Hollywood Contenders: New Oscar Predictions for Early November

We’re knee deep in November. Wow. The time just flies, doesn’t it? I saw that every month, but it still feels true. This is the big month too, with many of the biggest awards hopefuls hitting theaters. Now, December is obviously true crunch time as well, but I have a soft spot for November. Things come out and can simmer a bit. It’s also when you really want to get your Academy Award ducks in a row. With that, I’ve been thinking hard about these predictions of mine. Hopefully, that’s reflected in the prudent changes I’ve made, but time will ultimately tell there.

I’m going to up my output to twice a month now, so this will be somewhat temporary predictions, obviously. There’s also going to be a number of high profile films being seen between now and the end of the month. For example, I finally see La La Land on Monday and will be watching Lion as you read this. That will undoubtedly impact predictions or at least cause me to contemplate some potential changes. As such, it’s just logical to make this even more temporary a look at the Oscar race than usual. Enough talk though, I know you just want to see what I think of the race right now, so I’ll indulge you now…

Here now are my latest official Academy Award predictions:

BEST PICTURE

1. La La Land
2. Fences
3. Jackie
4. Manchester by the Sea
5. Live By Night
6. Lion
7. 20th Century Women
8. Moonlight
9. Hell or High Water
10. Arrival

Next in line: 11. Silence 12. Sully 13. Hidden Figures 14. Loving 15. Miss Sloane 16. Passengers 17. Nocturnal Animals 18. Patriot’s Day 19. Captain Fantastic 20. Allied 21. Gold 22. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk 23. Rules Don’t Apply 24. The Jungle Book 25. The Birth of a Nation

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Damien Chazelle – La La Land
2. Denzel Washington – Fences
3. Pablo Larraín – Jackie
4. Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
5. Ben Affleck – Live By Night

Next in line: 6. Barry Jenkins – Moonlight 7. Mike Mills – 20th Century Women 8. Martin Scorsese – Silence 9. Clint Eastwood – Sully 10. Denis Villenueve – Arrival

BEST ACTOR

1. Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
2. Ryan Gosling – La La Land (or The Nice Guys)
3. Denzel Washington – Fences
4. Joel Edgerton – Loving
5. Tom Hanks – Sully

Next in line: 6. Ben Affleck – Live By Night 7. Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic 8. Matthew McConaughey – Gold 9. Jake Gyllenhaal – Nocturnal Animals 10. Robert De Niro – The Comedian

BEST ACTRESS

1. Emma Stone – La La Land
2. Natalie Portman – Jackie
3. Annette Bening – 20th Century Women
4. Ruth Negga – Loving
5. Jessica Chastain – Miss Sloane

Next in line: 6. Amy Adams – Arrival (or Nocturnal Animals) 7. Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins 8. Isabelle Huppert – Elle 9. Jennifer Lawrence – Passengers 10. Taraji P. Henson – Hidden Figures

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Hugh Grant – Florence Foster Jenkins
2, Peter Sarsgaard – Jackie
3. Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals
4. Liam Neeson – Silence
5. Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water

Next in line: 6. Mahershala Ali – Moonlight 7. Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea 8. Kevin Costner – Hidden Figures 9. Woody Harrelson – The Edge of Seventeen 10. John Goodman – 10 Cloverfield Lane (or Patriot’s Day)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Viola Davis – Fences
2. Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea
3. Naomi Harris – Moonlight
4. Nicole Kidman – Lion
5. Greta Gerwig – 20th Century Women

Next in line: 6. Helen Mirren – Eye in the Sky 7. Molly Shannon – Other People 8. Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures 9. Elle Fanning – 20th Century Women (or Live By Night) 10. Margo Martindale – The Hollars

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Manchester by the Sea
2. Jackie
3. La La Land
4. Moonlight
5. Hell or High Water

Next in line: 6. 20th Century Women 7. Loving 8. Passengers 9. Paterson 10. Captain Fantastic

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. Fences
2. Arrival
3. Lion
4. Silence
5. Live By Night

Next in line: 6. Nocturnal Animals 7. Hidden Figures 8. Sully 9. Love & Friendship 10. A Monster Calls

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

1. Zootopia
2. Kubo and the Two Strings
3. Moana
4. April and the Extraordinary World
5. The Red Turtle

Next in line: 6. Finding Dory 7. The Little Prince 8. The Secret Life of Pets 9. Sausage Party 10. Kung Fu Panda 3

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. La La Land
2. Jackie
3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
4. Rules Don’t Apply
5. Silence

Next in line: 6. Love & Friendship 7. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk 8. Live By Night 9. Passengers 10. Arrival

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. La La Land
2. Arrival
3. Live By Night
4. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
5. Nocturnal Animals

Next in line: 6. Moonlight 7. Silence 8. The Handmaiden 9. Manchester by the Sea 10. Sully

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1. Allied
2. La La Land
3. Alice Through the Looking Glass
4. Love & Friendship
5. Jackie

Next in line: 6. Silence 7. Nocturnal Animals 8. Loving 9. Fences 10. The Witch

BEST FILM EDITING

1. La La Land
2. Jackie
3. Fences
4. Live By Night
5. Arrival

Next in line: 6. Passengers 7. Manchester by the Sea 8. Sully 9. Lion 10. 20th Century Women

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

1. Suicide Squad
2. Alice Through the Looking Glass
3. Star Trek Beyond

Next in line: 6. Love & Friendship 7. Jackie 8. Doctor Strange 9. La La Land 10. The Witch

BEST SOUND MIXING

1. La La Land
2. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
4. Deepwater Horizon
5. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Next in line: 6. Deadpool 7. A Monster Calls 8. Sully 9. Arrival 10. Live By Night

BEST SOUND EDITING

1. La La Land
2. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
4. Jason Bourne
5. Deadpool

Next in line: 6. A Monster Calls 7. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 8. Sully 9. Arrival 10. Live By Night

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. The Jungle Book
2. Doctor Strange
3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
4. Passengers
5. Arrival

Next in line: 6. Captain America: Civil War 7. A Monster Calls 8. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 9. Suicide Squad 10. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. Arrival
2. La La Land
3. Finding Dory
4. Live By Night
5. Jackie

Next in line: 6. Silence 7. The BFG 8. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 9. Florence Foster Jenkins 10. Finding Dory

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

1. La La Land “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)”
2. Sing Street “Go Now”
3. La La Land “City of Stars”
4. Sausage Party “The Great Beyond”
5. Moana “We Know the Way”

Next in line: 6. Sing Street “Drive It Like You Stole It” 7. Trolls “Can’t Stop the Feeling” 8. Hidden Figures “Victory” 9. Snowden “The Veil” 10. Audrie & Daisy “Flicker”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1. 13th
2. Weiner
3. OJ: Made in America
4. Life, Animated
5. Gleason

Next in line: 6. Before the Flood 7. The Eagle Huntress 8. Tower 9. Cameraperson 10. Finding Oscar

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE

1. Toni Erdmann
2. Land of Mine
3. Elle
4. The Salesman
5. Neruda

Next in line: 6. Julieta 7. It’s Only the End of the World 8. Sandstorm Pets 9. Sparrows 10. The Idol

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

1. ???
2. ???
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

1. Joe’s Violin
2. The White Helmets
3. Frame 394
4. The Other Side of Home
5. Extremis

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

1. ???
2. ???
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???

Stay tuned for another update to these early Oscar predictions before the month is out, as we continue into the very heart of the awards season!