The Pop Culture Pundit

Now that I have successfully completed my first year of Fantasy Football and won my league’s championship (yes, I will be bragging about this for the next year), it is time to turn my attention to predicting not sports, but awards. The Golden Globes have come and gone as fast as the snow has turned to slush in Wisconsin, which means it is time to start predicting the Oscars. Here is my analysis of potential nominees and winners for the biggest night in film awards. 

The Frontrunners

One Battle After Another Has a Clear Path to Victory

^{Warner Bros via YouTube}

One Battle is the clear frontrunner for Best Picture: it won Best Picture and Best Director at the Critics Choice; Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Motion Picture–Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes, and has received near-universal acclaim from critics (it currently stands at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes). This is Paul Thomas Anderson’s year, finally, after previously being snubbed three times for Best Picture and Director for There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread, and Licorice Pizza. Plus, fun fact, PTA’s longtime partner is SNL legend Maya Rudolph, making them a Certified Hollywood Power Couple™.

Best Actress–Jessie Buckley, Hamnet 

Jessie Buckley has similarly swept the Critics Choice and Golden Globes for Best Actress, making her almost certain to win the Oscar for Best Actress. Her biggest competition is probably Rose Byrne, who won Best Actress at the Globes for Best Musical or Comedy (Buckley won in the Drama category). In Hamnet, Buckley plays Agnes Shakespeare (wife of William Shakespeare), mourning the death of her young son, and that is the kind of heart-wrenching, historical, transformative performance the Academy loves. 

Best Actor–Timothée Chalamet

Speaking of another historical performance (but maybe slightly less heart-wrenching), Timothée Chalamet plays table tennis whiz Marty Mauser in the film Marty Supreme, which is based on real life ping pong champ Marthy Reisman. Similar to Paul Thomas Anderson, this may finally be Timmy Tim’s year after previous nominations for Call Me By Your Name and A Complete Unknown. 

KPop Demon Hunters is “Golden” for Best Song and Best Animated Feature

“Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters has been inescapable this year–so much so that it became the first Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit for an animated film since “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto in 2021. It’s also nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammys, which has their awards ceremony on February 1. It’s fitting then, that “Golden” will almost certainly get the gold come Oscar night for Best Song, while the movie it’s from will most likely win Best Animated Feature. 

Wildcards

Best Supporting Actor

The Critics Choice awarded their Best Supporting Actor to Jacob Elordi, the Euphoria-heartthrob-turned-terrifying-Frankenstein. The Globes, meanwhile, awarded their trophy to storied actor Stellan Skarsgård, patriarch of the famed Skarsgård acting family, for his (fitting) role as a father in Sentimental Value. While Skarsgård may be favored to win the Oscar, Elordi’s probable nomination is still notable in that he’d be the first of the younger Euphoria stars to be nominated for an Academy Award. Maybe Zendaya will be for The Odyssey next year?

Best Supporting Actress

First it seemed like Ariana Grande was going to get her flowers for Wicked: For Good. Then Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress at the Critics Choice awards for Weapons. Then Teyana Taylor won Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes for One Battle After Another and brought the house down with a terrific speech. While I enjoyed Taylor’s performance the most–despite only 20 minutes of screen time, her character has by far the most impact on the film, even after she leaves the screen–at this point, it’s really anyone’s game. 

Snubs of the Season 

And the Oscars Consolation Prize Goes to Sinners

Ever since the Golden Globes introduced their “Box Office Achievement” Category, a pattern has emerged. The first winner, Barbie, only won Best Song at the Oscars despite being the other half to the pop culture phenomenon that was Barbenheimer. The second winner, Wicked, won in the technical categories at the Oscars but nothing for acting. Sinners seemed destined to follow a similar pattern. Despite being a massive success at the box office, and a major boost showing original IP is still compelling for theatergoers over recycled ideas, it seems that Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, and even Ryan Coogler will be looked over for their incredible performances and writing. If Michael B. Jordan played twins…that means it’s double the snub if he doesn’t win, right?? At least Sinners has a good chance of having its music recognized and winning Best Score. Vampires deserve more love at the Academy Awards! 

Let’s Take a Moment to Mourn Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Getting Shut Out

^{Netflix via YouTube}

This might be my Challengers of this year. The third installment in the Knives Out trilogy, Wake Up Dead Man, has completely blanked in all the major awards associations despite the past two films being nominated in multiple categories (including Best Actor for Daniel Craig at the Golden Globes and Best Screenplay at the Oscars). The third installment was better received than the first sequel, Glass Onion, and Josh O’Connor in the lead role playing a boxer-turned-priest trying to make good on his past sins is simply one of the best performances of the past year. Is it a coincidence he has been snubbed in both this and Challengers? I think not!! 

Is Cynthia Erivo Getting Snubbed for Wicked??

Awards shows seem to be pouring cold water on Elphaba Thropp and melting Cynthia Erivo’s chances of getting a second nomination for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch in Wicked: For Good. Despite being nominated at the Globes, Erivo was snubbed at both the Critics Choice and Actor Awards (formerly known as the SAG awards) in the Best Actress category. Elphaba is arguably the emotional core of the film, and to see her performance overlooked is a difficult reality of awards season. As much as you want every performance you loved being nominated, there are only so many spots in each category. We’ll have to see who is in and who is out in each category when the Academy Award nominations are announced on January 22.