Buzzmeter predictions for Oscar winners in 10 categories

Feb. 3, 2020 10:40 AM PT

The Envelope’s Buzzmeter squad has made its picks; now you can make yours!

Our panel of veteran film journalists has weighed in with its predictions for the winners in 10 key Oscar categories, including a consensus on six of them. Do you agree with them (and the Vegas oddsmakers)? Care to make your own calls? You can vote for your own slate using the polls accompanying the categories. All categories are now open for voting!

Here are the Buzzmeter winner predictions in all 10 categories, ranked by vote totals from the entire panel and followed by each expert’s personal picks and comments.

Want the experts’ advice for your Oscar pools? Think you can do better? Read on!

Best picture

“1917” has planted its flag in No Man’s Land with all the momentum two scrappy soldiers on a likely suicide mission could hope for. It has won the PGA, the DGA, the BAFTA and many others as it marches toward glory.

“Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood” and “Parasite” are battling in the trenches for second place as the bloom is apparently off the rose for “The Irishman.” But the war’s not won yet: There’s still strong support out there for “Hollywood” and “Parasite,” and given the Oscars’ preferential voting system, should one of those two (say “Hollywood”) manage to siphon off enough No. 1 votes from “1917,” if the other (say “Parasite”) is No. 2 on enough ballots, it could be the beneficiary.

Voters may be keenly aware that no Tarantino film has ever won best picture. “Parasite” is only the second foreign-language film to earn a SAG ensemble nomination, and the only won to win it. This might come down to which film voters are most passionate about - but Vegas currently has “1917” as a comfortable favorite.

“1917”
“Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”
“Parasite”
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“Marriage Story”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Little Women”
“Ford v Ferrari”

online surveys

Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times

“Parasite”

“1917”

“Once Upon a Time ...”

“The Irishman”

“Joker”

“Marriage Story”

“Little Women”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Ford v Ferrari”

“ ‘1917’ has the PGA — but ‘Parasite,’ with its SAG ensemble win, has a surging emotional momentum that just might defy the stats.

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times

“1917”

“Once Upon a Time ...”

“Little Women”

“The Irishman”

“Marriage Story”

“Jojo Rabbit”

(tie) “Parasite”

(tie) “Joker”

“Ford v Ferrari”

“The purest toss-up in memory.”

Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Times

“1917”

“Once Upon a Time ...”

“Parasite”

“The Irishman”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Joker”

“Marriage Story”

“Little Women”

“Ford v Ferrari”

“ ‘1917’ all the momentum – and the key screenplay nod. Feels like the quintessential ‘least disliked’ winner in the preferential voting system.”

Dave Karger, IMDb & TCM

“1917”

“Once Upon a Time ...”

“Parasite”

“The Irishman”

“Joker”

“Marriage Story”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Little Women”

“Ford v Ferrari”

“This category has turned into a three-way race between ‘Once Upon A Time in Hollywood,’ ‘1917,’ and ‘Parasite.’ I’m feeling like ‘1917’ has all the momentum right now.”

Tom O’Neil
Gold Derby

“Parasite”

“1917”

“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

“The Irishman”

“Joker”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Little Women”

“Marriage Story”

“Ford v. Ferrari”

“ ‘Parasite’ may not get the most #1 votes, but voters rank their picks. ‘Parasite’ has most consensus support.”

Claudia Puig
KPCC’s FilmWeek

“1917”

“Parasite”

“Once Upon a Time ...”

“The Irishman”

“Marriage Story”

“Joker”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Ford v Ferrari”

“Little Women”

“The best picture race is coming down to a two-way contest between ‘1917 ‘ and ‘Parasite.’ ‘1917’ is the safer choice, with obvious Oscar patina. For this reason , it may just edge out ‘Parasite.’ Both films are deserving, but ‘Parasite’ is a masterpiece. ‘1917’ is stately and compelling, ‘Parasite’ is audacious and enthralling. But we know the Academy doesn’t always award enthralling masterpieces, especially with the weighted voting process. There is a slight possibility that ‘1917’ and ‘Parasite’ votes could cancel each other out and ‘Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood’ could rise to the top, but it appears to be ‘1917’s’ to lose.”

