2021 Oscar Predictions: Who Will Win and Who Should Win

The 2021 Oscars are here and we are in for an exciting night. Though there are some categories that seem locked up, there are a number that are up in the air and there are always surprises to be had. Here are my final predictions for the 2021 Oscars.

 

 

 

 

Best Picture

• The Father
• Judas and the Black Messiah
• Mank
• Minari
• Nomadland
• Promising Young Woman
• Sound of Metal
• The Trial of the Chicago 7

Nomadland has been a juggernaut all season, picking up what seems to be every award possible. Will that streak end tonight? Probably not. But if there is one movie that will take it down it’s Aaron Sorkin’s sentimental The Trial of the Chicago 7.

• WILL WIN: Nomadland
• SHOULD WIN: Minari

 

Best Director

• Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
• Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
• David Fincher, Mank
• Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
• Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

With Nomadland dominating all season, it only makes sense its master behind the camera is dominating as well. I can’t see anyone beating her at this point.

• WILL WIN: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
• SHOULD WIN: Lee Isaac Chung, Minari

 

Best Actor

• Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
• Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Anthony Hopkins, The Father
• Gary Oldman, Mank
• Steven Yeun, Minari

This race has gotten tighter over the last month, with Anthony Hopkins gaining ground and making it a race against the late Chadwick Boseman. As much as I would love Hopkins to win, Boseman’s win would celebrate not only a great performance but a great career of an actor taken from us too soon.

• WILL WIN: Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• SHOULD WIN: Anthony Hopkins, The Father

 

Best Actress

• Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Andra Day, United States vs. Billie Holiday
• Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
• Frances McDormand, Nomadland
• Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

The tightest race of the night is one that anyone could win. Mulligan won the Critics Choice, Day won the Golden Globe, Davis won the Screen Actors Guild, and McDormand won the BAFTA. Who’s pulling this one out? McDormand and Davis are recent winners and Davis’ film missed out on Best Picture and Day and Kirby and newcomers, so I’m leaning toward previous-nominee Mulligan.

I really have no idea how this is going to go.

• WILL WIN: Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
• SHOULD WIN: Frances McDormand, Nomadland

Best Supporting Actor

• Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
• Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
• Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami…
• Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
• LaKeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

Daniel Kaluuya’s monumental performance should walk away with the win here, as he’s won every precursor. Am I a little worried about his co-star, LaKeith Stanfield, taking votes from him and letting someone like Sacha Baron Cohen slide in? A little.

• WILL WIN: Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
• SHOULD WIN: Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah

 

Best Supporting Actress

• Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
• Olivia Colman, The Father
• Amanda Seyfried, Mank
• Youn Yuh-Jung, Minari

Though the winner of this category could end up being a surprise like Colman or Bakalova, with her win’s at SAG and BAFTA, I’m going with Youn Yuh-Jung in what will probably be the best speech of the night.

• WILL WIN:  Youn Yuh-Jung, Minari
• SHOULD WIN: Youn Yuh-Jung, Minari

 

Best Original Screenplay

• Will Berson and Shaka King, Judas and the Black Messiah
• Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7
• Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
• Darius Marder and Abraham Marder, Sound of Metal
• Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

Tough to go against Sorkin, but Fennell’s scorching script is hard to not pick.

• WILL WIN: Promising Young Woman
• SHOULD WIN: Minari

 

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman and Lee Kern, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller, The Father
• Kemp Powers, One Night in Miami…
• Ramin Bahrani, The White Tiger
• Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

If the night is a Nomadland sweep, Zhao could easily win. But I think the Academy will want to reward The Father somewhere and this would be a nice place to do so.

• WILL WIN: The Father
• SHOULD WIN: The Father

 

REST OF THE PICKS

Best Cinematography

Judas and the Black Messiah

Mank

News of the World

Nomadland

The Trial of the Chicago 7

• WILL WIN: Nomadland
• SHOULD WIN: Mank

 

Best Editing

The Father

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

Sound of Metal

The Trial of the Chicago 7

• WILL WIN: The Trial of the Chicago 7
• SHOULD WIN: THE FATHER

 

Best Animated Feature Film

Onward

Over the Moon

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

Soul

Wolfwalkers

• WILL WIN: Soul
• SHOULD WIN: Wolfwalkers

 

Best Production Design

The Father

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Mank

News of the World

Tenet

• WILL WIN: Mank
• SHOULD WIN: Mank

 

Best Costume Design

Emma

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Mank

Mulan

Pinocchio

• WILL WIN: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• SHOULD WIN: Emma

 

Best Documentary Feature

Collective

Crip Camp

The Mole Agent

My Octopus Teacher

Time

• WILL WIN: My Octopus Teacher
• SHOULD WIN: Time

 

Best Sound

Greyhound

Mank

News of the World

Soul

Sound of Metal

• WILL WIN: Sound of Metal
• SHOULD WIN: Sound of Metal

 

Best Visual Effects

Love and Monsters

The Midnight Sky

Mulan

The One and Only Ivan

Tenet

• WILL WIN: Tenet
• SHOULD WIN: Tenet

 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Emma

Hillbilly Elegy

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Mank

Pinocchio

• WILL WIN: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• SHOULD WIN: Mank

 

Best International Film

Another Round

Better Days

Collective

The Man Who Sold His Skin

Quo Vadis, Aida

• WILL WIN: Another Round
• SHOULD WIN: Another Round

 

Best Original Score

Da 5 Bloods

Mank

Minari

News of the World

Soul

• WILL WIN: Soul
• SHOULD WIN: Mank

 

Best Original Song

“Fight for You,” from Judas and the Black Messiah

“Hear My Voice,” from The Trial of the Chicago 7

“Husavik,” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

“Io Sì (Seen),” from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se)

“Speak Now,” from One Night in Miami…

• WILL WIN: “Speak Now,” from One Night in Miami…
• SHOULD WIN: “Husavik,” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

 

Best Animated Short Film

Burrow

Genius Loci

If Anything Happens I Love You

Opera

Yes-People

• WILL WIN: If Anything Happens I Love You
• SHOULD WIN: Burrow

 

Best Live-Action Short Film

Feeling Through

The Letter Room

The Present

Two Distant Strangers

White Eye

• WILL WIN: Two Distant Strangers
• SHOULD WIN: The Letter Room

 

Best Documentary Short

Collette

A Concerto is a Conversation

Do Not Split

Hunger Ward

A Love Song for Latasha

• WILL WIN: A Concerto is a Conversation
• SHOULD WIN: Collette

 

 

 

 

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