“A Star is Born” and “First Man”: Academy Award predictions for June

We’re approaching the second half of the year folks. Believe it or not, there’s only a little of a week left in the first half. In a matter of days, I’ll be posting my best of the first half, which is nuts. As such, with June almost in the rearview mirror, an update to my Oscar predictions is in order. Monthly predictions still fit things right now, but before you know it, twice a month will be necessary. It’s still a holding pattern for many contenders, but behind the scenes, moves are definitely being made. They just won’t reveal themselves quite yet.

One thing of note that I came across recently was that Richard Linklater’s latest, the adaption of Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, is a March release in 2019. It could opt to have a late 2018 qualifying run, but for now, it’s out of the predictions. Another is that a title change has made The Women of Marwen into Welcome to Marwen. Aside from that, it’s a lot of the same, with First Man from Damien Chazelle remaining one of the top contenders. One thing that you will see below is a boost for A Star is Born, coming after that promising Trailer we recently saw.

Here now are my latest Academy Award predictions:

BEST PICTURE

1. First Man
2. Backseat
3. The Irishman
4. BlackKklansman
5. The Front Runner
6. A Star is Born
7. On the Basis of Sex
8. Boy Erased
9. If Beale Street Could Talk
10. Black Panther

Next in line: 11. Beautiful Boy 12. Widows 13. Mary Queen of Scots 14. The Favourite 15. White Boy Rick 16. Mid 90’s 17. Peterloo 18. Bohemian Rhapsody 19. Can You Ever Forgive Me? 20. Hearts Beat Loud

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Martin Scorsese – The Irishman
2. Adam McKay – Backseat
3. Damien Chazelle – First Man
4. Spike Lee – BlackKklansman
5. Jason Reitman – The Front Runner

Next in line: 6. Ryan Coogler – Black Panther 7. Barry Jenkins – If Beale Street Could Talk 8. Bradley Cooper – A Star is Born 9. Mimi Leder – On the Basis of Sex 10. Joel Edgerton – Boy Erased

BEST ACTOR

1. Hugh Jackman – The Front Runner
2. Ryan Gosling – First Man
3. Christian Bale – Backseat
4. Lucas Hedges – Boy Erased
5. Robert Redford – Old Man and the GunRami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody

Next in line: 6. Robert De Niro – The Irishman 7. Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody 8. Steve Carell – Beautiful Boy (or Welcome to Marwen) 9. Matthew McConaughey – White Boy Rick 10. Ben Foster – Leave No Trace

BEST ACTRESS

1. Felicity Jones – On the Basis of Sex
2. Amy Adams – Backseat
3. Saoirse Ronan – Mary Queen of Scots
4. Kristen Stewart – JT Leroy
5. Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga) – A Star is Born

Next in line: 6. Glenn Close – The Wife 7. Toni Collette – Hereditary 8. Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me? 9. Rachel Weisz – Disobedience 10. Carey Mulligan – Wildlife

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Sam Elliott – A Star is Born
2. Michael B. Jordan – Black Panther
3. Sam Rockwell – Backseat
4. Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
5. Bruce Dern – White Boy Rick

Next in line: 6. Al Pacino – The Irishman 7. Timothee Chalamet – Beautiful Boy (Could Go Lead) 8. Kyle Chandler – First Man 9. Joe Pesci – The Irishman 10. Corey Stoll – First Man

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Margot Robbie – Mary Queen of Scots
2. Claire Foy – First Man
3. Vera Farmiga – The Front Runner
4. Laura Dern – JT Leroy
5. Nicole Kidman – Boy Erased

Next in line: 6. Diane Kruger – Welcome to Marwen 7. Emily Blunt – A Quiet Place 8. Meryl Streep – Mary Poppins Returns 9. Riley Keough – Under the Silver Lake 10. Mackenzie Davis – Tully

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Backseat
2. The Favorite
3. On the Basis of Sex
4. Peterloo
5. Sorry to Bother You

Next in line: 6. White Boy Rick 7. Mid 90’s 8. Hearts Beat Loud 9. Tully 10. Eighth Grade

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. The Front Runner
2. First Man
3. BlackKklansman
4. The Irishman
5. Black Panther

Next in line: 6. If Beale Street Could Talk 7. Wildlife 8. A Star is Born 9. Beautiful Boy 10. Widows

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

1. The Incredibles 2
2. Isle of Dogs
3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
4. Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck It Ralph 2
5. The Grinch

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. Black Panther
2. First Man
3. Solo: A Star Wars Story
4. Ready Player One
5. Bohemian Rhapsody

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. A Star is Born
2. The Irishman
3. First Man
4. If Beale Street Could Talk
5. Cold War

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1. Black Panther
2. Mary Queen of Scots
3. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
4. First Man
5. Mary Poppins Returns

BEST FILM EDITING

1. First Man
2. Black Panther
3. The Irishman
4. BlackKklansman
5. Backseat

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

1. Black Panther
2. Avengers: Infinity War
3. Mary Poppins Returns

BEST SOUND MIXING

1. Avengers: Infinity War
2. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
3. A Star is Born
4. Bohemian Rhapsody
5. A Quiet Place

BEST SOUND EDITING

1. Avengers: Infinity War
2. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
3. A Star is Born
4. Bohemian Rhapsody
5. A Quiet Place

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. Annihilation
2. Avengers: Infinity War
3. Solo: A Star Wars Story
4. Ready Player One
5. Ant-Man and the Wasp

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. First Man
2. If Beale Street Could Talk
3. Ready Player One
4. Under the Silver Lake
5. Solo: A Star Wars Story

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

1. Hearts Beat Loud
2. A Star is Born
3. Fifty Shades Freed
4. Mary Poppins Returns
5. Black Panther

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
2. RBG
3. The Final Year
4. On Her Shoulders
5. The King

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE

1. Cold War
2. Roma
3. Everybody Knows
4. Sunset
5. Loro

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

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BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

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BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

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Stay tuned for updated Oscar predictions at some point next month!