Movie fans aren't typically known for their love of sports, but the closest event we get are the Academy Awards. You can make your ballots, place your bets, and track a movie's record. It's exhilarating.

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The 2023 Oscars season is well underway, and it's shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable in years. There aren't that many clear front-runners, meaning that just about anything can happen.

How much will “The Slap” hurt 'Emancipation'?

Emancipation

The 2022 Oscars ceremony isn't going to be forgotten anytime soon. On the night Will Smith finally won an Oscar for his performance in King Richard, he embarrassed himself by slapping Chris Rock on stage for joking about his wife. On the night of his crowning achievement, he also crippled his reputation. Apple, meanwhile, became the first streaming service to win Best Picture with CODA. Who could have suspected that these two narratives would converge come 2023?

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Apple's Oscar slate for this year is pretty thin. For a while, it was unclear if they would even have a movie to compete, but eventually, they decided to release and campaign Antoine Fuqua's Emancipation as their centerpiece Oscar contender. The film stars Will Smith and so it's unclear if Academy members will write off the movie as a whole. Smith has been working hard to promote Emancipation in a way that is honest about his actions and regrets, and emphasizes the hard work of everyone else involved. That strategy just may work out, but it's definitely an uphill battle.

Will anyone challenge Brendan Fraser in the Best Actor race?

Best-Actor

Brendan Fraser seems to be running away with Best Actor before it has even begun. His performance in The Whale has astounded audiences on the film festival circuit so much that he has been the clear front-runner since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September. He also has the narrative to win the Oscar, with the award serving as a sign that his Hollywood comeback is complete and the commencement of the Brena-ssance has begun.

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Best Actor may be pretty thin so far, with only three clear candidates, but that doesn't mean that Colin Farrell or Austin Butler can't rise in estimation and win the statue come Oscars night. The Oscars race is just getting started, but Best Actor is the category that comes closest to being a lock.

How many blockbusters will get into Best Picture?

Blockbusters

The Academy often gets criticized for not recognizing the movies that audiences connect with the most, specifically the big-budget blockbusters that make billions at the box office. You could argue that they are a major part of keeping the theater industry alive, but you could also argue that doesn't necessarily mean they deserve a spot in the Best Picture lineup.

This year is quite interesting because, unlike most years, where there is one blockbuster that fans rally behind to get a Best Picture nomination, there are quite a few blockbusters with serious shots at getting into Best Picture. Top Gun: Maverick is the highest-grossing movie of the year, and one of the most beloved movies of the year, Everything Everywhere All At Once made over $100 million at the box office, becoming something of a cultural phenomenon. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hopes to continue the legacy of the first Black Panther, which was the first MCU movie to be nominated for Best Picture, and Avatar: The Way Of Water is the long-awaited sequel to the biggest movie of all time, which itself was a Best Picture nominee.

Will Netflix get a movie into Best Picture?

Netflix

Netflix has been the major streaming service in the Oscars race for years. Starting in 2018, Netflix has consistently had a movie nominated for Best Picture, but it seems like the streak may be broken this year.

This has been a rough year for Netflix. Their big Oscars movie, Bardo, seems to be dead in the water, White Noise isn't catching on how it needs to, and Blonde's reception was incredibly negative. Their Oscars hopes are built on Pinocchio, Glass Onion, and All Quiet On The Western Front. Pinocchio will have to overcome the stigma of being an animated movie, Glass Onion is a great movie but a genre the Academy isn't typically drawn to, and All Quiet On The Western Front is seen as more of a contender in International Feature. If any of them break through into Best Picture it would be quite an accomplishment.

How many ‘Women Talking’ will get nominated in Supporting Actress?

A group of women on a barn looking in the same direction with confused expressions in Women Talking.

Sarah Polley's Women Talking features a powerful ensemble including Frances McDormand, Claire Foy, Jesse Buckley, and Rooney Mara. With nearly the entire cast campaigning in supporting categories, it's up in the air how many will get into Supporting Actress and even more so who it will be.

Foy and Buckley seem to be the two getting the most buzz, but at the same time, you cannot underestimate how much the Academy loves Frances McDormand. There is no front-runner for Supporting Actress yet, and it seems like movies getting multiple nominees is a real possibility, even including Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All At Once, but that just makes it even harder to tell who will win.

How much will the Academy like 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'?

EEAAO

The Academy often gets criticized for not having diverse taste in the movies they award. They don't like horror movies, and if a movie gets too weird, it'll turn away a large portion of the transition Academy voter. So, it's unclear just how much the Academy will take to Everything Everywhere All At Once, a very weird movie, that also appears to be one of the major contenders at this year's ceremony.

There's a lot of love for all four major actors: Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis, and it's pretty much a major contender across the board, including Best Picture. We'll see what happens, but having already taken home several trophies at the Gotham Awards, its momentum is still going strong.

Just how high will 'Top Gun: Maverick' soar?

Fighter pilots in the air

No one could have foreseen the success of Top Gun: Maverick. Even if you thought it would be a hit, you probably didn't think it would be the highest-grossing movie of the year, far surpassing every superhero movie and established franchise. On top of its financial success, its reception from critics and audiences was also a surprise, with it being one of the most beloved movies of the year.

The movie is a serious contender for Best Picture and a slew of technical categories, and, with how thin Best Actor is, there is a serious shot Tom Cruise gets his fourth Oscar nomination. It's rare that an action movie gets this much love, but if there's one movie that can beat the odds, it's Top Gun: Maverick.

Will 'Empire of Light' get any nominations?

Empire-of-Light

Sam Mendes' previous film, 1917, was a major contender at the 2020 ceremony, winning 3 Oscars out of 10 nominations. His follow-up film, Empire of Light may not appear to have the same momentum going for it, but that doesn't mean it's going to miss out entirely.

Empire of Light is very much an Academy movie. It's a period piece about the power of cinema, shot by Roger Deakins, with Academy favorite Olivia Colman playing a woman with an illness. The movie may not be beloved, but it's not completely hated, so it still stands a shot at picking up a few nominations.

Will 'Babylon' be too much for The Academy?

Margot Robbie as Nellie LaRoy in Babylon
Image via Paramount Pictures

Damien Chazelle has had quite a career so far, and he's only 37. He's the youngest ever winner of the Best Director Oscar, and La La Land won Best Picture, for a few minutes at least. His last movie, First Man wasn't quite the Oscars juggernaut, but still picked up a few technical nominations and even won for its visual effects.

His newest movie, Babylon is a major swing. It's a Hollywood epic taking place in the 1920s as the transition from silent films to talkies changes everything. It hasn't officially been released yet, but from the early reactions, it seems that Babylon is going to be incredibly divisive. People seem to either absolutely love it or absolutely hate it. Will the movie be too divisive for the Academy, or is it too big to ignore?

Will the Academy finally give Steven Spielberg his due?

Fabelmans

Steven Spielberg is one of the most beloved filmmakers of all time. His films range from good to great to truly iconic. It's rare to find someone who doesn't like any movie he's made. He's earned a grand total of 19 Oscar nominations but has only ever won 3, which is still more than most people could ever dream of.

This all being said, since the turn of the millennium, the Academy hasn't really given Spielberg his due. He's gotten 10 nominations since 2000 - but hasn't won a single one. He's Steven Spielberg, he should be winning Oscars all the time! This year, his semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans is a major Oscars contender, sure to earn a slew of nominations and pick up a few wins. This is the perfect opportunity to award Spielberg with Best Director, a show of love, not only for The Fabelmans, but for an entire career of movie magic.

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