Here are editor James A. Molnar's final predictions for the 92nd Academy Awards. In short, some surprises await us on Oscar Sunday.
When the envelopes are opened Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre, there could be more than one surprise awaiting the audience at the 92nd Academy Awards, especially for Best Picture.
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I'm predicting at least two for the comic book origin story, especially for actor Joaquin Phoenix and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. Will the film walk away with any more Oscars?
Could "Once Upon a time… in Hollywood" be a spoiler for Best Picture, which "1917" and "Parasite" seem to be battling for? There’s a chance, especially with the preferential ballot employed for the top category by the Academy’s accounting firm, PwC. I'm predicting "1917" takes home the most statuettes, with six.
"Parasite" could make history. It's the eleventh non-English language film nominated for Best Picture and the sixth to be nominated for both International Feature Film (formerly Foreign Language Film) and Best Picture in the same year. Each of the previous five ("Z," 1969; "Life Is Beautiful," 1998; "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," 2000; "Amour," 2012; "Roma," 2018) won for Foreign Language Film but not Best Picture.
We'll all find out Sunday night. In the meantime, we're here to help you win your Oscar pool or ballot contest.
Here are my final predictions (and the possible spoilers):
Final Tally Predictions
"The Irishman" – 0 out of 10 √ Correct
"1917" – 6 out of 10 3 out of 10
"Once upon a Time… in Hollywood" – 2 out of 10 √ Correct
"Jojo Rabbit" – 1 out of 6 √ Correct
"Little Women" – 1 out of 6 √ Correct
"Marriage Story" – 1 out of 6 √ Correct
"Parasite" – 2 out of 6 4 out of 6
"Ford v Ferrari" (Walt Disney) – 1 out of 4 2 out of 10
"Bombshell" (Lionsgate) – 1 out of 3 √ Correct
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" – 0 out of 3 √ Correct
"The Two Popes" – 0 out of 3 √ Correct
"Harriet" – 0 out of 2 √ Correct
"Honeyland" – 0 out of 2 √ Correct
"Judy" – 1 out of 2 √ Correct
"Pain and Glory" – 0 out of 2 √ Correct
"Toy Story 4" – 1 out of 2 √ Correct
— FINAL: 21 out of 24 (88%) —
Past Record:
91st in 2019: 18 out of 24 (75%)
90th in 2018: 18 out of 24 (75%)
89th in 2017: 14 out of 24 (58%)
88th in 2016: 19 out of 24 (79%)
87th in 2015: 19 out of 24 (79%)
86th in 2014: 21 out of 24 (88%)
85th in 2013: 16 out of 24 (67%)
Best Picture X Incorrect
“Ford v Ferrari”
Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and James Mangold, Producers
“The Irishman”
Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Producers
“Jojo Rabbit”
Carthew Neal and Taika Waititi, Producers
“Joker”
Todd Phillips, Bradley Cooper and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Producers
“Little Women”
Amy Pascal, Producer
“Marriage Story”
Noah Baumbach and David Heyman, Producers
“1917”
Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Jayne-Ann Tenggren and Callum McDougall, Producers
“Once upon a Time...in Hollywood”
David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh and Quentin Tarantino, Producers
“Parasite”
Kwak Sin Ae and Bong Joon Ho, Producers
Spoilers: “Parasite” or “Once upon a Time...in Hollywood”
Best Directing X Incorrect
“The Irishman,” Martin Scorsese
“Joker,” Todd Phillips
“1917,” Sam Mendes
“Once upon a Time...in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho
Spoiler: Bong Joon Ho
Best Actor in a Leading Role √ Correct
Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once upon a Time...in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”
Best Actress in a Leading Role √ Correct
Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
Renée Zellweger, “Judy”
Best Supporting Actor √ Correct
Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once upon a Time...in Hollywood”
Best Supporting Actress √ Correct
Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay √ Correct
“The Irishman,” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian
“Jojo Rabbit,” Screenplay by Taika Waititi
“Joker,” Written by Todd Phillips & Scott Silver
“Little Women,” Written for the screen by Greta Gerwig
“The Two Popes,” Written by Anthony McCarten
Spoiler: “Little Women”
Best Writing – Original Screenplay √ Correct
“Knives Out,” Written by Rian Johnson
“Marriage Story,” Written by Noah Baumbach
“1917,” Written by Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns
“Once upon a Time...in Hollywood,” Written by Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite,” Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho, Han Jin Won; Story by Bong Joon Ho
Spoiler: “Once upon a Time…”
Best Animated Feature Film √ Correct
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Dean DeBlois, Bradford Lewis and Bonnie Arnold
“I Lost My Body,” Jérémy Clapin and Marc du Pontavice
“Klaus,” Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh and Marisa Román
“Missing Link,” Chris Butler, Arianne Sutner and Travis Knight
“Toy Story 4,” Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen and Jonas Rivera
Spoiler: “Klaus”
Best Cinematography √ Correct
