It’s almost time for the best night of the year — the 93rd Academy Awards!
While we wait only one more day until the big show, Celeb Secrets is giving you our thoughts on who will win that famous Oscar at this year’s show in ALL of the categories. Mank leads the pack of nominees with nods in ten categories, including “Best Picture,” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role,” “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role,” among others, followed by The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Minari, Nomadland, Sound of Metal, The Trial of the Chicago 7 with six nominations each.
The 93rd Academy Awards: Complete Coverage
As previously announced, Steve Yeun, Riz Ahmed, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Bryan Cranston, Viola Davis, Laura Dern, Harrison Ford, Bong Joon Ho, Regina King, Marlee Matlin, Rita Moreno, Joaquin Phoenix, Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Renée Zellweger and Zendaya are all confirmed to virtually show up to the Oscars.
The 93rd Oscars will air on Sunday, April 25th from Union Station Los Angeles and the Dolby® Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and international locations via satellite @ 7:30PM ET/PT on ABC.
Check out our winner predictions below and let us know if you agree with our predictions by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
Best Picture
Nominees: “The Father,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Mank,” “Minari,” “Nomadland,” “Promising Young Woman,” “Sound of Metal,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Who We Think Will Win: Nomadland seems like a sure win simply because the film has already racked up several accolades leading up to Oscar night. Some of the most outstanding achievements for the motion picture include a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award, and even a Producers Guild of America Award. With a compelling plot that illustrates the ups and downs of a nomadic lifestyle, this drama successfully guides us through an unconventional life path we can’t help but fall in love with.
Best Director
Nominees: Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”), David Fincher (“Mank”), Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”), Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”), Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”)
Who We Think Will Win: Much like the corresponding motion picture, director Chloé Zhao has certainly fared well this award season. In fact, she’s won practically every directing award she’s been nominated for from 2020 onwards. Her seamless work in Nomadland makes us feel a deep sense of empathy for Fern as she navigates a tough job market, while also leaving us with an enlightened perspective on what it truly means to have a place to call home.
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees: Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”), Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”), Gary Oldman (“Mank”), Steven Yeun (“Minari”)
Who We Think Will Win: By depicting a talented character who successfully pushes back against racial stereotypes amid the 1920s, Chadwick Boseman draws us into an important story that’s about so much more than just making music. Although Boseman lost his battle to colon cancer in August 2020, his inspirational work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom deserves the highest recognition we can imagine.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees: Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Andra Day (“The United States v. Billie Holiday”), Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces of a Woman”), Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”), Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”)
Who We Think Will Win: Viola Davis is the first Black woman to hold ultimate triple threat status for winning an Oscar, Emmy and Tony as recognition for outstanding acting. Her performance as the iconic Ma Rainey in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom clearly proves she’s deserving of the historic title, making her a perfect candidate for this year’s Oscar.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees: 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”)
Who We Think Will Win: By playing the Chicago 7’s Abbie Hoffman, Sacha Baron Cohen takes us back in time to a key democratic movement. His supporting role highlights the burdens associated with a highly policed society, along with poorly communicated and biased court proceedings from an activist’s lens. We believe his remarkably important message will be just enough to score the nod.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees: Maria Bakalova (‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”), Glenn Close (“Hillbilly Elegy”), Olivia Colman (“The Father”), Amanda Seyfried (“Mank”), Yuh-jung Youn (“Minari”)
Who We Think Will Win: Yuh-jung Youn melts our hearts while making us laugh during her performance as grandmother Soonja in Minari. Upon making the big move to Arkansas with a Korean American family, Soonja refuses to ditch her roots and leaves us with a powerful lesson about resilience. On top of the phenomenal life lesson, Youn has the chance to make history this year by potentially becoming the second Asian woman to secure a supporting actress nod. We’d love to see a historic event unfold on our T.V. screens this Sunday!
Best Animated Feature Film
Nominees: “Onward” (Pixar), “Over the Moon” (Netflix), “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” (Netflix), “Soul” (Pixar), “Wolfwalkers” (Apple TV Plus/GKIDS)
Who We Think Will Win: Disney really knows how to pull our heartstrings, especially having two nominated features Soul and Onward. I think we all can agree that Soul really touched our own souls, with not only kids watching the film, but all ages came together to watch a film about living in the moment and appreciating those moments, and truly the gift of life.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominees: “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “The Father,” “Nomadland,” “One Night in Miami,”
“The White Tiger”
Who We Think Will Win: Nomadland looks like a big contender for best adapted screenplay. So far the film has won two Golden Globes, three Critics Choice Awards, four BAFTA Awards, and many more.
Best Original Screenplay
Nominees: “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Minari,” “Promising Young Woman,” “Sound of Metal,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Who We Think Will Win: Carrey Mulligan was amazing in Promising Young Woman. She gave revenge a new name. Promising Young Woman has already picked up a few original screenplay awards from Critics Choice, Writers Guild of America, a BAFTA awards, and a Satellite Award. It looks like Promising Young Women will take this Oscar home.
Best Original Song
Nominees: “Fight for You” (“Judas and the Black Messiah”), “Hear My Voice” (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”), “Húsavík” (“Eurovision Song Contest”), “Io Si (Seen)” (“The Life Ahead”), “Speak Now” (“One Night in Miami”)
Who We Think Will Win: With a Critics Choice for Best Song under their belt, it looks like Leslie Odom Jr., might have an Oscar in his hands soon.
