The calm before the storm. October and most of November, we’ll have very little movement in terms of Oscar contenders other than films potentially moving into the 2024 season. Right now, things are pretty stable and there’s nothing between now and the first precursor awards that will change the calculus, so don’t expect more than just a little tinkering with our lists.

KEY:

Introductions

Wesley Lovell: The only films that haven’t been seen yet that could crash with disastrous reviews are The Color Purple, Napoleon, and Wonka. There are really no other major contenders left to screen. As such, there’s very little movement this month. My impressions of Poor Things have improved slightly and I’ve added it to several categories, but the only real change in terms of nominations was putting the film in the Best Picture slate. I honestly don’t think the film can overcome a lot of strong competition in other categories. I also removed titles like Rye Lane and A Thousand and One, which should have already started taking off by now, but haven’t. There aren’t many changes here at all.
Pete Patrick: The big change is the shift in Best Actress/Supporting Actress as Lily Gladstone goes from an almost certain winner in the supporting category to a possibility in lead leaving Best Supporting Actress the most up in the air of this year’s acting races. Other races remain pretty much the same.
Tripp Burton: No commentary provided.
Thomas LaTourette: The Color Purple is the last major film to be screened. The wonder now is whether it will be that good or is it this year’s Babylon which everyone assumed would be better than it was. With that in mind, I did drop Fantasia Barrino out of my picks for best actress, along with Taraji P. Henson in supporting. I had movement in almost every category. American Fiction popped into several slots and is just outside of a few due to its success at TIFF. In several categories, there are three or four sure things with no consensus over what will take the last spots. And as always, the Academy will probably drop a couple of the sure things for a left field choice. The races are tightening with often a couple frontrunners which could ultimately go either way with Animated Feature, Actress, and Adapted Screenplay being three close ones. It is getting interesting.

Best Picture

WLPPTBTL All of Us Strangers
WLPPTBTL American Fiction
WLPPTBTL Anatomy of a Fall
WLPPTBTL Barbie
WLPPTBTL The Color Purple
WLPPTBTL The Holdovers
WLPPTBTL Killers of the Flower Moon
WLPPTBTL Maestro
WLPPTBTL Napoleon
WLPPTBTL Oppenheimer
WLPPTBTL Past Lives
WLPPTBTL Poor Things
WLPPTBTL The Zone of Interest

Best Animated Feature

WLPPTBTL The Boy and the Heron
WLPPTBTL Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
WLPPTBTL Elemental
WLPPTBTL Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibbertia
WLPPTBTL Nimona
WLPPTBTL Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
WLPPTBTL Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
WLPPTBTL Wish

Best Directing

WLPPTBTL Barbie – Greta Gerwig
WLPPTBTL The Color Purple – Blitz Bazawule
WLPPTBTL The Holdovers – Alexander Payne
WLPPTBTL Killers of the Flower Moon – Martin Scorsese
WLPPTBTL Maestro – Bradley Cooper
WLPPTBTL Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan
WLPPTBTL Past Lives – Celine Song
WLPPTBTL Poor Things – Yorgos Lanthimos
WLPPTBTL The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer

Best Actor

WLPPTBTL Kingsley Ben-Adair – Bob Marley: One Love
WLPPTBTL Bradley Cooper – Maestro
WLPPTBTL Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon
WLPPTBTL Colman Domingo – Rustin
WLPPTBTL Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
WLPPTBTL Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
WLPPTBTL Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

Best Actress

WLPPTBTL Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple
WLPPTBTL Annette Bening – Nyad
WLPPTBTL Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
WLPPTBTL Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
WLPPTBTL Carey Mulligan – Maestro
WLPPTBTL Natalie Portman – May December
WLPPTBTL Margot Robbie – Barbie
WLPPTBTL Emma Stone – Poor Things

Best Supporting Actor

WLPPTBTL Willem Dafoe – Poor Things
WLPPTBTL Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
WLPPTBTL Colman Domingo – The Color Purple
WLPPTBTL Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
WLPPTBTL Ryan Gosling – Barbie
WLPPTBTL Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
WLPPTBTL Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers

