Oscars 2024: who will be nominated for the top awards?

There are still months to go until the 96th Academy Awards ceremony but pundits' predictions already have fans wondering who will take home the most sought-after statuettes. 

The autumn film festivals, "whose main mission is to showcase new films and talent" and "are seen as the first stop on the road to the Oscars", were left in "chaotic limbo" as a result of Hollywood's longest actors' strike, said The Washington Post. 

After "Barbenheimer" fever swept the industry in the summer, it seems certain that both Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan's films will receive a hatful of nominations throughout the 2024 awards season. 

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But now the strike has ended, and campaigning has begun in earnest, a number of other films and performances could shake up the star-studded nominations field. 

Best picture 

The contenders for Best Picture are a range of "major players" encompassing "box office smashes, festival darlings and critical favorites", said The Hollywood Reporter. 

Gold Derby's panel of experts has "Oppenheimer" as the favourite to win Best Picture, at 13/2, followed by "Killers of the Flower Moon" at 8/1, and "Barbie" at 17/2. 

But The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg has "American Fiction" and "Poor Things" among his frontrunners too, with "Rustin", "All of Us Strangers" and "Anatomy of a Fall" tipped as "major threats". 

Best director

Will Christopher Nolan "finally win a much-deserved Oscar" in 2024, asked Metro? 

Fans may be "convinced" that "Oppenheimer" will break the director's five-time nomination streak to finally take home a statuette, but Nolan isn't assuming anything. "It's not something that's ever on our mind while we're actually making the film," he said, before admitting an Oscar win would be "a dream come true".

Variety thinks Nolan could take the win, with Greta Gerwig ("Barbie"), Jonathan Glazer ("The Zone of Interest"), Cord Jefferson ("American Fiction") and Martin Scorsese ("Killers of the Flower Moon") rounding off its list of predicted nominees. 

Best actor in a leading role 

"The best actor race will surely be a bloodbath," said Variety. Bradley Cooper "nails" his portrayal of Leonard Bernstein in "Maestro" and "a six-minute conducting sequence towards the film's end may be the 'Oscar clip' that gets his name checked off". 

But it's a "crowded" field, with Colman Domingo (Rustin), Jeffrey Wright ("American Fiction"), Paul Giamatti ("The Holdovers") and Cillian Murphy ("Oppenheimer") all in the running too. 

Another name people "may not have been paying much attention to" is Andrew Scott ("All of Us Strangers"), said Vanity Fair. The "Fleabag" actor's "sensitive, incredibly poignant work" in this "queer love story and ghost story" that's "rolled into one emotional wallop" could put him "firmly" in the best actor conversation. 

Best actress in a leading role 

"Look for return showings by previous Oscar nominees and winners" in the lead actress category, said AV Club; they include Emma Stone ("Poor Things"), Margot Robbie ("Barbie") and Jessica Chastain ("Memory"). Four-time nominee Annette Bening ("Nyad") and two-time nominee Carey Mulligan ("Maestro") are also "long overdue" awards, said IndieWire. 

But "several talented newcomers" are also in the mix, said AV Club. The "Killers of the Flower Moon" producers were "so impressed" with Lily Gladstone and the audiences' reaction to her performance that she's been submitted for best actress instead of supporting. 

"Electric performer" Jodie Comer ("The Bikeriders") could be a contender too. It's "only a matter of time" before the "Killing Eve" star "conquers the big screen".

Best actor in a supporting role

Academy Awards "tend to overlook purely comedic performances", said MovieWeb.com. But Ryan Gosling's "definitive, gut-bustingly hilarious performance" as Ken in Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" makes it "almost assured" the actor will be a nominee for best supporting actor. 

At least "on paper", Gosling has "all the ingredients" to be "victorious", having been nominated for an Oscar twice before but never won. But "he'll face stiff competition" in the category from Robert De Niro in "Killers of the Flower Moon" and Robert Downey Jr in "Oppenheimer".

Best actress in a supporting role

There is a "long list of potential nominees" in the supporting actress category, said Screen Rant. The news that Lily Gladstone would be campaigning for the lead actress award rather than supporting "has shaken up the race significantly". 

Emily Blunt ("Oppenheimer") and Danielle Brooks ("The Color Purple") "are two very likely nominees", said The Playlist. But "the final three slots 'seem' so wide open we could be in for an entertaining campaign".

Screen Rant predicts Da'Vine Joy Randolph ("The Holdovers"), America Ferrera ("Barbie"), Julianne Moore ("May December") and Vanessa Kirby ("Napoleon") could also make 2024's list of supporting actress nominees. Variety has tipped Randolph as its predicted winner.