93rd Academy Award Nominee Predictions

Brandon Siedlik, Wired Staff Writer|February 10, 2021

The nominees for each category of the 93rd Academy Awards will be announced the morning of March 15th, 2021.

Best Picture:

Delroy Lindo (as Paul), Jonathan Majors (as David), Norm Lewis (as Eddie), Clarke Peters (as Otis) and Isiah Whitlock Jr. (as Melvin) in “Da 5 Bloods” (Image from Netflix)
  • “Da 5 Bloods” – Jon Kilik, Spike Lee, Beatriz Levin, Lloyd Levi
  • “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” – Todd Black, Denzel Washington, Dany Wolf
  • “Mank” – Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth, Douglas Urbanski
  • “Minari” – Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Christina Oh
  • “News of the World” – Gary Goetzman, Gregory Goodman, Gail Mutrux
  • “Nomadland” – Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Chloé Zhao
  • “One Night in Miami…” – Jess Wu Calder, Keith Calder, Jody Klein
  • “Promising Young Woman” – Ben Browning, Emerald Fennell, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara, Ashley Fox
  • “Sound of Metal” – Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Bill Benz, Kathy Benz
  • “The Trial of the Chicago 7” – Stuart M. Besser, Matt Jackson, Marc Platt, Tyler Thompson

Best Directing:

Carey Mulligan (as Cassandra) in “Promising Young Woman” (Image from Focus Features)
  • Emerald Fennell – “Promising Young Woman”
  • David Fincher – “Mank”
  • Regina King – “One Night in Miami…”
  • Aaron Sorkin – “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
  • Chloé Zhao – “Nomadland”

Best Actor in a Leading Role:

Daniel Kaluuya (as Fred Hampton) and Lakeith Stanfield (as Bill O’Neal) in “Judas and the Black Messiah” (Image from Warner Bros. Pictures)
  • Riz Ahmed – “Sound of Metal”
  • Chadwick Boseman – “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
  • Anthony Hopkins – “The Father”
  • Delroy Lindo – “Da 5 Bloods”
  • Gary Oldman – “Mank”

Best Actress in a Leading Role:

Jamie Foxx (as Joe Gardner) in “Soul” (Image from Disney+)
  • Viola Davis – “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
  • Vanessa Kirby – “Pieces of a Woman”
  • Frances McDormand – “Nomadland”
  • Carey Mulligan – “Promising Young Woman”
  • Zendaya – “Malcolm & Marie”

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

Frances McDormand (as Fern) in “Nomadland” (Image from Searchlight Pictures)
  • Chadwick Boseman – “Da 5 Bloods”
  • Sacha Baron Cohen – “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
  • Daniel Kaluuya – “Judas and the Black Messiah”
  • Leslie Odom, Jr. – “One Night in Miami…”
  • Paul Raci – “Sound of Metal”

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

Sacha Baron Cohen (as Abbie Hoffman) and Jeremy Strong (as Jerry Rubin) in “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Image from Netflix)
  • Maria Bakalova – “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
  • Glenn Close – “Hillbilly Elegy”
  • Olivia Colman – “The Father”
  • Amanda Seyfried – “Mank”
  • Yuh-jung Youn – “Minari”

Best Writing (Original Screenplay):

Steven Yeun (as Jacob) and Alan Kim (as David) in “Minari” (Image from A24)
  • “Mank” – Jack Fincher
  • “Minari” – Lee Isaac Chung
  • “Promising Young Woman” – Emerald Fennell
  • “Sound of Metal” – Abraham Marder, Darius Marder, Derek Cianfrance
  • “The Trial of the Chicago 7” – Aaron Sorkin

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay):

Maria Bakalova (as Tutar Sagdiyev) and Rudy Giuliani (as himself) in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Image from Amazon Studios)
  • “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” – Ruben Santiago-Hudson (based on the play “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” by August Wilson)
  • “News of the World” – Luke Davies, Paul Greengrass (based on the novel “News of the World” by Paulette Jiles)
  • “Nomadland” – Chloé Zhao (based on the book “Nomadland” by Jessica Bruder)
  • “One Night in Miami…” – Kemp Powers (based on the play “One Night in Miami…” by Kemp Powers)
  • “The Father” – Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller (based on the play “Le Père” by Florian Zeller)

