Oscars 2024: Who Will Win the Rest of the Academy Awards

The red carpet is unrolled, and the bleachers are in place. The stars are getting dressed up, and the accountant has already sealed the envelopes. As the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences prepares to hand out the 2024 Oscars, we share our final predictions.

As is the case of any other movie buff around the world, we have opinions. We already went long on who will win Best Picture, Best International Feature, Best Live Action Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Animated Short, Best Documentary Feature, and, of course, the four Best Acting categories. Fill out the view with a rundown of the most unnerving omissions - “May December” was robbed! -and close with the best of the rest.

Here are our predictions for all the other categories in the 96th Academy Awards. 

Best Animated Feature

“The Boy and the Heron”: Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki

“Elemental”: Peter Sohn and Denise Ream

“Nimona”: Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan, and Julie Zackary

“Robot Dreams”: Pablo Berger, Bon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé and Sandra Tapia Díaz

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”: Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Amy Pascal 

The three American nominees have complicated records. “Nimona” is a Disney castoff picked up by Netflix. Pixar’s “Elemental” was perceived as a failure, even if it turned out to be profitable in the long run. The putative favorite, “Spider-Man…,” is tarnished by complaints about working conditions for animation workers. If there were any justice in the world, the Oscar would go to Hayao Miyazaki’s masterful and unexpected return from retirement. The other foreign candidate, Spain’s lovely “Robot Dreams,” is just happy to be here.

Best Cinematography

“El Conde”: Edward Lachman

“Killers of the Flower Moon”: Rodrigo Prieto

“Maestro”: Matthew Libatique

“Oppenheimer”: Hoyte van Hoytema

“Poor Things”: Robbie Ryan

Only an “Oppenheimer” sweep can keep Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto from winning the Oscar. Besides his beautiful work on Martin Scorsese’s historical epic, he did sterling work in the candy-colored “Barbie.” It’s good luck he did not get a dual nomination, since it would have diluted the vote. It is his fourth nomination.

Best Costume Design

“Barbie”: Jacqueline Durran

“Killers of the Flower Moon”: Jacqueline West

“Napoleon”: Janty Yates and Dave Crossman

“Oppenheimer”: Ellen Mirojnick

“Poor Things”: Holly Waddington

A case could be made for “Poor Things”’ worthiness, but this one belongs to Ellen Mirojnick. A well-liked veteran in the industry, it’s crazy to think this is her first nomination in four decades of toiling brilliantly for first-rate directors like James Cameron, Ridley Scott, Paul Verhoeven, and Steven Soderbergh. Heck, she should have been nominated just for Glenn Close’s murderous temptress wardrobe in “Fatal Attraction” (Adrian Lyne, 1987). It’s time.  

Best Directing

“Anatomy of a Fall”: Justine Triet

“Killers of the Flower Moon”: Martin Scorsese

"Oppenheimer": Christopher Nolan

"Poor Things": Yorgos Lanthimos

“The Zone of Interest”: Jonathan Glazer

My heart is with "Killers of the Flower Moon," but It’s a foregone conclusion that the Oscar will go to Christopher Nolan, not just because “Oppenheimer” is a great movie. It gave the industry a shot in the arm, proving an adult, serious-minded movie can bring the masses back to theaters, proving there is life in the post-superhero world. Plus, this would be a way to recognize decades of solid, popular work. His win in the DGA Awards points in the same direction.

Best Film Editing

“Anatomy of a Fall”: Laurent Sénéchal

“The Holdovers”: Kevin Tent

“Killers of the Flower Moon”: Thelma Schoonmaker

“Oppenheimer”: Jennifer Lame

“Poor Things”: Yorgos Mavropsaridis

Martin Scorsese’s key collaborator, Thelma Schoonmaker, should take the prize for making the three and a half hours of “Killers of the Flower Moon” flash away like thunder. Again, only an “Oppenheimer” sweep could derail her.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

“Golda”: Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby and Ashra Kelly-Blue

“Maestro”: Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell

“Oppenheimer”: Louis Abel

“Poor Things”: Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston

“Society of the Snow”: Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Monte Ribé

This is a perfect chance to throw “Poor Things” a bone, and it would not be gratuitous. The bizarre, make-believe old-world setting allowed for a wide scope of transformative work: there are physiognomy-altering prostheses in Willen Dafoe's scarred face, character-building transformation in Emma Stone's progression from Victorian princess to wild child to finally an empowered, self-possessed worldly woman.

