FINAL 2018 Oscar Winner Predictions

At last!

It feels like an eternity ago that I was predicting the likes of Beautiful Boy, The Front Runner and Peterloo for Oscar nominations. Now, here we are, with that trio long out of the picture and Roma riding high as Black Panther and Green Book lurk around the corner, hoping to score the big upset for the top prize.

There is no shortage of uncertainty lingering over this year’s races. While a handful of contenders, including Alfonso Cuaron in Best Director and “Shallow” in Best Original Song (perhaps the lone prize A Star Is Born goes home with), seem like the surest of bets, there are far more toss-ups at hand than runaway victories. Even Mahershala Ali and Rami Malek, who have all but steamrolled the major precursors of late, shouldn’t feel entirely secure.

Films like Black Panther, BlackKklansman and The Favourite, all entering the big night with a plethora of nominations, could find themselves basking in Oscar glory or shut out altogether. Should The Favourite fall short in all 10 of its bids (which I am predicting to be the case), it will join the unfortunate likes of American Hustle, Gangs of New York and True Grit, all of which conked out 0-for-10 at their respective ceremonies.

As for the technical categories, they could go in so many different directions, with plausible cases to even be made for First Man and Mary Poppins Returns, both of which spent much of the awards season stumbling.

With that said, here's my hunch on how the evening goes down…

BEST PICTURE

1. Roma

2. Green Book

3. Black Panther

4. BlacKkKlansman

5. Bohemian Rhapsody

6. A Star Is Born

7. The Favourite

8. Vice

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

2. Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman

3. Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War

4. Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite

5. Adam McKay, Vice

BEST ACTRESS

1. Glenn Close, The Wife

2. Olivia Colman, The Favourite

3. Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born

4. Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

5. Yalitza Aparicio, Roma

BEST ACTOR

1. Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody

2. Christian Bale, Vice

3. Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born

4. Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

5. Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk

2. Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

3. Amy Adams, Vice

4. Marina de Tavira, Roma

5. Emma Stone, The Favourite

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Mahershala Ali, Green Book

2. Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born

3. Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

4. Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman

5. Sam Rockwell, Vice

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Roma

2. Green Book

3. The Favourite

4. First Reformed

5. Vice

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. BlacKkKlansman

2. If Beale Street Could Talk

3. Can You Ever Forgive Me?

4. A Star Is Born

5. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. Black Panther

2. BlacKkKlansman

3. If Beale Street Could Talk

4. Mary Poppins Returns

5. Isle of Dogs

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

1. “Shallow,” A Star Is Born

2. “All the Stars,” Black Panther

3. “I’ll Fight,” RBG

4. “The Place Where Lost Things Go,” Mary Poppins Returns

5. “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings,” The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

BEST FILM EDITING

1. BlacKkKlansman

2. Bohemian Rhapsody

3. Vice

4. The Favourite

5. Green Book

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

1. Roma (Mexico)

2. Cold War (Poland)

3. Never Look Away (Germany)

4. Capernaum (Lebanon)

5. Shoplifters (Japan)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

2. Isle of Dogs

3. Incredibles 2

4. Mirai

5. Ralph Breaks the Internet

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1. RBG

2. Free Solo

3. Minding the Gap

4. Hale County This Morning, This Evening

5. Of Fathers and Sons

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Roma

2. Cold War

3. The Favourite

4. Never Look Away

5. A Star Is Born

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. Black Panther

2. The Favourite

3. Roma

4. Mary Poppins Returns

5. First Man

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. First Man

2. Avengers: Infinity War

3. Ready Player One

4. Solo: A Star Wars Story

5. Christopher Robin

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1. Black Panther

2. The Favourite

3. Mary Poppins Returns

4. Mary Queen of Scots

5. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

1. Vice

2. Mary Queen of Scots

3. Border

BEST SOUND MIXING

1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. First Man

3. Black Panther

4. Roma

5. A Star Is Born

BEST SOUND EDITING

1. Black Panther

2. First Man

3. Bohemian Rhapsody

4. Roma

5. A Quiet Place

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

1. A Night at the Garden

2. Lifeboat

3. Black Sheep

4. End Game

5. Period. End of Sentence

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

1. Animal Behavior

2. Weekends

3. Bao

4. One Small Step

5. Late Afternoon

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

1. Detainment

2. Mother

3. Fauve

4. Marguerite

5. Skin