Best Film Editing:

Riz Ahmed (as Ruben), Paul Raci (as Joe) and Olivia Cooke (as Lou) in “Sound of Metal” (Image from Amazon Studios)
  • “Mank” – Kirk Baxter
  • “News of the World” – William Goldenberg
  • “Nomadland” – Chloé Zhao
  • “Sound of Metal” – Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
  • “The Trial of the Chicago 7” – Alan Baumgarten

Best Cinematography:

Gary Oldman (as Herman J. Mankiewicz) and Amanda Seyfried (as Marion Davies) in “Mank” (Image from Netflix)
  • “Da 5 Bloods” – Newton Thomas Sigel
  • “Mank” – Erik Messerschmidt
  • “News of the World” – Dariusz Wolski
  • “Nomadland” – Joshua James Richards
  • “Tenet” – Hoyte van Hoytema

Best Music (Original Score):

Viola Davis (as Ma Rainey), Chadwick Boseman (as Levee Green), Glynn Turman (as Toledo), Colman Domingo (as Cutler) and Michael Potts (as Slow Drag) in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Image from Netflix)
  • “Mank” – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
  • “News of the World” – James Newton Howard
  • “Soul” – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste
  • “The Midnight Sky” – Alexandre Desplat
  • “Tenet” – Ludwig Göransson

Best Production Design:

Olivia Colman (as Anne) and Anthony Hopkins (as Anthony) in “The Father” (Image from Sony Pictures)
  • “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” – Mark Ricker, Karen O’Hara, Diana Stoughton
  • “Mank” – Donald Graham Burt, Jan Pascale
  • “News of the World” – David Crank, Elizabeth Keenan
  • “One Night in Miami…” – Page Buckner, Janessa Hitsman
  • “The Personal History of David Copperfield” – Cristina Casali, Charlotte Dirickx

Best Costume Design:

John David Washington (as The Protagonist) and Robert Pattinson (as Neil) in “Tenet” (Image from Warner Bros. Pictures)
  • “Emma.” – Alexandra Byrne
  • “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” – Ann Roth
  • “Mank” – Trish Summerville
  • “Mulan” – Bina Daigeler
  • “News of the World” – Mark Bridges

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

John David Washington (as Malcolm) and Zendaya (as Marie) in “Malcolm & Marie” (Image from Netflix)
  • “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” – Deborah La Mia Denaver, Adruitha Lee
  • “Emma.” – Marese Langan, Denise Stocker, Claudia Stolze, Tünde Kiss-Benke
  • “Hillbilly Elegy” – Eryn Krueger Mekash, Patricia Dehaney, Matthew Mungle
  • “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” – Matiki Anoff, Mia Nea, Larry M. Cherry
  • “Mank” – Kimberley Spiteri, Gigi Williams

Best Sound Editing:

Leslie Odom Jr. (as Sam Cooke), Eli Goree (as Cassius Clay), Kingsley Ben-Adir (as Malcolm X) and Aldis Hodge (as Jim Brown) in “One Night in Miami…” (Image from Amazon Studios)
  • “Mank” – Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance, Drew Kunin
  • “News of the World” – John Pritchett, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller, Oliver Tarney, Michael Fentum
  • “Sound of Metal” – Phillip Bladh, Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés, Carolina Santana
  • “Tenet” – Willie D. Burton, Richard King, Kevin O’Connell, Gary A. Rizzo
  • “The Midnight Sky” – Randy Thom, Dan Hiland, Todd Beckett, Danny Hambrook, Bjorn Schroeder

Best Sound Mixing:

Vanessa Kirby (as Martha Weiss) and Shia LaBeouf (as Sean Carson) in “Pieces of a Woman” (Image from Netflix)
  • “Mank” – Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance, Drew Kunin
  • “News of the World” – John Pritchett, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller, Oliver Tarney, Michael Fentum
  • “Sound of Metal” – Phillip Bladh, Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés, Carolina Santana
  • “Tenet” – Willie D. Burton, Richard King, Kevin O’Connell, Gary A. Rizzo
  • “The Midnight Sky” – Randy Thom, Dan Hiland, Todd Beckett, Danny Hambrook, Bjorn Schroeder

