Disney) – GG, CCA, Annie, BAFTA, PGA

2 – The Mitchells vs the Machines (Netflix) – CCA, Annie, BAFTA, PGA

3 – Flee (NEON) – GG, CCA, Annie (Indie), EFA, BAFTA

4 – Luca (Walt Disney/Pixar) – GG, CCA, Annie, BAFTA, PGA

5 – Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney) – GG, CCA, Annie, PGA

International Feature

1 – Drive My Car (Japan) – GG, CCA, BAFTA

2 – The Worst Person in the World (Norway) – BAFTA

3 – Flee (Denmark) – CCA 

4 – The Hand of God (Italy) – EFA, GG, CCA, BAFTA

5 – Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (Bhutan)

Animated Short

1 – Robin Robin (Netflix)

2 – Bestia (Miyu Distribution) – Annie

3 – Boxballet (Melnitsa Animation Studio)

4 – Affairs of the Art (The New Yorker) – BAFTA

5 – The Windshield Wiper (The Animation Showcase)

Documentary Short

1 – The Queen of Basketball (The New York Times)

2 – Audible (Netflix)

3 – When We Were Bullies (Locomotion Films)

4 – Three Songs for Benazir (Netflix) 

5 – Lead Me Home (Netflix)

Live Action Short

1 – The Long Goodbye (WePresent)

2 – Ala Kachuu – Take and Run (Salaud Morisset)  

3 – The Dress (DOBRO/MIŁO/GŁOSNO)

4 – Please Hold (Scavenger Entertainment)

5 – On My Mind (Benzoa Film)