Our 2022 Oscar Predictions

The 94th Academy Awards are upon us, and since several Disney movies, Marvel movies, and Disney or Marvel actors have been nominated for Oscars, we’ve gathered our predictions for this year’s Oscar winners!

Best Picture

Nominees: Belfast, CODA, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog, West Side Story.

Predicted Winner: CODA

Even though West Side Story has been doing well during the 2022 awards season, the Oscar-nominated movie CODA has been hitting its stride with critics and awards on a significant level (as has The Power of the Dog), so West Side Story is most likely out of the running for this Best Picture Oscar. A faceoff between CODA and The Power of the Dog was expected until the Producers Guild Awards’ voting body chose CODA for their Best Picture; the Producers Guild Awards are typically accurate when choosing movies that end up winning Oscars, so we predict that CODA will take the Oscar this year!

Best Actor

Nominees: 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)

Predicted Winner: Will Smith

Will Smith has actually never won an Oscar (even though he’s been nominated enough times to give Leonardo Dicaprio a run for his money) but it looks like Will Smith’s performance as the father of Serena Williams and Venus Williams in King Richard is going to be enough to finally get him the gold trophy.

Will Smith might be known for his more comedic roles (such as when he played the Genie in the 2019 live-action adaptation of Aladdin) or for his thrill-seeking series on Disney+ called Welcome to Earth, but since he’s received a lot of positive attention for King Richard and his new memoir Will has been a hit, he’s currently the talk of the town — and the Academy always takes notice when an actor is winning the audience’s votes!

Marvel actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who is best known by Marvel fans for his role as Doctor Strange, might be a contender for his role in The Power of the Dog (even though some audiences thought that his performance as a rancher was lackluster); however, Will Smith is long overdue for an Oscar, and it’s likely that he will take the prize anyway.

Best Actress

Nominees: Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye), Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter), Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers), Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos) Kristen Stewart (Spencer)

Predicted Winner: Jessica Chastain

Twilight actress Kristen Stewart has actually received high praise from critics for her performance as famous English royal Princess Diana in Spencer, but Jessica Chastain will most likely win the Oscar instead for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Anytime an actor endures intense prosthetics and physical transformations like Jessica Chastain did (so much so that she’s actually said that her skin will never be the same), said actor usually gets rewarded by the Academy. Only devout Disney fans will remember Jessica Chastain’s long-forgotten Disney role!

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees: Ciarán Hinds, (Belfast), Troy Kotsur (CODA), Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog), J.K. Simmons (Being the Ricardos), Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog)

Predicted Winner: Troy Kotsur

Since we’ve already predicted that CODA will win the Academy Award for Best Picture, it’s no surprise that one of the movie’s actors is most likely going to win an Oscar too! Troy Kotsur plays one of two deaf parents in this movie about a family of Gloucester fishermen. If Troy Kotsur wins this Oscar, he will be the second deaf performer to win (the first was Marlee Matlin in 1987 for her role in Children of a Lesser God).

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees: Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter), Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Judi Dench (Belfast), Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog), Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard).

Predicted Winner: Ariana DeBose

Ariana DeBose has been the toast of the town since her performance as Anita in the new Steven Spielberg adaptation of the musical West Side Story, and even though lead actress Rachel Zegler (who plays Maria and will also play Disney princess Snow White soon) has received more attention, it’s likely that Ariana’s steady success in awards season will lead her to an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. You might also recognize Ariana DeBose from her role in Hamilton opposite Lin-Manuel Miranda!

Best Animated Feature Film

Nominees: Encanto, Flee, Luca, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Raya and the Last Dragon

Predicted Winner: Encanto

Disney is in an interesting position here, because three of its animated movies are competing with each other! Encanto, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Luca have all been nominated for Oscars this year. Each of these three Disney movies has won several other awards during this 2022 awards season, but we’re predicting that the main contenders here are going to be Encanto and Raya and the Last Dragon. Luca is a visually stunning animated film with a poignant story, but it hasn’t resonated with audiences as much as the other two Disney films have. Raya and the Last Dragon might be more popular than Luca, but it too lacks the sensational star power of Encanto.

The Academy can be contrarian when it comes to following popular opinion (with one legendary example being the upset in 2017 when Moonlight beat the crowd-favorite La La Land and La La Land actors mistakenly tried to accept the Oscars live on stage), so there could still be an unexpected snub for Encanto. But the fact that Encanto‘s most famous song is being performed at the Oscars means that, perhaps, the Academy recognizes the movie’s popularity enough to also throw Walt Disney Animation Studios a bone in the form of an Academy Award!

Best Original Song

Nominees: “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

Predicted Winner: “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto 

The Encanto original song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” has broken records everywhere, even surpassing the popularity of “Let It Go” and “A Whole New World”, and it is indeed being performed at the Oscars by Encanto cast members and other performers. However, the famously catchy tune is not nominated for an Oscar; instead, composer Lin-Manuel Miranda nominated “Dos Oruguitas”, saying that the slower, more sad song suited the overall theme of Encanto better.

With the popularity of King Richard, it’s possible that the Will Smith movie’s song “Be Alive” might win; however, even though the Oscar-nominated Encanto song might not be everybody’s favorite compared to other songs from the Disney movie, it seems very likely that the Encanto train can’t be stopped in general — so “Dos Oruguitas” will probably win!

Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes are hosting the 94th Academy Awards, which will take place live at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Are you going to watch the Oscars red carpet to see the hair, makeup, and style being shown off, or will you just be watching the awards ceremony itself?