Best Original Score

“American Fiction”: Laura Karpman

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”: John Williams

“Killers of the Flower Moon”: Robbie Robertson

“Oppenheimer": Louis Gooransson

“Poor Things”: Jerkin Fendrix

Academy members will not be able to resist honoring beloved rocker Robbie Robertson with a posthumous win for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” At least, in this case, the work is worthy of recognition. 

Best Original Song

The Fire Inside, from “Flamin’ Hot”

I’m Just Ken, from “Barbie”

It Never Went Away, from “American Symphony”

Wazhazhe (A Song for My People), from “Killers of the Flower Moon”

What Was I Made For?, from “Barbie”

Diane Warren got her fifteenth nomination with zero wins for writing the theme song for straight-to-streaming comedy “The Fire Inside.” It feels like trolling from the Academy, even if last year they gave her an Honorary Award to compensate. The thing is, she should not win this one. The award should go to “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie. It’s true that the prize goes to the composer and the lyricist, but Ryan Gosling should get some recognition, too. Then again, probably his show-stopping performance of the musical number is what cinched his Best Supporting Actor nomination. 

Best Production Design

"Barbie": Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer

"Killers of the Flower Moon": Jack Fisk and Andy Willis

"Napoleon": Arthur Max and Elli Griff

"Oppenheimer": Ruth de Jong and Claire Kaufman

"Poor Things": James Price, Shona Heath, Zsuzsa Mihalek

“Poor Things”’ steampunk storybook setting may be the most fanciful choice, but the award should go to long-fanged veteran Jack Fisk for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” It’s maddening to think this is just his third nomination with no wins. His first credit was “Phantom of Paradise” (Brian de Palma, 1974). After that, he became Terrence Malick's key ally, providing historical ballast to “The Thin Red Line” (1998), “The New World” (2005) and “The Tree of Life” (2011), and contemporary glitz and earthy refuge in “To The Wonder” (2012), “Knight of Cups” (2015), and“Song to Song” (2017). The dreamscapes of “Mulholland Drive” (2001) were worthy of recognition, but the Academy favored with nominations the period trappings of “There Will Be Blood” (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2008) and “The Revenant” (Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, 2016).  We can’t blame them. And now it’s the time to actually give him the award.

Best Sound

“The Creator”: Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Ven der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic

“Maestro”: Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic

“Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One”: Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Bourdon and Mark Taylor

“Oppenheimer”: Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell

“The Zone of Interest”: Tarn Willers and Johnie Burn

This award tends to go to the loudest movie time and time again. This year, there is a chance to give it to the most significant use of the medium. The nightmarish sounds of Auschwitz revealed the horror behind the domestic paradise inhabited by the monstrous Hoss family in “The Zone of Interest.”

Best Visual Effects

“The Creator”: Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts, and Neil Corbould

“Godzilla Minus One”: Akashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima

“Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3”: Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bailey

“Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One”: Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland, and Neil Courbould

“Napoleon”: Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin Fenouillet, Simone Coco, and Neil Courbould

Hollywood would be well-served by recognizing the artisanship of “Godzilla Minus One,” which shows the way to move beyond the CGI dreck of the latest year: a return to practical effects, possible with a fraction of the budget burned in movies that look awfully artificial - I’m looking at you, Marvel -.

Best Adapted Screenplay

“American Fiction”: Cord Jefferson

“Barbie”: Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach

“Oppenheimer”: Christopher Nolan

“Poor Things”: Tony McNamara

“The Zone of Interest”: Jonathan Glazer

It’s a joke that “Killers of the Flower Moon” was shut out of this particular race, and the cruel punchline is the inclusion of “Barbie.” Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s script is a fizzy delight, but it does not belong in this category. That leaves the road open to Nolan, who brings a worthy winner in “Oppenheimer.”

Best Original Screenplay

“Anatomy of a Fall”: Justine Triet

“The Holdovers”: David Hemingson

“Maestro”: Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer

“May December”: Samy Burch, Alex Mechanic

“Past Lives”: Celine Song

It’s way too late for the accusations of plagiarism to deter Academy members from voting for “The Holdovers” - and it remains to be seen if they have any weight to them -. Still, the movie is a retread to an old-school kind of coming-of-age bittersweet drama. If I were really awarding the best work, the Oscar should go to Samy Burch’s prickly “May December.” Getting shut out of any other nomination is a bad harbinger, but this is where my heart rests.