Anne Thompson
IndieWire

“1917”

“Once Upon a Time ...”

“Parasite”

“The Irishman”

“Joker”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Marriage Story”

“Little Women”

“Ford v Ferrari”

“Netflix scored slots for both ‘The Irishman’ and ‘Marriage Story,’ but the frontrunners are box-office hits ‘Once Upon a Time ...’ and ‘Parasite.’ I would add ‘1917’ to that.”

Best director

South Korean master director Bong Joon-Ho of "Parasite."

It’s not unprecedented for a foreign-language film’s director to win the Oscar (Alfonso Cuaron did it last year for “Roma”), but it’s extraordinarily rare. Akira Kurosawa never did it. Ang Lee has won twice for English-language films. Could the highly respected Director Bong ride “Parasite’s” awards wave to become the first Asian director to accomplish the feat?

Sam Mendes’ DGA victory makes that seem quite unlikely, as the DGAs and Oscars have lined up nine of the last 10 times and 85% overall.

Bong Joon-Ho, “Parasite”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time …”
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”

bike trails

Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times

Bong Joon-Ho, “Parasite”

Sam Mendes, “1917”

Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time ...”

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”

Todd Phillips, “Joker”

“Fascinating that those heavyweights Scorsese and Tarantino seem to have ceded momentum to Mendes and Bong. I suspect Bong by a hair.”

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times

Sam Mendes, “1917”

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”

Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time ...”

Bong Joon-Ho, “Parasite”

Todd Phillips, “Joker”

“It might it come down to Tarantino v. Scorsese in the end.”

Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Times

Bong Joon-Ho, “Parasite”

Sam Mendes, “1917”

Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time ...”

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”

Todd Phillips, “Joker”

“Could be Bong, Mendes (again) or Tarantino (finally). Thinking #BongHive comes through.”

Dave Karger
IMDb & TCM

Sam Mendes, “1917”

Bong Joon-Ho, “Parasite”

Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time…”

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”

Todd Phillips, “Marriage Story”

“In recent years, picture and director have split as often as not, which could benefit Director Bong. But the technical achievement of 1917 is so impressive that I think Sam Mendes will take it.”

Tom O’Neil
Gold Derby

Bong Joon-Ho, “Parasite”

Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time…”

Sam Mendes, “1917”

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”

Todd Phillips, “Joker”

“Most recent winners have been foreign-born cinéastes. That favors Cannes Film Festival darling Bong Joon-Ho.”

Claudia Puig
KPCC’s FilmWeek

Bong Joon-Ho, “Parasite”

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”

(tie) Sam Mendes, “1917”

(tie) Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time ...”

Todd Phillips, “Joker”

“I think Bong Joon Ho will win best director. He deserves to win it and especially if the best picture award goes to ‘1917,’ he will win it, over ‘1917’ director Sam Mendes and the other contenders in the category. In recent years, the Academy has split the best picture and best director prizes between the top two favorite films. Last year, Alfonso Cuarón won best director for ‘Roma,’ though it missed out on best picture. (We’ll not discuss who did win. Still a sore spot.) I could easily see a scenario in which Bong Joon Ho wins best director and best picture goes to ‘1917.’ ”

Anne Thompson
IndieWire

Bong Joon-Ho, “Parasite”

Sam Mendes, “1917”

Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time ...”

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”

Todd Phillips, “Joker”

“Tarantino has never won, but he’s duking it out with Bong Joon-Ho, whose ‘Parasite’ is a powerful contender.”

Lead actor

Joaquin Phoenix of “Joker” is the odds-on favorite (especially in Vegas, where a $100 bet on him will only net you around $4 in winnings). If he pulls it off, he’ll be the second actor to win an Oscar as The Joker and the first to win a lead-acting Oscar for a comic-book movie.