“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto
“Joker,” Lawrence Sher
“The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke
“1917,” Roger Deakins
“Once upon a Time...in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson
Best Costume Design √ Correct
“The Irishman,” Sandy Powell and Christopher Peterson
“Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo
“Joker,” Mark Bridges
“Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran
“Once upon a Time...in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips
Spoiler: “Once upon a Time…”
Best Documentary – Feature √ Correct
“American Factory,” Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert and Jeff Reichert
“The Cave,” Feras Fayyad, Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjær
“The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris and Tiago Pavan
“For Sama,” Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts
“Honeyland,” Ljubo Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska and Atanas Georgiev
Spoiler: “Honeyland” or “For Sama”
Best Documentary – Short Subject √ Correct
“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl),” Carol Dysinger and Elena Andreicheva
“Life Overtakes Me,” John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson
“St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
“Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix and Colette Sandstedt
Spoiler: “St. Louis Superman”
Best Film Editing √ Correct
“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland
“The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles
“Joker,” Jeff Groth
“Parasite,” Yang Jinmo
Spoiler: “Parasite”
Best International Feature Film √ Correct
“Corpus Christi” (Poland)
“Honeyland” (North Macedonia)
“Les Misérables” (France)
“Pain and Glory” (Spain)
“Parasite” (South Korea)
Spoiler: “Pain and Glory”
Best Makeup & Hairstyling √ Correct
“Bombshell” Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan and Vivian Baker
“Joker” Nicki Ledermann and Kay Georgiou
“Judy” Jeremy Woodhead
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” Paul Gooch, Arjen Tuiten and David White
“1917” Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis and Rebecca Cole
Spoiler: “Joker”
Best Music – Original Score √ Correct
“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
“1917,” Thomas Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams
Spoiler: “1917”
Best Music – Original Song √ Correct
“I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away” from “Toy Story 4”
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman”
Music by Elton John; Lyric by Bernie Taupin
“I'm Standing With You” from “Breakthrough”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“Into The Unknown” from “Frozen II”
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“Stand Up” from “Harriet”
Music and Lyric by Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo
Spoiler: “Stand Up”
Best Production Design √ Correct
“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw & Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent & Nora Sopková
“1917,” Dennis Gassner & Lee Sandales
“Once upon a Time...in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling & Nancy Haigh
“Parasite,” Lee Ha Jun & Cho Won Woo
Spoiler: “1917”
Best Short Film – Animated √ Correct
“Dcera (Daughter),” Daria Kashcheeva
“Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver
“Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan and Kathryn Hendrickson
“Memorable,” Bruno Collet and Jean-François Le Corre
“Sister,” Siqi Song
Spoiler: “Kitbull”
Best Short Film – Live Action √ Correct
“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur and Maria Gracia Turgeon
“Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat and Damien Megherbi
“The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry
“Saria,” Bryan Buckley and Matt Lefebvre
“A Sister,” Delphine Girard
Spoiler: “Brotherhood” or “Nefta”
Best Sound Editing X Incorrect
“Ford v Ferrari,” Donald Sylvester
“Joker,” Alan Robert Murray
“1917,” Oliver Tarney and Rachael Tate
“Once upon a Time...in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” Matthew Wood and David Acord
Spoiler: “Ford v Ferrari”
Best Sound Mixing √ Correct
“Ad Astra,” Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson and Mark Ulano
“Ford v Ferrari,” Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow
“Joker,” Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic and Tod Maitland
“1917,” Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson
“Once upon a Time...in Hollywood,” Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler and Mark Ulano
Spoiler: “Ford v Ferrari”
Best Visual Effects √ Correct
“Avengers: Endgame”
Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken and Dan Sudick
“The Irishman”
Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser and Stephane Grabli
“The Lion King”
Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Elliot Newman
“1917”
Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler and Dominic Tuohy
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach and Dominic Tuohy
Spoiler: “Avengers”
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