The 98th annual Academy Awards take place on Sunday, March 15 — locally, you can play film trivia and watch it on the big screen at The Little Theatre — and our film critics have a few thoughts on this year’s nominees ahead of Hollywood’s glittery night.
The Olympics are my Super Bowl, the Oscars are my Olympics and, no, I will not be explaining any further. (Most) awards are (mostly) silly, but as someone who has tuned in to the Academy Awards every year since about the age of 12 (“Beauty and the Beast” up for Best Picture!) and has formed several related grudges in the interim years (let’s chat about Russell Crowe besting Tom Hanks for Best Actor at the 73rd ceremony or Rami Malek over Bradley Cooper at the 91st) I’m still always ready and willing to engage, much to the detriment and/or delight of those within earshot (or reading this feature).
This year’s Academy Awards include some truly fun, deserving nominations. I love Kate Hudson being recognized for “Song Sung Blue,” her first nom since her breakout performance in “Almost Famous” in 2000. Delroy Lindo, who you likely know by face if not name, has been turning in memorable performances for decades and finally nabbed his first nod for a gorgeous supporting performance in “Sinners.” But who will win? I’m not a betting person, and I don’t know anything about anything, but, as Sean Connery famously said when he opened the 76th ceremony: that’s why we love to watch “da moviesh.” — Johanna Lester
In years’ past, it seemed like by the time Oscar night rolled around, all the awards were preordained. This year, a lot of people are going to get their predictions wrong, which is exciting! Late last year, it seemed like one movie was destined to win Best Picture without much competition (but even that doesn’t feel as solidified as previously thought). The supporting categories? Anyone’s guess. So if you are hoping to win your Oscar pool this year, be prepared to get some wrong — which is always fun because that means there are some surprises on the night of the Oscars. — Matt Passantino
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
This is the category that will have everyone holding their breath until the moment the envelope is opened on Oscar night. Amy Madigan, Wunmi Mosaku and Teyana Taylor have split the key precursor awards, which means flip a three-sided coin to try and decide who may take Oscar home. Madigan has the uphill battle of being the only nominee for her film, where Mosaku and Taylor are in the perceived top two contenders for Best Picture. Wunmi Mosaku, as the quiet beating heart of “Sinners,” could find her way to a win in one of the closest races this award season. —MP
This is Amy Madigan’s (“Weapons”) to lose — only her second nomination ever, coming 40 years after her first. If there’s a spoiler in this category, it’s Wunmi Mosaku (“Sinners”), who gave one of my favorite performances of the year. —JL
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Throughout the course of the seemingly never-ending award season, this category has taken on many forms. Jacob Elordi got some early prizes and Stellan Skarsgård seemed set up to win for some of his career-best work. In recent precursors, the category has shifted to Sean Penn’s cartoonish villainy in “One Battle After Another,” which seems to signal the actor is very much in play for his third Academy Award (but keep an eye out for a Delroy Lindo shocker come Oscar night). —MP
In a just world, the Oscar goes to Jacob Elordi (“Frankenstein”) or Lindo. Sean Penn (“One Battle After Another”) likely takes home his third statue for a true supporting performance in one of the year’s best films. (We’ll also pour one out for Benicio Del Toro’s few small beers.) —JL
BEST ACTRESS
If anything is a lock this year (and not much is), it’s Jessie Buckley’s wrenching performance in “Hamnet,” leaving few, if any, audience hearts unbroken. In a different year, Rose Byrne (playing a not wholly dissimilar mother-on-the-verge in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”) takes this home. —JL
In a year where the acting categories could go in several different directions, Jessie Buckley seems to be the biggest lock for her heartbreaking work in “Hamnet.” While it would be nice to see Rose Byrne awarded for the best screen performance of 2025, it’s hard to win when you’re the lone nominee for a film. Buckley has won every precursor leading up to the Oscars and the wins don’t seem like they are going to stop come Oscar night. —MP
BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet has all but sent collection baskets around looking for votes during his award campaign. The 30-year-old actor has made it clear his eye is on the prize through his nonstop appearances for the movie, which might turn some voters off. But, Chalamet (who should have won on his first nomination for “Call Me by Your Name”) is stunning in “Marty Supreme,” making a completely obnoxious character transfixing for the propulsive two-and-a-half hour runtime. Should he take the gold home, it will be well-deserved. —MP
Last week, I felt confident that Timothée Chalamet (“Marty Supreme”) would take this home. In the wake of Michael B. Jordan’s (“Sinners”) surprise win at the Actor Awards (formerly the Screen Actors Guild Awards), I’m not so sure. Actors make up the largest voting body of the Academy, and I think that Jordan has what it takes to prevail. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose? —JL
BEST DIRECTOR
I’m excited for Paul Thomas Anderson (“One Battle After Another”) to finally bag his first Academy Award, and for a legitimately thrilling movie. We’ll see fellow directing nominee Ryan Coogler (“Sinners”) nab one of these earlier in the evening for Best Original Screenplay. —JL
Even if “Sinners” pulls off the Best Picture win, Best Director will go to Paul Thomas Anderson. For as many times as he has been nominated, he never has been a true threat to win and “One Battle After Another” is a chance to give a revered director his moment on the Oscar stage. —MP
BEST PICTURE
Like most math, trying to game out the preferential (ranked-choice) ballot for Best Picture is, frankly, none of my business. We can only ask pedestrian questions like: How quickly is the tide turning in favor of “Sinners” over “One Battle After Another”? Is there a third, secret option like Brazil’s “The Secret Agent”? I still believe that “One Battle” deservedly takes home the night’s biggest prize, but not without a hint of disappointment in the room for those hoping Coogler’s historical vampire epic might play spoiler. —JL
When Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” opened in September, it seemed like the Best Picture trophy all but needed to be engraved (“Sinners” amassing the most nominations for a single movie in the history of the Academy Awards should maybe pause any preemptive engraving for the time being). “One Battle After Another” is a movie in conversation with the current political moment but on the filmmaking side, Anderson is going into this year’s Oscars with 14 career nominations and zero wins. That will change, one way or another, on Oscar night. —MP
