By John Corrado

The Oscars are tomorrow night, which means that this very long awards season has finally come to an end. It’s a season that hasn’t been without some dumb controversies, including ones that cropped up right at the end of voting (such as Best Actor frontrunner Timothée Chalamet’s comments on opera and ballet that, as imprecisely worded as they may have been, got blown wildly out of proportion).

The season has come down to a Best Picture showdown between Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and Sinners, both critically acclaimed films from Warner Bros. that have racked up critics awards and precursor wins throughout the season. Which one will prevail in the end? I make my final predictions in all 24 categories below. My thoughts on the animated and live-action shorts are also at the bottom.

Best Picture:

This is shaping up to be one of the tightest Best Picture races in years; a battle (yes, pun intended) between One Battle After Another and Sinners. I’m giving the edge to OBAA, which has been sweeping all season. But Sinners – which also leads with a record-breaking sixteen (!) nominations – has been gaining steam right at the end, including dominating at the Actor (SAG) Awards. Still, I’m sticking with predicting PTA’s film to prevail, and it will be a deserving winner. I know my personal favourite movie of last year, Marty Supreme, doesn’t stand a chance, but we can still dream big.

Predicted Winner: One Battle After Another

Personal Pick: Marty Supreme

Best Director:

Again, this could be a fight to the finish line. If Sinners does manage to pull off a Best Picture upset, Ryan Coogler might win here. But Anderson has been sweeping the season and is long overdue as one of our best directors currently working, so I think PTA will pretty safely win his first directing Oscar tomorrow night.

Predicted Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another

Personal Pick: Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another

Best Actress:

Ironically, the easiest race of the night is in Best Actress. Jessie Buckley has had this locked up since audiences first saw her shattering, powerhouse performance in Hamnet, and she will walk away with her first Oscar tomorrow night. And it’s the type of performance that absolutely deserves to win.

Predicted Winner: Jessie Buckley – Hamnet

Personal Pick: Jessie Buckley – Hamnet

Best Actor:

Another tight race, this time between Michael B. Jordan in Sinners and Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme. Chalamet should win. But do voters find him too young and cocky, so will Jordan sneak in at the end? If Sinners does win Best Picture, I have a feeling it will be hinted at here first with Jordan pulling off the upset. But I’m going down with the Chalamet/Marty Supreme ship, and I still believe he deserves to win for his incredible performance.

Predicted Winner: Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme

Personal Pick: Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme

Best Supporting Actress:

This is basically a three-way race between Teyana Taylor in One Battle, Wunmi Mosaku in Sinners, and Amy Madigan in Weapons. Mosaku will win if this is a Sinners lovefest. Taylor is only in the first act of OBAA, but leaves her mark on the rest of the film and does enough to win. But there’s a strong case to be made for Madigan, who was last nominated in this category forty years ago for Twice in a Lifetime, and is the lone nominee for horror hit Weapons. Madigan’s Aunt Gladys is an iconic character, and would make for a very fun winner. So I’m sticking with predicting her. The two Sentimental Value actresses did outstanding work, but unfortunately won’t win.

Predicted Winner: Amy Madigan – Weapons

Personal Pick: Amy Madigan – Weapons

Best Supporting Actor:

In terms of my personal choice, I’m leaning towards Stellan Skarsgård in Sentimental Value. But I’m predicting that Sean Penn will win for One Battle After Another. Yes, he already has two Oscars. But it’s hard to be mad about the prospect of him winning his third since his performance as Col. Steve Lockjaw is genuinely that good. Still, a slight chance that Delroy Lindo wins off his surprise nomination, if Sinners does over-perform…

Predicted Winner: Sean Penn – One Battle After Another

Personal Pick: Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value

Best Adapted Screenplay:

This is the category where Paul Thomas Anderson is all but guaranteed to win his first Oscar.

Predicted Winner: One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson

Personal Pick: One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Original Screenplay:

And this is the category where, regardless of what else happens, Coogler will be awarded for Sinners. A strong case could be made for any of the other four nominees (Blue Moon, It Was Just An Accident, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value) being deserving winners, but Sinners is such an original piece of work that it will easily win here.

