On March 12, the 95th Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. For the general public, this event affords people the chance to see their favorite A-list celebrities dressed to the nines. Yet, for the cinema lovers of the world, the Oscars provide the chance to see some of the biggest films of the year battle for glory. Yes, award shows are frivolous, but it is an undeniable fact that they help provide new and old talents with leverage within the ever changing film industry. So, here are my predictions for the 95th Academy Awards. 

Best Supporting Actor

Potentially one of the most easily predictable categories, the Best Supporting Actor award is going straight into the hands of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” actor Ke Huy Quan. After starring in classics such as “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Goonies” as a child actor, Quan’s career faltered before his reemergence  in “EEAO.” What sets this performance apart from the rest of the nominees is the range that Quan utilizes in his acting, from playing a multiversal agent to a suave romantic to a simple, nice guy. Despite Quan’s sweep of Oscar predicting awards, keep an eye on Barry Keoghan from “The Banshees of Inisherin” who won the BAFTA in this category. 

Best Supporting Actress

Angela Bassett is going to “do the thing” and take home the Best Supporting Actress prize this year. Her powerful performance in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” will potentially lead her to be the first Marvel actress to win an Oscar for her work within the MCU. With two “EEAO” actresses, Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis, vying for the same award, it makes things easier for Bassett. Personally, I believe that Hong Chau deserves the win for her beautiful portrayal of grief and sympathy for her work in “The Whale.” Her performance was a highlight within the otherwise mediocre film and a win for her – albeit almost impossible – would be nice to see. 

Best Actor

One of the most unpredictable categories this awards season, Best Actor, is going to either Brendan Fraser in “The Whale”or Austin Butler in “Elvis.” These two actors have been trading Oscar precursors the entirety of this award season with Fraser winning the SAG, Butler the BAFTA and both winning the Golden Globe for their respective genre acting category. Based solely on buzz and which performance I found to be more powerful, I am going to predict Butler will win this category because of his win at the BAFTA over not only Fraser but Colin Farrell, who was heavily favored to win for his performance in “The Banshees of Inisherin.” Regardless of who walks home as the winner, the performances by all the men in this category have been some of the most dynamic and honest portrayals of emotion in recent memory. 

Best Actress

Similar to Best Actor, Best Actress is another category that has been hard to predict. The two powerhouse performers battling for this award are Michelle Yeoh in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and Cate Blanchett in “Tár.” With Yeoh’s SAG win, Blanchett’s BAFTA win and both winning their genre category at the Golden Globes, this category can go either way come Oscar night. Since Blanchett has already won two Oscars, I am going to go with Yeoh for this category because I think she deserves recognition on the Academy Awards stage after her storied career. 

Best Director 

In all honesty, I am not impressed with the Best Director Lineup this year which truly pains me to say. My bitter indifference to this category stems from Luca Guadagnino’s snub from the lineup for one of my favorites of last year, “Bones and All,” which unfortunately received zero nominations. Without Guadagnino in the mix, a win for the Daniels  (directing duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) is the most likely outcome since they won the top prize at the Directors Guild of America (DGA). The Daniels were able to craft one of the most unique films of this century thus far and their work deserves to be awarded over the established Steven Spielberg, who is their biggest competition in this category. 

Best Picture 

So who is going to walk away with Best Picture? Despite releasing in theaters months before other prime Oscar contenders, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has the Cinderella awards story that will lead it to a major win in this category. The Daniels’ win at the DGA coupled with the win for best Motion Picture Cast at the SAG awards have given “EEAO” the momentum to finish the season out strong with a win over other films such as “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “All Quiet on the Western Front.” The most likely upset for this category is “All Quiet on the Western Front” which has been surging with wins in the major technical categories at the BAFTAs besides being the clear frontrunner for Best International Film at the Oscars. 

Only time will tell which of these Oscar hopefuls will take home the biggest prize of the night, but regardless of the winner, these films have already established themselves as some of the best films of this decade.