Best Original Score
Nominees: “Da 5 Bloods,” “Mank,” “Minari,” “News of the World,” “Soul”
Who We Think Will Win: The fact that Soul is about a musician already says enough. The composers of the film, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, are also nominated for Mank.
Best Sound
Nominees: “Greyhound,” “Mank,” “News of the World,” “Soul,” “Sound of Metal”
Who We Think Will Win: Best Sound is all about sound design. The listening experience of the film. Our prediction is Sound of Metal. The film replicates the hearing disability the protagonist of the film has, which is critical to the storytelling.
Best Costume Design
Nominees: “Emma,” “Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Mulan,” “Pinocchio”
Who We Think Will Win: With BAFTA and Costume Designer Guild wins in the bag, we think Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom will get a win for Best Costume Design from the Oscars this year. The incredible intricacy and accuracy of the costume designs for the film make you feel immediately transported back into the late 20s.
Best Animated Short Film
Nominees: “Burrow” (Disney Plus/Pixar), “Genius Loci” (Kazak Productions), “If Anything Happens I Love You” (Netflix), “Opera” (Beasts and Natives Alike), “Yes-People” (CAOZ hf. Hólamói)
Who We Think Will Win: After tugging on the heartstrings of many viewers, we think that If Anything Happens I Love You will grab the win for Best Animated Short Film. The short film highlighting the aftermath of the relationship of a couple who lost their child due to a mass school shooting was felt through the hearts of many. As King Princess’ “1950” played through the short film we see the couple go from being pulled apart to being consoling each other with the guidance of their child.
Best Live-Action Short Film
Nominees: “Feeling Through,” “The Letter Room,” “The Present,” “Two Distant Strangers,” “White Eye”
Who We Think Will Win: In the midst of the current social justice climate comes Two Distant Strangers, a film that discusses the police brutality against Black people in the United States through a “Groundhog Day” inspired film in which a young Black man named Carter was killed by a police officer after trying to get home from a one-night stand and immediately finds himself reliving the day over and over again after being killed. We think the Academy will acknowledge the importance of the film and award them with Best Live-Action Short Film.
Best Cinematography
Nominees: “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Mank,” “News of the World,” “Nomadland,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Who We Think Will Win: We think that Nomadland will have this win in the bag. Without a doubt, the film has made history throughout awards season this year and we can for sure count on the film to win Best Cinematography. Cinematographer Joshua James Richards was able to perfectly capture the authenticity director Chloe Zhao wanted to emulate for the film which helped impact the message the film wanted to present.
Best Documentary Feature
Nominees: “Collective,” “Crip Camp,” “The Mole Agent,” “My Octopus Teacher,” “Time”
Who We Think Will Win: The heartwarming film of the relationship between an octopus and a human surprised audiences everywhere, which makes us think that the Academy will give the film a win for Best Documentary Feature. The Netflix documentary changed the way people viewed octopus and have taught lessons that we never thought we could learn from the unusual relationship.
Best Documentary Short Subject
Nominees: “Colette,” “A Concerto Is a Conversation,” “Do Not Split,” “Hunger Ward,” “A Love Song for Latasha”
Who We Think Will Win: In the short 13 minutes of A Concerto Is A Conversation, the documentary short had incredible impact and created conversations about systemic racism more than most documentaries. Audiences learned the story of Horace Bowers through a conversation between him and his grandson, Kris Bowers. The conversation began with a question about the term “concerto” and lead onto the discussion of slavery. We think that the powerful and impactful conversation created by the short film will snag the win of Best Documentary short.
Best Film Editing
Nominees: “The Father,” “Nomadland,” “Promising Young Woman,” “Sound of Metal,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Who We Think Will Win: The Trial of the Chicago 7 expands throughout different timelines and all the scenes are so perfectly seamed together even though the story is also told with different points of view, making it a great contender to take this award home.
Best International Feature Film
Nominees: “Another Round” (Denmark), “Better Days” (Hong Kong), “Collective” (Romania), “The Man Who Sold His Skin” (Tunisia), “Quo Vadis, Aida?”(Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Who We Think Will Win: This category is a bit tough, all of these feature films created and shared different and beautiful stories across the board but we definitely think that Another Round could be taken the Oscar home. The film is a touching testament to director Thomas Vinterberg’s late daughter, making the story of the film all the more special.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Nominees: “Emma,” “Hillbilly Elegy,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Mank,” “Pinocchio”
Who We Think Will Win: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom has taken plenty of awards home this award season, many of which celebrate the hard work of Mia Neal, Sergio Lopez-Rivera, and Jamika Wilson. The Oscars will be no different. Both the wigs that were handcrafted and the make-up done on Viola Davis added the perfect touches to the film.
Best Production Design
Nominees: “The Father,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Mank,” “News of the World,” “Tenet”
Who We Think Will Win: Although there are plenty of period pieces in this category, Mank stands out the most from them all which is why we think the Academy will award it the Oscar for Best Production Design. The amount of detail and authenticity to bring this film, set in the 1930s, to life is incomparable.
Best Visual Effects
Nominees: “Love and Monsters,” “The Midnight Sky,” “Mulan,” “The One and Only Ivan,” “Tenet”
Who We Think Will Win: Leave it to Christopher Nolan to direct a film that’s centered around the best visual effects. As per usual with Nolan films, the effects in Tenet forces its audience to dive into the deepest parts of their imagination.
