Oscars 2023: Our predictions for who should and will win this year

It’s Oscar season! And the Academy has announced the list of nominees for the Academy Awards 2023. Just like every year, there are a few surprise nominations and some shocking snubs. Unsurprisingly Everything Everywhere All At Once leads the pack with a whopping 11 nominations closely followed by Martin McDonagh’s Irish drama The Banshees of Inisherin which received nine nominations. But the year’s biggest surprise is the latest German adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front, which has also garnered nine nominations.

This year’s Oscars also had a few landmark nominations. To begin with, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Angela Bassett became the first actor to be nominated for a Marvel film. Whereas, rivals DC bagged three nominations for The Batman which was shockingly overlooked for Best Cinematography. But the biggest snubs for this year are for The Woman King starring Viola Davis and The Northman helmed by Robert Eggers – both films failed to receive a single nomination. It hasn’t been a great year for female filmmakers either with Sarah Polley the only writer/director to garner a nomination, despite Charlotte Wells gaining widespread acclaim for her directorial debut film Aftersun.

So for today’s List hai toh hit hai we have picked our contenders for who should win an Oscar and who the Academy is most likely to pick as the winner. Does our vote match yours? Let’s find out.

Best Picture

Should win - Everything Everywhere All At Once

Will win - The Banshees of Inisherin

The Best Picture this year is a toss-up between Everything Everywhere All At Once and The Banshees of Inisherin. Two incredible films and we believe Everything Everywhere All At Once just about edges it for its compelling and unique execution. But we believe it is likely that Best Picture for this year will be awarded to The Banshees of Inisherin. The reason for our choice is obvious; The Banshees of Inisherin’s grounded satire could be favoured by the Academy when compared with the surreal sci-fi story in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Nominees

All Quiet on the Western Front

Avatar: The Way of Water

The Banshees of Inisherin

Elvis

Everything Everywhere All at Once

The Fabelmans

TÁR

Top Gun: Maverick

Triangle of Sadness

Women Talking

Best Director

Should win - Martin McDonagh

Will win - Steven Spielberg

The Banshees of Inisherin director Martin McDonagh is our pick for Best Director. McDonagh laces this drama about the complexities of friendship with aplomb.

But we get the feeling that the Academy could favour Steven Spielberg for The Fablemans which is a semi-autobiographical account of the auteur’s own life. The film also throws light on his formative years and how it moulded him into one of the most compelling storytellers of our time.

Nominees
Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin)

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)

Todd Field (TÁR)

Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness)

Best Actress

Should win - Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Will win - Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Michelle Yeoh is our undisputed choice this year for Best Actress. We think she should and will win top honours for her captivating performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once. This is the first time an actress of Asian descent has been nominated for this category and we couldn’t be more stoked if Yeoh actually bagged this trophy.

Nominees
Cate Blanchett (TÁR)

Ana de Armas (Blonde)

Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie)

Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans)

Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Best Actor

Should win - Brendan Fraser (The Whale)

Will win - Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin)

The Brandan Fraser renaissance or the ‘Brenaissance’ is in full swing and we are loving it. So he’s our pick for who should win Best Actor for his moving performance in The Whale. However, the Academy could hand the award for Best Actor to Colin Farrell this year for his lead role in The Banshees of Inisherin. Farrell has effortlessly managed to instil his character in the film with nuance and complexity.

Nominees

Austin Butler (Elvis)

Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin)

Brendan Fraser (The Whale)

Paul Mescal (Aftersun)

Bill Nighy (Living)

Best Supporting Actor

Should win - Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Will win - Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Just like his Everything Everywhere All At Once co-star Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan is our undisputed pick for who should and will win this year, for Best Supporting Actor. Quan, best known as the child actor in films such as The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom pulls a memorable turn in this film and surely deserves to win this one.

Nominees
Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin)

Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway)

Judd Hirsch (The Fabelmans)

Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin)

Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Best Supporting Actress

Should win - Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Will win - Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

Hollywood veteran Jamie Lee Curtis is almost unrecognisable in her incredible supporting role in Everything Everywhere All at Once and is our pick for Best Supporting Actress. However, Angela Bassett’s powerful performance as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever could be the Academy’s choice for Best Supporting Actress.