Martin Scorsese wants a word.

Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time …”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

survey solutions

Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times

Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”

Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”

Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”

Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time …”

Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

“Phoenix seemed like a lock even before he gave that stunningly lovely SAG speech.”

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times

Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”

Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”

Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time …”

Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”

Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

“Can Banderas go all the way?”

Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Times

Antonio Banderas, “Pain & Glory”

Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”

Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”

Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time …”

Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

“Voters love to reward vets here, which probably means Driver is too young to win. (He’s 36!)”

Dave Karger
IMDb & TCM

Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”

Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”

Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time ...”

Antonio Banderas, “Pain & Glory”

Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

“In a weaker year any of these performances could have won, but ‘Joker’s’ overall nominations haul signals a sure win for Phoenix.”

Tom O’Neil
Gold Derby

Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”

Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”

Antonio Banderas, “Pain & Glory”

Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time ...”

Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

“Heath Ledger proved that the Joker can be an Oscar-winning role. Now it’s Joaquin’s turn.”

Claudia Puig
KPCC’s FilmWeek

Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”

Antonio Banderas, “Pain & Glory”

Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time ...”

Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”

Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

“I think there’s a lot of affection and goodwill in the industry towards Antonio Banderas and Pedro Almodóvar (but Phoenix will win).”

Anne Thompson
IndieWire

Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”

Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”

Antonio Banderas, “Pain & Glory”

Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time”

Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

“It’s Joaquin Phoenix’s troubled Joker against Adam Driver fighting to live near his son in ‘Marriage Story.’”

Lead actress

Clang, clang, clang will go Renée Zellweger’s two Oscars after Feb. 9, according to our experts.

Renée Zellweger, “Judy”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”

online survey

Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times

Renée Zellweger, “Judy”

Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”

Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”

Soairse Ronan, “Little Women”

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”

“Of all the acting categories, the least representative of the greatness on offer. Elisabeth Moss, Lupita Nyong’o, Zhao Tao and Alfre Woodard should all be here.”

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times

Renée Zellweger, “Judy”

Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”

Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”

Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”

“Glad the dynamic Cynthia Erivo was not overlooked.”

Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Times

Renée Zellweger, “Judy”

Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”

Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”

Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”

“Zellweger goes the distance after taking all the other awards.”

Dave Karger
IMDb & TCM

Renée Zellweger, “Judy”

Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”

Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”

Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”

“ ‘Bombshell’s’ lack of picture and screenplay nods mean Theron probably can’t overtake Zellweger in the ‘Oscar winners playing real people’ contest.”

Tom O’Neil
Gold Derby

Renée Zellweger, “Judy”

Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”

Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”

Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”

“Poor Judy. Oscar was The Man That Got Away during her legendary career, so now Renee will win this for her.”

Claudia Puig
KPCC’s FilmWeek

Renée Zellweger, “Judy”

Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”

Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”

Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”

“Hollywood loves a comeback and loves its own. Zellweger will get it for playing Judy Garland — both actresses have won Oscars (Garland’s was juvenile Oscar).”

Anne Thompson
IndieWire

Renée Zellweger, “Judy”

Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”

Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”

Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”

“Hollywood loves a comeback and loves its own. Zellweger will get it for playing Judy Garland, but Charlize Theron is also a late favorite for ‘Bombshell.’ ”

Supporting actress

Laura Dern (left, pictured with Scarlett Johansson) has cleaned up all awards season long, and is expected to continue her streak at the Oscars - especially after Jennifer Lopez (of “Hustlers”) was left off the list in perhaps the season’s most shocking omission.

Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”

panel management

Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times

Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

Florence Pugh, “Little Women”

Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”

“Smooth sailing for Laura Dern, though in a saner world, Jennifer Lopez would have been nominated and won.”

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times

Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Florence Pugh, “Little Women”

(tie) Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”

(tie) Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”

“Laura Dern looks to be the favorite.”

Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Times

Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”

Florence Pugh, “Little Women”

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”

Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

“Dern has two show-stopping scenes and an impeccable career. How could she not win her first Oscar?”

Dave Karger
IMDb & TCM

Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”

Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Florence Pugh, “Little Women”

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”

“All four acting races have clear frontrunners, but no one is as far out front as Laura Dern.”

Tom O’Neil
Gold Derby

Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”

Florence Pugh, “Little Women”

Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”

“Scarlett Johansson had never gotten an Oscar nomination, and now she has two (‘Jojo Rabbit’ and ‘Marriage Story’). She can really win in supporting.”

Claudia Puig
KPCC’s FilmWeek

Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”

Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”

Florence Pugh, “Little Women”

“It may be Laura Dern’s year.”

Anne Thompson
IndieWire

Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”

Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”

Florence Pugh, “Little Women”

” Laura Dern’s Brownie points as Marmee in ‘Little Women’ and as a ‘Big Little Lies’ Emmy contender landed her a nod for her hard-driving divorce lawyer in ‘Marriage Story.’ ”

Supporting actor

Will this finally be the fairy-tale ending for Brad Pitt? Connoisseurs of fine awards-acceptance speeches sure hope so.

Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time …”
Joe Pesci, “Irishman”
Al Pacino, “Irishman”
Tom Hanks, “Beautiful Day …”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”

bike tracks

Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times

Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time”

Joe Pesci, “Irishman”

Al Pacino, “Irishman”

Tom Hanks, “Beautiful Day”

Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times

Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time”

Joe Pesci, “Irishman”

Al Pacino, “Irishman”

Anthony Hopkins, “Two Popes”

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day ...”

“The battle of the P’s: Pacino, Pesci, Pitt.”

Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Times

Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time”

Joe Pesci, “Irishman”

Tom Hanks, “Beautiful Day”

Al Pacino, “Irishman”

Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”

“Pitt is golden.”

Dave Karger
IMDb & TCM

Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time”

Joe Pesci, “Irishman”

Al Pacino, “Irishman”

Tom Hanks, “Beautiful Day”

Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”

“Brad Pitt is the only nominee here without a previous acting Oscar win. That’s just one of the reasons he’ll emerge victorious.”

Tom O’Neil
Gold Derby

Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time ...”

Joe Pesci, “Irishman”

Al Pacino, “Irishman”

Tom Hanks, “Beautiful Day ...”

Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”

“Pay attention. Most Oscar upsets occur in a supporting-acting race.”

Claudia Puig
KPCC’s FilmWeek

Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time …”

Tom Hanks, “Beautiful Day …”

Al Pacino, “Irishman”

Joe Pesci, “Irishman”

Anthony Hopkins, “Two Popes”

“Pitt probably will win this category, though perennial Oscar contenderTom Hanks is hard to resist as Mister Rogers ... a character who exudes such goodness.”

Anne Thompson
IndieWire

Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time …”

Al Pacino, “Irishman”

Joe Pesci, “Irishman”

Tom Hanks, “Beautiful Day …”

Anthony Hopkins, “Two Popes”

“Brad Pitt is leading a pack of Oscar veterans: Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, Anthony Hopkins, and Tom Hanks.”

Original screenplay

“Marriage Story” and “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood” are duking it out at the top of our panel’s picks, with “Hollywood” just one point ahead. How could Tarantino’s script be a favorite when it wasn’t even nominated by the WGA? Well, that’s a long story ... In the meantime, “Parasite” not only won the WGA but the BAFTA, the latter in direct competition with both “Marriage” and “Hollywood.”

“Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”
“Marriage Story”
“Parasite”
(tie) “Knives Out”
(tie) “1917”

bike tracks

Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times

“Marriage Story”

“Once Upon a Time ...”

“Parasite”

“Knives Out”

“1917”

“Thrilled to see the ingeniously plotted ‘Knives Out’ represented here, but I think ‘Parasite’ has the edge.”