Best Supporting Actress

WLPPTBTL Erika Alexander – American Fiction
WLPPTBTL Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
WLPPTBTL Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
WLPPTBTL Penélope Cruz – Ferrari
WLPPTBTL Viola Davis – Air
WLPPTBTL Jodie Foster – Nyad
WLPPTBTL Taraji P. Henson – The Color Purple
WLPPTBTL Rachel McAdams – Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret
WLPPTBTL Julianne Moore – May December
WLPPTBTL Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

Best Original Screenplay

WLPPTBTL American Fiction
WLPPTBTL Anatomy of a Fall
WLPPTBTL Asteroid City
WLPPTBTL Barbie
WLPPTBTL The Holdovers
WLPPTBTL Maestro
WLPPTBTL Past Lives

Best Adapted Screenplay

WLPPTBTL All of Us Strangers
WLPPTBTL American Fiction
WLPPTBTL Barbie
WLPPTBTL Dumb Money
WLPPTBTL Killers of the Flower Moon
WLPPTBTL Oppenheimer
WLPPTBTL Poor Things
WLPPTBTL The Zone of Interest

Best Original Score

WLPPTBTL Barbie
WLPPTBTL Ferrari
WLPPTBTL Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
WLPPTBTL Killers of the Flower Moon
WLPPTBTL Oppenheimer
WLPPTBTL Origin
WLPPTBTL Past Lives
WLPPTBTL Poor Things
WLPPTBTL Rustin
WLPPTBTL Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
WLPPTBTL The Zone of Interest

Best Film Editing

WLPPTBTL All of Us Strangers
WLPPTBTL Anatomy of a Fall
WLPPTBTL Barbie
WLPPTBTL The Holdovers
WLPPTBTL Killers of the Flower Moon
WLPPTBTL Maestro
WLPPTBTL Oppeneheimer
WLPPTBTL Poor Things

Best Cinematography

WLPPTBTL Barbie
WLPPTBTL Ferrari
WLPPTBTL The Killer
WLPPTBTL Killers of the Flower Moon
WLPPTBTL Maestro
WLPPTBTL Napoleon
WLPPTBTL Oppenheimer
WLPPTBTL Poor Things
WLPPTBTL The Zone of Interest

Best Production Design

WLPPTBTL Asteroid City
WLPPTBTL Barbie
WLPPTBTL The Color Purple
WLPPTBTL Killers of the Flower Moon
WLPPTBTL Napoleon
WLPPTBTL Oppenheimer
WLPPTBTL Poor Things
WLPPTBTL Saltburn
WLPPTBTL Wonka

Best Costume Design

WLPPTBTL Barbie
WLPPTBTL The Color Purple
WLPPTBTL Killers of the Flower Moon
WLPPTBTL Maestro
WLPPTBTL Napoleon
WLPPTBTL Oppenheimer
WLPPTBTL Poor Things
WLPPTBTL Priscilla
WLPPTBTL Wonka

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

WLPPTBTL Barbie
WLPPTBTL The Color Purple
WLPPTBTL Golda
WLPPTBTL Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
WLPPTBTL Killers of the Flower Moon
WLPPTBTL Maestro
WLPPTBTL Napoleon
WLPPTBTL Oppenheimer
WLPPTBTL Poor Things

Best Sound

WLPPTBTL The Color Purple
WLPPTBTL Ferrari
WLPPTBTL Killers of the Flower Moon
WLPPTBTL Maestro
WLPPTBTL Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
WLPPTBTL Napoleon
WLPPTBTL Oppenheimer

Best Visual Effects

WLPPTBTL Barbie
WLPPTBTL Blue Beetle
WLPPTBTL The Creator
WLPPTBTL Ferrari
WLPPTBTL Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
WLPPTBTL Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
WLPPTBTL The Little Mermaid
WLPPTBTL The Marvels
WLPPTBTL Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
WLPPTBTL Napoleon
WLPPTBTL Oppenheimer