With the 94th Academy Awards now in the past, let’s take a look at the year in advance and give best picture predictions for the 95th Academy Awards.
The 94th Academy Awards have ended, and what a historic evening it was! This year’s awards had every stat imaginable fall outside the slap heard around the world. Stats dating back to 1932, where Grand Hotel won Best Picture with only one nomination fell as CODA went three for three and took home the top prize as the first film to win the award without a below-the-line nomination in 90 years.
CODA also became the first film to win Best Picture after skipping all fall festivals since The Departed. Speaking of The Departed, CODA became the second remake of an international feature to win the top prize. Finally, the film became the first film to win Best Picture distributed by a streamer as Apple TV+ best Netflix to the night’s highest honor.
As cinephiles now look to the 95th Academy Awards, there’s no better time than to look into my crystal ball to predict the ten best picture nominees at next year’s Academy Awards. Along with going 21/23 in my predictions for this year’s Oscars, last year’s year in advance predictions had a 50% conversion from predicted to ultimately nominated films.
Here are my year in advance Best Picture nominees:
1. Babylon
My year in advance, winner of Best Picture, marks the return of Academy Award winner Damien Chazelle. Babylon will explore the transition of the silent era in Hollywood to the Talkies. Starring Academy Award nominee Margot Robbie, Academy Award winner Brad Pitt, Tobey Maguire, Jean Smart, Li Jun Li, Jovan Adepo, Diego Calva, Max Minghella, Flea, Samara Weaving, Lukas Haas, and Olivia Wilde, Babylon feels like the film to beat at next year’s Oscars.
2. She Said
Based on “She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement”, She Said follows two New York Times investigative reporters who exposed Harvey Weinstein’s toxic history of abuse and sexual misconduct against women. She Said is directed by Maria Schrader and stars Zoe Kazan and Academy Award nominee Carey Mulligan.
3. Killers of the Flower Moon
Academy Award winner Martin Scorsese is back with his American Western based on the 2017 book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. The film is based on a series of murders in the 1920s committed in the Osage Nation, which ultimately led to the formation of the FBI. The film stars Academy Award winners Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Deniro, and Academy Award nominee Jesse Plemons.
4. The Fablemans
Two-time Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg returns with his “Belfast” in a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale. The film stars Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams, Seth Rogan, and Paul Dano
5. Thirteen Lives
Academy Award winner Rob Howard returns with his faithful story adaptation of the 2018 Tham Luang cage rescue, which saw a football team and their coach trapped for 18 days. The film was initially slated to release in April; however, thanks to the highest test screening in the history of MGM studio, the movie shifted to an awards-friendly November 18th date. Thirteen Lives stars Academy Award nominee Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, and Joel Edgerton
6. The Son
After his haunting Oscar-winning debut, The Father, Academy Award winner Florian Zeller returns with his follow-up film, The Son. The film follows Peter Beth as their life is turned upside down when Peter’s ex-wife Kate arrives with their troubled teenage son.
The film stars Academy Award nominees Hugh Jackman, Vanessa Kirby, and Academy Award winners Laura Dern and Anthony Hopkins.
7. Asteroid City
While The French Dispatch wasn’t my favorite Wes Anderson film, the director remains one of my favorite filmmakers working today. Anderson returns in 2022 with his romantic comedy-drama film, Asteroid City. While little is known of the plot yet, it’s been described as Anderson’s most notable film. The film’s asteroid size ensemble includes Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Rupert Friend, Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Jeff Goldblum, Jeffrey Wright, and Liev Schreiber.
8. Bardo (or False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths)
Two-time Academy Award winner Alejandro González Iñárritu returns with his comedy following a Mexican journalist played by Daniel Giménez Cacho. With the Academy’s diverse international body, Iñárritu’s reputation as a filmmaker and with the Academy makes this film a contender in the global feature category and a solid contender to break the Best Picture lineup.
9. Empire of Light
Academy Award winner Sam Mendes returns with his love story in an English coastal cinema during the 80s. What makes this project intriguing is not just Mendes’s reputation as a filmmaker but the casting of Academy Award winners Olivia Coleman and Colin Firth.
10. The Batman
This is undoubtedly the most significant question mark going into next season’s Oscar race. With films such as Black Panther breaking the Best Picture lineup in 2018 and Joker leading all nominations in 2019, a comic book film in the Best Picture lineup is not out of the realm of possibility. With The Batman comes new reviews as the film is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, an immaculate box office take thus far, and quite frankly, one of the best films of the year. Along with its respect to the titular’s characters lineage, the film offers up one of the all-time best scores in a comic book film composed by Michael Giacchino.
Along with the score, the film’s cinematography is among the best in the genre and of the year, which recently Academy Award winner Greg Fraiser shot. It will be a tough hill to climb to make it into the ten, but I am going with my heart and will predict The Batman will be a Best Picture nominee at the 95th Academy Awards.