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times

“Marriage Story”

“Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”

“Parasite”

“Knives Out”

“1917”

“Noah Baumbach at his best.”

Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Times

“Once Upon a Time ...”

“Parasite”

“Marriage Story”

“Knives Out”

“1917”

“Tarantino wins his third screenplay Oscar. Maybe the academy will, as he has joked, rename the award in his honor.”

Dave Karger
IMDb & TCM

“Once Upon a Time ... “

“Marriage Story”

“Parasite”

“1917”

“Knives Out”

“Barring a surprise upset by Bong Joon-Ho, this will mark Tarantino’s third screenplay Oscar.”

Tom O’Neil
Gold Derby

“Once Upon a Time ... “

“Parasite”

“Marriage Story”

“1917”

“Knives Out”

“The winner is usually a Best Picture frontrunner, so this race favors ‘Parasite,’ ‘Marriage Story’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’ Pick ‘Parasite’ for the upset!”

Claudia Puig
KPCC’s FilmWeek

“Marriage Story”

“Once Upon a Time ... “

“Parasite”

“Knives Out”

“1917”

“The win will probably go to Noah Baumbach for ‘Marriage Story,’ though Bong Joon-Ho and ‘Parasite’ may be a very close second.”

Anne Thompson
IndieWire

“Once Upon a Time ...”

“Marriage Story”

“1917”

“Parasite”

“Knives Out”

“Real life informed auteurs Noah Baumbach (‘Marriage Story’) and Quentin Tarantino’s twisty ‘Once Upon a Time ...’ ”

Adapted screenplay

Greta Gerwig’s bold reimagining of “Little Women” has pulled ahead of Steven Zaillian’s “Irishman” script. Perhaps the academy will want to atone in some measure for not nominating any women (such as Gerwig) for director, and only nominating one in the writing categories. Then again, “Jojo Rabbit” has suddenly emerged from its warren to collect the WGA and the BAFTA recently ...

“Little Women”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“The Two Popes”

bike trails

Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times

“Little Women”

“The Irishman”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Joker”

“The Two Popes”

“ ‘Little Women’ is the prestige literary adaptation at its most supremely intelligent. Probably a close race with ‘Jojo Rabbit,’ but it shouldn’t be.”

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times

“The Irishman”

“Little Women”

“The Two Popes”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Joker”

“Glad ‘Little Women’ found some love here.”

Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Times

“Little Women”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“The Irishman”

“Joker”

“The Two Popes”

“There’s a lot of love for Taika Waititi, and this could be a spot to reward him. But leaning toward Gerwig and her superb update of ‘Little Women.’
”

Dave Karger
IMDb & TCM

“The Irishman”

“Little Women”

“Joker”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“The Two Popes”

“This race comes down to Gerwig and Zaillian. I’m thinking the pure scope of ‘The Irishman’ gives it the edge.”

Tom O’Neil
Gold Derby

“Little Women”

“The Irishman”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Joker”

“The Two Popes”

“Of the likely nominees, ‘The Irishman’ has the most words and the biggest, epic, scope to prevail.”

Claudia Puig
KPCC’s FilmWeek

“The Irishman”

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Little Women”

“Two Popes”

“Joker”

“Both ‘The Irishman’ and ‘The Two Popes’ are by Academy favorites, but this may be where Hollywood shows its affection for Greta Gerwig and her freshly clever re-telling of ‘Little Women.’”

Anne Thompson
IndieWire

“Jojo Rabbit”

“Little Women”

“The Irishman”

“Two Popes”

“Joker”

“Taika Waititi and Greta Gerwig are duking it out for what could be the only win for ‘Jojo Rabbit’ and ‘Little Women,’ respectively.”

International feature

One of the buzziest films of the season - in any language - is South Korean master Bong Joon-ho’s hairpin-turning, darkly comic thriller, “Parasite.” The film has steamrolled through awards season, including guild wins for editing and screenplay (and a BAFTA for screenplay). Apart from this category, it has five other Oscar noms including best picture and direction. Do any of these other highly praised international features have a chance?

