Rest assured: this is the only Oscar predictions post you’ll see on Critic Speak all year. While the rest of the Internet film community becomes obsessed with statuettes come November, writing almost exclusively about precursors and frontrunners and “Oscar buzz” for the next four months, we pride ourselves on keeping the focus on real criticism. But it is fun to draft up picks and predictions on the day of the ceremony to make the four-hour telecast more tolerable.
The 86th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, air tonight on ABC at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific. You can view the full list of nominees here.
Without further adieu, our picks (who we want to win out of the nominees) in the right-hand columns and our predictions (who we think will win) are in the left-hand columns. Last year, Danny batted 19 for 24, while James came in at 17 for 24. What will this year’s scores be? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
| Danny Baldwin’s Prediction | James Frazier’s Prediction | Danny Baldwin’s Personal Pick | James Frazier’s Personal Pick | |
| Picture | “12 Years a Slave” | “12 Years a Slave” | “The Wolf of Wall Street” | “Nebraska” |
| Director | Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity” | Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity” | Martin Scorsese, “The Wolf of Wall Street” | Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity” |
| Actor | Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club” | Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club” | Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street” | Bruce Dern, “Nebraska” |
| Actress | Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine” | Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine” | Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine” | Sandra Bullock, “Gravity” |
| Supporting Actor | Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club” | Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club” | Jonah Hill, “The Wolf of Wall Street” | Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips” |
| Supporting Actress | Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave” | Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave” | June Squibb, “Nebraska” | Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave” |
| Original Screenplay | “American Hustle” | “Her” | “Her” | “Nebraska” |
| Adapted Screenplay | “12 Years a Slave” | “12 Years a Slave” | “Before Midnight” | “Captain Phillips” |
| Animated Feature | “Frozen” | “Frozen” | “The Wind Rises” | N/A |
| Cinematography | “Gravity” | “Gravity” | “Gravity” | “Gravity” |
| Foreign Film | “The Great Beauty” | “The Great Beauty” | N/A | N/A |
| Documentary Feature | “20 Feet From Stardom” | “20 Feet From Stardom” | N/A | N/A |
| Editing | “Captain Phillips” | “Gravity” | “12 Years a Slave” | “Gravity” |
| Costume Design | “American Hustle” | “The Great Gatsby” | “The Great Gatsby” | “The Great Gatsby” |
| Makeup & Hairstyling | “Dallas Buyers Club” | “Dallas Buyers Club” | “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” | “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” |
| Production Design | “The Great Gatsby” | “The Great Gatsby” | “Her” | “The Great Gatsby” |
| Original Score | “Gravity” | “Gravity” | “Her” | “Gravity” |
| Original Song | “Let It Go” from “Frozen” | “Let It Go” from “Frozen” | “Let It Go” from “Frozen” | N/A |
| Sound Editing | “Gravity” | “Gravity” | “Gravity” | “Gravity” |
| Sound Mixing | “Gravity” | “Gravity” | “Gravity” | “Gravity” |
| Visual Effects | “Gravity” | “Gravity” | “Gravity” | “Gravity” |
| Animated Short | “Get a Horse!” | “Get a Horse!” | N/A | N/A |
| Live-Action Short | “Helium” | “Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)” | N/A | N/A |
| Documentary Short | “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” | “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” | N/A | N/A |
Danny’s prediction score: 20 out of 24
James’ prediction score: 22 out of 24