Predicting the Oscar Winners

Best Picture

The Best Picture Oscar is the most prestigious award of the night. The Academy votes for which movie they thought was the best of 2019, and it is the last award given out that night.

• ‘Ford v. Ferrari”
• “The Irishman”
• “Jojo Rabbit”
• “Joker” 
• “Little Women”
• “Marriage Story” 
• “1917”
• “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”
• “Parasite”

The movie “1917” is a story of two soldiers in World War I who receive orders to cross over into enemy territory to potentially save the lives of 1,600 other soldiers. “1917” has already won the Golden Globe’s equivalent to the Best Picture Award and the BAFTAs Best Film Award, so it has a high chance of winning the Best Picture Oscar. “1917” has a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and grossed $60.4 million worldwide in total.

Actor in a Leading Role

The Actor in a Leading Role Award is given in honor to an actor who has put on a marvelous performance in a movie they starred in. This award is presented by the previous year’s Actress in a Leading Role winner, so Olivia Colman will give out this award.

• Antonio Banderas in “Pain and Glory”
• Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘Once upon a time… in Hollywood”
• Adam Driver in “Marriage Story”
• Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker”
• Jonathan Pryce in “The Two Popes”

“Joker” is the story of the well-known comic book villain, but it is also a tragic story of how years of feeling like an outcast let the titular character to madness. Joaquin Phoenix has already won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the BAFTAs. Despite the controversy over the movie, Phoenix’s performance in the role of the Joker is virtually undeniable. 

Actress in a Leading Role

The Actress in a Leading Role Award is given in honor to an actress who has also put on a marvelous performance in a movie they starred in. This award is presented by the previous year’s Actor in a Leading Role winner, so Rami Malek will give out this award.

• Cynthia Erivo in “Harriet”
• Scarlett Johansson in “Marriage Story”
• Saorise Ronan in “Little Women”
• Charlize Theron in “Bombshell”
• Renée Zellweger in “Judy”

“Marriage Story” is a movie about a New York theatre director (Adam Driver) and his actor wife (Scarlett Johansson) who decide to part ways based on their life goals. Although they get a divorce, they try to keep their family together.

Critic reviews over Scarlett Johansson’s role in “Marriage Story” are very positive; Moira McDonald of “The Seattle Times” described Johansson, along with Driver, as “remarkably, heartbreakingly good in every scene.” 

Johansson is a clear favorite to win the Academy Award for Actress in a Leading Role.

Animated Feature Film

The Animated Feature Film Award goes to who the Academy thought had the best frame-by-frame animation. 

• “How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World”
• “I Lost my Body”
• “Klaus”
• ‘Missing Link”
• “Toy Story 4”

When Woody and the rest of his friends go on a road trip with Bonnie and a new toy named Forky, it turns into an unexpected reunion with Woody’s old friend Bo Peep. This movie broke the box office record for an animated movie and has a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was heavily discussed by animators and critics throughout the year.  Critics of the movie thought it was a heart-warming family movie, and they generally loved the animation and thought it was a step up from “Toy Story 3”.

Music (Original Song)

The Music Award for Original Song is given to the songwriters who composed the best original song made specifically for that movie. 

• “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from “Toy Story 4”
• “Into The Unknown” from Frozen II
• “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman”
• “I’m Standing With You” from “Breakthrough”
• “Stand Up” from “Harriet”

“Frozen II” is the continued story of Arendelle’s Queen Elsa and Princess Anna. Elsa is finally happy living in the kingdom with Anna, Christoff, Olaf, and Sven, but the origin of her magical ice powers are still nagging at her. Unable to control her curiosity, she sets off on a journey to discover who she is. Considering that the first “Frozen” won the Best Original Song Oscar at the 86th Academy Awards for “Let it Go,” it is likely that the “Frozen” franchise will be victorious again with “Into The Unknown”.

Visual Effects

The Visual Effects Award is a very honorable Oscar. It is given to the visual effects supervisor of a movie and honors them for their award-winning work.

• “Avengers: Endgame”
• “The Irishman” 
• “The Lion King” 
• “1917”
• “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

“Avengers: Endgame” was the final movie in the “Avengers” series. There is a strong critical consensus that the visual effects in “Endgame” were well done. 

“Rolling Stone” critic Pete Travers said of the movie: “Prepare to be wowed.”

“Endgame” was such a big movie of 2019, breaking “Avatar’s” record as the highest-grossing film of all time. It is very likely to take home a win at the 92nd Academy Awards. 

 The Oscars will be aired live on ABC at 8 p.m. on Sunday, February 9.