The Oscar nominations are just around the corner, and the race for the coveted golden statuettes is heating up. As the industry's biggest stars and filmmakers gear up for the 95th Academy Awards, speculation and predictions are running rampant as to who will take home the coveted nominations.

The Oscar nominations are one of the most highly-anticipated events in the entertainment industry, with nominees and winners often becoming household names and receiving a boost to their careers. The Academy Awards are widely considered to be the ultimate recognition of excellence in filmmaking, and being nominated for or winning an Oscar is a career-defining moment for many in the industry.

As we approach the 95th Academy Awards, the race for nominations is heating up, with a wide range of films and performances being touted as frontrunners.

In the Best Picture category,

• we can expect to see a strong showing from films like Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Banshees of Inisherin as well as The Fabelmans, which have already gained traction in the awards circuit
• But there are also some dark horse contenders that could surprise us like Germany’s submission All Quiet on the Western Front which has been garnering positive reviews from critics and audiences alike.

Shortlists for 10 categories were announced in December, which included four films from India - The Last Film Show (Chhello Show), All That Breathes, The Elephant Whisperers and RRR.

Fresh from its success at the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards, RRR now moves on to the Academy Awards.

• However, for reasons that exist solely in the minds of the Film Federation of India, RRR is not India's official entry at the Oscars and is therefore ineligible to compete in the Best International Feature category.
• Though the film won’t be competing in the International Feature category (which might I add, it stood the best chance of winning this year given the flimsy competition), it could potentially make it through to the other categories.

To know more about RRR’s chances at the Oscars, check out: RRR has superb chances at an Oscars 2023 win now that it has made history with a Golden Globe

From the critically acclaimed frontrunners to the dark horse contenders, the competition is fierce and the stakes are high. But before you dive into the predictions, here’s a quick look at all that goes behind securing these coveted Oscar nominations: How To Win An Oscar

Here are our predictions for the 2023 Oscar nominations:

Best Picture

Predicted:

Avatar: The Way of Water
Elvis
The Fabelmans
TAR
Top Gun: Maverick
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Women Talking
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Whale

Potential contenders:

Triangle of Sadness
The Woman King
RRR (FROM INDIA)

Best Director

Predicted:

Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once) 
Todd Field (TAR) 
Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin) 
Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)
Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front)

Potential contenders:

Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick)
Charlotte Wells (Aftersun)
SS Rajamouli (RRR) (FROM INDIA)

Best Original Screenplay

Predicted:

The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All At Once
The Fabelmans
TAR
Triangle of Sadness

Potential contender:

Aftersun
Elvis

Best Adapted Screenplay

Predicted:

Women Talking
The Whale
Living
All Quiet on the Western Front
She Said

Potential contenders:

Top Gun: Maverick
Glass Onion

Best International Feature

All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany) 
Argentina, 1985 (Argentina) 
Close (Belgium) 
Decision to Leave (South Korea) 
The Quiet Girl (Ireland)

Potential contenders: 

EO (Poland)
Saint Omer (France)
Holy Spider (Denmark)
Joyland (Pakistan)

Best Animated Feature

Predicted:

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Turning Red 
Inu-Oh

Potential contenders:

Wendell & Wild
My Father’s Dragon

Documentary Feature

Predicted:

Navalny
Fire of Love
All That Breathes (FROM INDIA)
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Descendant

Potential contenders:

The Territory
Moonage Daydream

Best Actress

Predicted:

Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once) 
Cate Blanchett (Tár) 
Danielle Deadwyler (Till)
Viola Davis (The Woman King) 
Ana De Armas (Blonde)

Potential contenders:

Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans)  
Olivia Colman (Empire of Light)

Best Actor

Predicted:

Austin Butler (Elvis) 
Brendan Fraser (The Whale) 
Hugh Jackman (The Son)
Bill Nighy (Living) 
Paul Mescal (Aftersun)

Potential contenders:

Jeremy Pope (The Inspection) 
Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick)

Best Supporting Actress

Predicted:

Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) 
Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin) 
Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once) 
Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once) 
Hong Chau (The Whale)

Potential contenders:

Dolly De Leon (Triangle of Sadness)
Jessie Buckley (Women Talking)

Best Supporting Actor

Predicted:

Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin) 
Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin) 
Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) 
Eddie Redmayne (The Good Nurse)
Paul Dano (The Fabelmans)

Potential contenders:

Judd Hirsch (The Fabelmans)
Ben Whishaw (Women Talking)

Best Film Editing

Predicted:

Top Gun: Maverick
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Elvis
The Banshees of Inisherin
The Fabelmans

Potential contenders:

All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water

Best Cinematography

Predicted:

Top Gun: Maverick 
Elvis
All Quiet on the Western Front
Empire of Light 
The Fabelmans

Potential contenders:

Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman

Best Original Score

Predicted:

The Banshees of Inisherin
Pinocchio
Women Talking
Babylon
The Fabelmans

Potential contenders:

All Quiet on the Western Front
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Best Original Song

Predicted:

Naatu Naatu (RRR) (FROM INDIA)
Cia Papa (Pinocchio)
Hold My Hand (Top Gun: Maverick)
Lift Me Up (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Applause (Tell It Like a Woman)

Potential contenders:

Carolina (Where the Crawdads Sing)
Til You’re Home (A Man Called Otto)

Best Production Design

Predicted:

Elvis
Avatar: The Way of Water
Babylon
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Fabelmans

Potential contenders:

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Sound

Predicted:

Top Gun: Maverick
Avatar: The Way of Water
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
All Quiet on the Western Front

Potential contenders:

The Batman
Guillermo del Torro’s Pinocchio

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Predicted:

The Whale
Elvis
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Potential contenders:

Blonde
Amsterdam

Best Costume Design

Predicted:

Elvis
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Babylon
The Woman King
Everything Everywhere All At Once

Potential contenders:

Mrs Harris Goes To Paris
The Fabelmans

Best Visual Effects

Predicted:

Avatar: The Way of Water
Top Gun: Maverick
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
All Quiet on the Western Front

Potential contenders:

Thirteen Lives
Nope

Animated Short

Predicted:

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
My Year of Dicks
The Flying Sailor
Ice Merchants
New Moon

Potential contenders:

Ice Merchants
Save Ralph

Documentary Short

Predicted:

The Flagmakers
38 at the Garden
As Far as They Can Run
Nuisance Bear
The Elephant Whisperers (FROM INDIA)

Potential contenders:

How Do You Measure A Year
The Martha Mitchell Effect

Live Action Short

Predicted:

Le Pupille
Warsha
The Red Suitcase
An Irish Goodbye
Ivalu

Potential contenders:

Nakam
Sideral

Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams will present the nominees for the 2023 Academy Awards on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at 7 pm IST on the Academy’s YouTube channel and Twitter page.

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