Who will take home the top prize? Oscar predictions 2023

Words by: Pip Carew, Imogen Mingos, Will Steele, Grace Humphreys, and Rhea Assomull

The Oscars are back for another year! Although it’s always impossible to predict the celebrity faux pas of the evening, here are our predictions for this year’s winners.

It’s been a fantastic year for film; from the stunning originality of Everything Everywhere All at Once to the quiet brilliance of Aftersun, the competition for a small gold statue is rife with talent. Time to dust off the red carpet and see what surprises the Academy has in store!

Best Picture:

Grace: I want Banshees of Inisherin to win, the cast is so underrated, and Irish cinema is on its way up. I think they accidentally nominated Elvis. I think they slipped it in hoping no one would notice.

Will: And they nominated it in SO many categories. However, we do have All Quiet on the Western Front and the Academy will always buy a war film. Avatar‘s the fourth-strongest nominee going into Best Picture just because it’s been talked about for so long but I do think Everything Everywhere All at Once will win it, it’s so well-loved and it’s swept the nominations already. I would love for it to be The Fablemans.

Imogen: Elvis has everything, I’m a massive advocate for that film. It’s entertaining and is told from such an interesting perspective that explores the abuses of power, it’s different from your average biopic.

Rhea: I think Avatar: The Way of the Water is the winner, it’s so technically impressive, especially as a Blockbuster, and the people in the studios like that kind of film. Everything Everywhere is too subjectively enjoyable.

Pip: I would love for Sarah Polley’s Women Talking to be the unexpected win this year. Polley’s a phenomenal director and this film has such strong feminist themes, it feels very apt in our current climate. However, I wouldn’t be mad if Everything Everywhere All at Once won because that film is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen.

Overall prediction: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Director:

G: I think Spielberg would be the favourite traditionally but they seem to want to shake things up so I’m predicting a win for Everything Everywhere.

W: Spielberg is the sentimental pick, the Daniels may be too fresh to snatch this from Stevie whose prowess should not be underestimated. McDonagh is a great screenwriter but not a very interesting director. Equally, James Cameron spent 12 years underwater for Avatar but didn’t even get a mention, it’s a hard category to predict.

P: For the intricacy of Everything Everywhere and the sheer originality of vision it has to go to the Daniels. If they get Best Director, they’ll get Best Picture.

Overall prediction: The Daniels for Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Actor:

I: I think Austin Butler will win it because Lisa Marie Presley died this year and she was a massive advocate for him in that role. I could definitely see Austin Butler becoming the next Timothee Chalamet, he’s got that whole sultry thing going on. I just think he was really good in general, there were bits when I genuinely couldn’t tell if it was him or actual footage of Elvis.

G: Everyone thinks Austin Butler is going to get this one but I think it’s a tie-up between Brendan Fraser and Colin Farrell.

P: Those two may cancel each other out. And the Academy does love a biopic actor. I just want to hear Butler do his acceptance speech in the Elvis voice. Paul Mescal is my vote, those emotions he tapped into in Aftersun – unparalleled.

G: He’s amazing but I don’t think he’ll win because he’s too small. Brendan Fraser is basically owed it because of how Hollywood has treated him in the past. It’s all very political.

W: I also think it’s going to be Austin Butler because there’s a precedent for people playing musicians in biopics which started with Bohemian Rhapsody which I despise. It could be Colin Farrell because he’s had a really good year of work, his campaign is very strong and everyone says he’s lovely to work with.

Overall prediction: Austin Butler in Elvis

Best Actress:

W: Michelle Yeoh would be an absolutely amazing win: never had a nomination before and she would be the first Malaysian actress to win, she probably deserves it more than Cate Blanchett winning a third one. However, Blanchett has swept most awards this season so it would be foolish to bet against her despite Yeoh’s strong narrative to win.

R: Cate Blanchett was really good in Tár and she won a Golden Globe for it. I think the film itself was a bit stupid but her accent was amazing, she carried the movie. It’s her.

G: I don’t think it’s going to be Ana De Armas, Blonde looked gorgeous but the controversy surrounding it was too much for her to win anything.

Overall prediction: Cate Blanchett in Tár

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

I: This category is the easiest-

P: Ke Huy Quan. Enough said.

Overall prediction: Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

R: I really want it to be Angela Bassett for Black Panther.

I: I don’t think Jamie Lee Curtis deserves to win it although she is very funny in Everything Everywhere.

G: Hong Chau was incredible in The Whale, she was a lot better than the other actors in that film. Playing next to Brendan Frasier who’s doing a big role and is coming back after such a long time, it’s very hard to hold your own against and she did very well.

W: I think Kerry Condon could low-key sweep in and win it.

P: I disagree, I don’t think there’s enough to her performance, she just kind of holds the other parts together. Angela Bassett seems to be the strongest contender due to the Academy’s increased appreciation of ‘theme park‘ movies.

W: In a somewhat weak and amorphous category, Bassett will likely nab the gold for a powerful performance in an MCU film with this recognition more for her body of work than the film itself.

Overall prediction: Angela Bassett in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Best Cinematography:

I: Elvis for cinematography 100%. It has visually stunning sets because of the onstage Vegas performances and it’s Baz Luhrmann so of course, it’s very glamorous and ostentatious which translates into how it’s shot.

W: This could go in a few directions but Elvis’s cinematographer Mandy Walker would be the first female to win in the category’s history meaning her narrative could propel her to victory.

Overall prediction: Mandy Walker for Elvis

Screenplay categories:

R: All Quiet on the Western Front for Adapted Screenplay is very traditionally impressive because the book is a cult classic so it could win for that. A war film is always going to receive nominations.

I: Glass Onion could win Adapted Screenplay because Rian Johnson got nothing for the first Knives Out film and, from what I’ve heard, people seem to think the second is even better.

P: Banshees HAS to win for Best Original Screenplay, it’s an incredibly nuanced script that addresses male friendship in a way that encapsulates Irish history and it still manages to be funny and absurd, all the things that make McDonagh one of the best writers of our generation. I also don’t think it’ll get much love in the other categories.

W: I agree – Martin McDonagh feels destined for this prize in a crowded category to spread the wealth towards his acclaimed film which is very theatrical and dialogue heavy.

Overall prediction: The Banshees of Inisherin for Best Original Screenplay and All Quiet on the Western Front for Best Adapted Screenplay

Other notable categories:

I: It’s weird that Everything Everywhere All at Once wasn’t nominated for best makeup and hairstyling, I would’ve put my money on that for winning it – so instead it has to go to Elvis, which I also reckon will get Best Sound as a movie-musical.

G: Makeup and hairstyling could be The Whale for Brendan Frasier’s transformation, it’s incredible when he first comes onscreen he looks seven-foot tall, you can’t imagine he’s that size in real life. It’s the best prosthetics I’ve seen in my entire life.

W: Best Original Score belongs to Babylon which was an ambitious mess but wherever you fall on the film, you cannot deny how sensational that soundtrack is. If you haven’t listened, give it a whirl!

The Oscars will be broadcast in the UK on March 13 at 1am on Sky Cinema. Time to see what surprises the Academy has in store!