Oscars season is upon us once again, and with 2023 being such an amazing year for cinema, many categories are tightly packed with competition. The summer was dominated with giants such as the unforgettable ‘Barbenheimer’ combo which were followed by masterpieces such as Killers of the Flower Moon later in the year. So what’s going to win each award on the 10th of March?  

We can look at different award ceremonies to get a general idea of those with the highest chances. In my eyes the frontrunner for Best Picture seems to be Christopher Nolan’s 3 hour biopic, with Oppenheimer already taking home that title in the BAFTAs, Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes. The resounding success of this epic extends further, with Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. being very likely picks for Actor in a Leading Role and Supporting role respectively. Directing arguably has stiffer competition with the likes of Scorsese, Lanthimos and Glazer all being on there but Nolan does stand a decent chance. Other awards it is likely to take home include Best Editing and possibly Best Sound. 

So where does this leave Barbie? It is nominated for nearly every category actually, but I feel like it has only got a chance at a select few. We live in a timeline where it is actually nominated twice for Best Original Score including fan favourite ‘I’m Just Ken’, but realistically Billie Eilish’s ‘What Was I Made For?’ is the likely winner here. Ryan Gosling claimed a controversial nomination for his role as Ken, himself arguing that the exclusion of Director Greta Gerwig and Lead Actress Margot Robbie was ‘disappointing’. Going off of other awards, the pink-clad feature is also likely to win Best Adapted Screenplay and Production Design.  

Other than Oppenheimer, Poor Things is the flick that is likely to dominate in some capacity with Emma Stone being unanimously praised for her standout performance and is very likely to win the Best Leading Actress category. It could also contend with Barbie for Production Design while winning Costume Design too.  

Spider-verse fans rejoice because it too has been nominated for Best Animated Feature film, leaving it with a good chance of taking home a second Oscar after its prequel did the same. Although it will have to triumph over Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and The Heron, an amazing film in its own right.  

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