Notable storylines to watch Oscars night include legendary composer Hans Zimmer chasing his second Oscar for “Dune” and first win since 1995’s “The Lion King” (though he’ll have to beat Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood’s innovative “Power of the Dog” score to do it), Will Smith seeking to finally win his first Oscar after two failed nominations, and a wide-open Best Actress race featuring some of Hollywood’s biggest stars and no clear frontrunner. And Lin-Manuel Miranda might get one step closer to an EGOT if he wins Best Original Song for “Encanto,” but he’ll also face stiff competition from Billie Eilish and FINNEAS’ “No Time to Die.”
Much attention has been paid to the changes that executive producer Will Packer has made to the telecast in an attempt to bring in more mainstream viewers. Eight categories (documentary short, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short, and sound) have been eliminated from the live broadcast. Instead, the acceptance speeches will be pre-taped earlier in the afternoon and edited into the show. The broadcast is also attempting to bring in viewers from outside the world of film with an eclectic set of presenters that ranges from Tony Hawk to DJ Khaled. Many of these decisions have attracted controversy, but nobody can deny that ABC and the Oscars are going all in on trying to salvage the show’s declining ratings. Whether you’re excited, mortified, or simply intrigued by the changes to the show, the only way to find out how they’ll go over is to watch. Per usual, the Oscars will be broadcast live on ABC on Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. You can also livestream the broadcast on abc.com or the ABC app. Cord cutters can watch the show through online cable subscriptions via Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV, FuboTV, or DirectTV. This year’s slate of nominees has something for everyone, from blockbusters like “Dune” to three-hour-long foreign films such as “Drive My Car” competing for the evening’s top prizes. But the real showdown on Sunday night is between “The Power of the Dog” and “CODA.” Netflix and Apple are both vying for their first Best Picture Oscar, with Netflix backing Jane Campion’s sparse Western and Apple putting its weight behind the crowd-pleasing drama about children of deaf adults. Most insiders expect one of the two films to take home Best Picture, setting the Oscars up for a potentially thrilling conclusion.
Best Picture “Belfast” “CODA” “Don’t Look Up” “Drive My Car” “Dune” “King Richard” “Licorice Pizza” “Nightmare Alley” “The Power of the Dog” “West Side Story” Best Director Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast” Ryusuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car” Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza” Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog” Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story” Best Actor Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos” Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog” Andrew Garfield, “Tick, Tick, Boom” Will Smith, “King Richard” Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth” Best Actress Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” Olivia Colman, “The Lost Daughter” Penelope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers” Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos” Kristen Stewart, “Spencer” Best Supporting Actor Ciarán Hinds, “Belfast” Troy Kotsur, “CODA” Jesse Plemons, “The Power of the Dog” JK Simmons, “Being the Ricardos” Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog” Best Supporting Actress Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter” Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story” Judi Dench, “Belfast” Kirsten Dunst, “The Power of the Dog” Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard” Best Adapted Screenplay “CODA,” Sian Heder “Drive My Car,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe “Dune,” Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth “The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal “The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion Best Original Screenplay “Belfast,” Kenneth Branagh “Don’t Look Up,” Adam McKay, Story by McKay and David Sirota “King Richard,” Zack Baylin “Licorice Pizza,” Paul Thomas Anderson “The Worst Person in the World,” Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier Best Animated Feature “Encanto” “Flee” “Luca” “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” “Raya and the Last Dragon” Best Animated Short “Affairs of the Art” “Bestia” “Boxballet” “Robin Robin” “The Windshield Wiper” Best Live Action Short “Ala Kachuu- Take and Run” “The Dress” “The Long Goodbye” “On My Mind” “Please Hold” Best Cinematography “Dune” “Nightmare Alley” “The Power of the Dog” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” “West Side Story” Best Costume Design “Cruella” “Cyrano” “Dune” “Nightmare Alley” “West Side Story” Best Documentary Feature “Ascension” “Attica” “Flee” “Summer of Soul” “Writing with Fire” Best Documentary Short Subject “Audible” “Lead Me Home” “The Queen of Basketball” “Three Songs for Benazir” “When We Were Bullies” Best Editing “Don’t Look Up” “Dune” “King Richard” “The Power of the Dog” “Tick, Tick, Boom” Best International Feature Film “Drive My Car” “Flee” “The Hand of God” “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” “The Worst Person in the World” Best Makeup and Hairstyling “Coming 2 America” “Cruella” “Dune” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” “House of Gucci” Best Production Design “Dune” “Nightmare Alley” “The Power of the Dog” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” “West Side Story”
Best Original Score “Don’t Look Up” “Dune” “Encanto” “Parallel Mothers” “The Power of the Dog” Best Original Song “Be Alive” from “King Richard” “Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto” “Down to Joy” from “Belfast” “No Time to Die” from “No Time to Die” “Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days” Best Sound “Belfast” “Dune” “No Time to Die” “The Power of the Dog” “West Side Story” Best Visual Effects “Dune” “Free Guy” “No Time to Die” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