Best Music (Original Song):

Tom Hanks (as Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd) and Helena Zengel (as Johanna Leonberger) in “News of the World” (Image from Universal Pictures)
  • “Fight for You” – “Judas and the Black Messiah” – H.E.R., Dernst Emile II, Tiara Thomas
  • “Húsavík (My Home Town)” – “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” – Savan Kotecha, Rickard Goransson, fat max Gsus
  • “Io Sì (Seen)” – “The Life Ahead” – Diane Warren, Laura Pausini, Niccolò Agliardi
  • “Speak Now” – “One Night in Miami…” – Leslie Odom, Jr., Sam Ashworth
  • “Wuhan Flu” – “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” – Sacha Baron Cohen, Erran Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Swimer, Jena Friedman, Jim Russell, Jerry Holleman

Best Visual Effects:

Amy Adams (as Bev Vance) and Glenn Close (as Bonnie Vance) in “Hillbilly Elegy” (Image from Netflix)
  • “Mank” – Wei Zheng, Simon Carr, Pablo Helman, James Pastorius
  • “Mulan” – Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury, Steve Ingram
  • “Tenet” – Andrew Jackson, Andrew Lockley, Scott R. Fisher, Mike Chambers
  • “The Midnight Sky” – Matt Kasmir, Chris Lawrence, Dave Watkins, Max Solomon
  • “Soul” – Michael Fong, Bill Watral

Best Animated Feature Film:

  • “Onward” – Dan Scanlon, Kori Rae
  • “Over the Moon” – Glen Keane, Peilin Chou, Gennie Rim
  • “Soul” – Pete Docter, Dana Murray
  • “The Croods: A New Age” – Joel Crawford, Mark Swift
  • “Wolfwalkers” – Tomm Moore, Stéphan Roelants, Nora Twomey, Paul Young

Best International Feature Film:

  • “Another Round (Druk)” – Denmark – Thomas Vinterberg
  • “I’m No Longer Here (Ya no estoy aquí)” – Mexico – Fernando Frias
  • “Night of the Kings (La Nuit des rois)” – France – Philippe Lacôte
  • “Quo Vadis, Aida?” – Netherlands – Jasmila Žbanić
  • “Two Of Us (Deux)” – France – Filippo Meneghetti

Best Documentary (Feature):

  • “All In: The Fight for Democracy” – Liz Garbus, Lisa Cortés, Dan Cogan, Stacey Abrams
  • “Boys State” – Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss
  • “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution” – Nicole Newnham, James Lebrecht, Sara Bolder Hittman
  • “Dick Johnson Is Dead” – Katy Chevigny, Marilyn Ness, Kirsten Johnson
  • “Time” – Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn, Garrett Bradley

Best Short Film (Live Action):

  • “Da Yie” – Anthony Nti
  • “Feeling Through” – Doug Roland
  • “The Human Voice” – Pedro Almodóvar
  • “The Letter Room” – Elvira Lind
  • “Two Distant Strangers” – Travon Free, Martin Desmond Roe

Best Short Film (Animated):

  • “Burrow” – Mike Capbarat, Madeline Sharafian
  • “Genius Loci” – Adrien Merigeau, Amaury Ovise
  • “If Anything Happens I Love You” – Gerald Chamales, Gary Gilbert, Will McCormack
  • “Out” – Steven Clay Hunter, Max Sachar
  • “To: Gerard” – Jeff Hermann, Taylor Meacham

Best Documentary (Short Subject):

  • “Abortion Helpline, This Is Lisa”  – Barbara Attie, Mike Attie, Janet Goldwater,
  • “Do Not Split” – Charlotte Cook, Anders Hammer
  • “Hunger Ward” – Skye Fitzgerald, Michael Scheuerman
  • “The Speed Cubers” – Sue Kim, Chris Romano
  • “What Would Sophia Loren Do?” – Nicole Galovski, Robin Honan, Ross Kauffman