Nominees

Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

Hong Chau (The Whale)

Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin)

Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Should win - Kazuo Ishiguro (Living)

Will Win - Edward Berger, Ian Stokell, and Lesley Paterson (All Quiet on the Western Front)

Kazuo Ishiguro could become the first Nobel Prize winner to add an Academy Award to his list of accomplishments if he bags this award. His adapted screenplay for the Living which revolves around a terminally ill veteran civil servant in search of happiness in his final days. Undoubtedly, it is our favourite to win this year for Best Adapted Screenplay. But Ishiguro’s screenplay has tough competition from Edward Berger, Ian Stokell, and Lesley Paterson’s screenplay for All Quiet on the Western Front, which is more likely to take home the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The compelling anti-war German drama revolves around the horrors and brutality endured by soldiers in the trenches during World War I.

Nominees

Edward Berger, Ian Stokell, and Lesley Paterson (All Quiet on the Western Front)

Rian Johnson (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery)

Kazuo Ishiguro (Living)

Ehren Kruger, Christopher McQuarrie, and Eric Warren Singer (Top Gun: Maverick)

Sarah Polley (Women Talking)

Best Original Screenplay

Should win - Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Will win - Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

When it comes to Best Original Screenplay, Everything Everywhere All at Once has set a new benchmark for how the proceedings of a story should be assembled. So it’s hardly surprising that we feel Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s engrossing screenplay will and should win Best Original Screenplay this year.

Nominees

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Todd Field (TÁR)

Tony Kushner and Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)

Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin)

Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness)

Best Animated Feature

Should win - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Will win - Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Animated movies have been the most competitive category in recent years, with filmmakers and writers leaning on the latest innovation in effects, styles and forms being employed to optimal effect. From this year’s nominations, The Shrek spin-off Puss in Boots: The Last Wish starring Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots on a mission to restore eight of the nine lives he lost, is one of the most promising contenders to win and it gets our vote.

But the Golden Globe-winning Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio could be the more likely choice for the Academy. After all, when it comes to the awards season Guillermo del Toro is a serial winner.

Nominees

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Turning Red

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

The Sea Beast

Best Visual Effects

Should win - The Batman

Will Win - Avatar: The Way of Water

2022 introduced audiences to a new age of visual effects in cinema with jaw-dropping sequences in Top Gun: Maverick, The Batman, and Avatar: The Way of Water.

Matt Reeves’s The Batman revolutionised superhero filmmaking with its stunning visuals and noir aesthetic and therefore is our pick for Best Visual Effects.

But the more obvious choice for the Academy will surely be James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water. The sequel to Cameron’s high-concept 2009 film has managed to gross over $2 billion at the box office so far and it looks likely to finish in the top five as one of the highest grossing films of all time.

Nominees

Avatar: The Way of Water

All Quiet on the Western Front

The Batman

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Top Gun: Maverick

Best Original Song

Should win - Applause”— Diane Warren (Tell It Like a Woman)

“Lift Me Up” — Rihanna (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

The anthology film Tell it Like a Woman may not have garnered widespread recognition but Diane Warren’s soundtrack for the film, Applause, is absolutely mesmerising. Therefore it is our pick for who should win Best Original Song at the Oscars this year.

However, we get the feeling that the Academy could opt for something which has become universally popular such as Rihanna’s rendition of Lift Me Up for the Marvel blockbuster Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Best Original Score

Should win - Volker Bertelmann (All Quiet on the Western Front)

Will win - John Williams (The Fabelmans)

German composer Volker Bertelmann’s score for the anti-war drama All Quiet on the Western Front captures the brutality endured by young soldiers during World War I. So he is our pick to win Best Original Score. However, it is likely that the Academy could present the Oscar to another worthy candidate, John Willians for his score in The Fablemans. The legendary Hollywood composer, who has already won an incredible five Academy Awards in a career spanning over six decades, could win his sixth Oscar this year.

Nominees

Justin Hurwitz (Babylon)

John Williams (The Fabelmans)

Volker Bertelmann (All Quiet on the Western Front)

Son Lux (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Well thats the List hai toh hit hai Oscar predictions special episode, until the next time it's your host Nikhil signing out.

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho

• Written by Ryan Gomez