Predicted Winner: Sinners – Ryan Coogler

Personal Pick: Blue Moon – Robert Kaplow

Best Animated Feature:

Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters is an absolute pop culture phenomenon and it’s hard to see it losing. Even if my personal favourite Zootopia 2 was a massive juggernaut in its own right that beat records at the box office, I just don’t see it being able to pull off an upset here. I enjoyed KPop Demon Hunters; it’s fun and has a lot of creative visuals – not to mention the catchy music, including smash hit and Best Song frontrunner “Golden” – that will easily propel it to a win.

Predicted Winner: KPop Demon Hunters

Personal Pick: Zootopia 2

Best Documentary Feature:

I see this being a race between Netflix crime documentary The Perfect Neighbor and the very timely Mr. Nobody Against Putin. I’m giving the edge to the former, but wouldn’t be surprised if either won. But, if my personal favourite in the category, Come See Me in the Good Light, managed to pull off an upset, it would be one of my favourite wins of the night.

Predicted Winner: The Perfect Neighbor

Personal Pick: Come See Me in the Good Light

Best International Feature Film:

I could see The Secret Agent winning. It’s critically acclaimed, made it into Best Picture and Best Actor, and Brazil won this category last year for I’m Still Here. But perhaps even more acclaimed – and also nominated in Best Picture with four (!) acting nominations – is Norway’s Sentimental Value. I’m predicting the latter, which is also my personal favourite in the category.

Predicted Winner: Sentimental Value

Personal Pick: Sentimental Value

Best Casting:

It’s the first year for this category awarding the best casting, and I’m expecting Sinners to take home the inaugural award. But without any precedent for how this award goes, a case could be made for any of these superbly cast films to win.

Predicted Winner: Francine Maisler – Sinners

Personal Pick: Jennifer Venditti – Marty Supreme

Best Cinematography:

Predicted Winner: One Battle After Another

Personal Pick: One Battle After Another

Best Costume Design:

Predicted Winner: Frankenstein

Personal Pick: Frankenstein

Best Film Editing:

Predicted Winner: One Battle After Another

Personal Pick: One Battle After Another

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

Best Production Design:

Predicted Winner: Frankenstein

Personal Pick: Frankenstein

Best Original Score:

Predicted Winner: Sinners – Ludwig Goransson

Personal Pick: One Battle After Another – Jonny Greenwood

Best Original Song:

Predicted Winner: “Golden” – KPop Demon Hunters

Personal Pick: “I Lied to You” – Sinners

Best Sound:

Predicted Winner: F1

Personal Pick: Sirāt

Best Visual Effects:

Predicted Winner: Avatar: Fire and Ash

Personal Pick: Avatar: Fire and Ash

Best Animated Short Film:

I’ve seen four out of five of these shorts (the only one I haven’t been able to watch is The Three Sisters), and liked all the ones I saw. My personal favourite is the Canadian short The Girl Who Cried Pearls, the latest stop-motion short from co-directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, who also made 2007’s Oscar-nominated Madame Tutli-Putli. I think it’s a race between that and the Holocaust-themed Butterfly, which uses unique watercolour animation to share a powerful story. As for the other two, I found Forevergreen to be very cute, and Retirement Plan is simple in its presentation but has a pretty profound message.

Predicted Winner: Butterfly

Personal Pick: The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Best Documentary Short Film:

Predicted Winner: All the Empty Rooms

Personal Pick: N/A

Best Live Action Short Film:

I’ve seen all of these shorts, and it seems to be down to three; the artsy, black-and-white Two People Exchanging Saliva, the Netflix-backed The Singers, and the British dramedy A Friend of Dorothy starring Miriam Margolyes. Two People Exchanging Saliva is pretty engaging and could win partially based on its memorable title alone, but A Friend of Dorothy is the more conventional and safer pick, showcasing the sweet friendship between an older woman and a young aspiring actor. I liked both, but my personal favourite is probably The Singers, which is the most widely available of these titles, and has a great vibe and wonderful payoff. There’s also the “period piece” parody Jane Austen’s Period Drama, which is amusing if a little goofy.

Predicted Winner: A Friend of Dorothy

Personal Pick: The Singers