“Parasite” (South Korea)
“Pain and Glory” (Spain)
“Les Misérables” (France)
“Honeyland” (North Macedonia)
“Corpus Christi” (Poland)

survey services

Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times

“Parasite” (South Korea)

“Pain & Glory” (Spain)

“Les Misérables” (France)

“Corpus Christi” (Poland)

“Honeyland” (North Macedonia)

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times

“Parasite” (South Korea)

“Pain & Glory” (Spain)

“Les Misérables” (France)

“Honeyland” (North Macedonia)

“Corpus Christi” (Poland)

“Can anything stop ‘Parasite’? ”

Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Times/The Envelope

“Parasite” (South Korea)

“Pain & Glory” (Spain)

“Les Misérables” (France)

“Honeyland” (North Macedonia)

“Corpus Christi” (Poland)

”‘Parasite’ will win this. ‘Parasite’ should win everything.”

Dave Karger
IMDb & TCM

“Parasite” (South Korea)

“Pain & Glory” (Spain)

“Honeyland” (North Macedonia)

“Corpus Christi” (Poland)

“Les Misérables” (France)

“Mystery solved: Here are the four films that will have the honor of losing to ‘Parasite.’ ”

Tom O’Neil
Gold Derby

“Pain & Glory” (Spain)

“Parasite” (South Korea)

“Honeyland” (North Macedonia)

“Les Misérables” (France)

“Corpus Christi” (Poland)

“It’s ‘Parasite’ vs. ‘Pain and Glory’ to win.”

Claudia Puig
KPCC’s FilmWeek

“Parasite” (South Korea)

“Pain & Glory” (Spain)

“Les Misérables” (France)

“Honeyland” (North Macedonia)

“Corpus Christi” (Poland)

“The top two contenders are ‘Parasite’ and ‘Pain and Glory,’ which are different in almost every aspect. Will the Academy go for melancholy or maverick? I think the genre-defying ‘Parasite,’ with its strong social message, will emerge triumphant.”

Anne Thompson
IndieWire

“Parasite” (South Korea)

“Pain & Glory” (Spain)

“Les Misérables” (France)

“Honeyland” (North Macedonia)

“Corpus Christi” (Poland)

“Three Cannes prize-winners are leading the fray, with Palme d’Or-winner ‘Parasite’ likely to prevail over Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Pain and Glory’ (Spain) and ‘Les Misérables’ (Ladj Ly, France).”

“Toy Story 4” has outplayed its American competition, in the panel’s eyes, though “Frozen 2” and “Missing Link” actually collected more Annie nominations. Then “Frozen 2” got snubbed, despite becoming the highest-grossing animated film in history. Woody and Bo (and Forky) look set to collect the second animated-feature Oscar in the series, though the Buzzmeter panelists prefer Netflix’s small, 2D, idiosyncratic French entry, “I Lost My Body.”

However, Netflix’s other entry, the Spanish indie “Klaus,” not only swept the Annies but won the BAFTA. Don’t sleep on Santa - you might end up with coal in your stocking!

“Toy Story 4”
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”
“I Lost My Body” (France)
“Missing Link”
“Klaus”

survey solutions

Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times

“Toy Story 4”

“I Lost My Body”

“How to Train Your Dragon ...”

“Missing Link”

“Klaus”

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times

“Toy Story 4”

“How to Train Your Dragon ...”

“I Lost My Body”

“Missing Link”

“Klaus”

“Pleased the branch welcomed the unconventional ‘I Lost My Body.’”

Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Times

“Toy Story 4”

“I Lost My Body”

“Missing Link”

“How to Train Your Dragon ...”

“Klaus”

“If enough voters watch “I Lost My Body” on Netflix, it could prevail.”

Dave Karger
IMDb and TCM

“Toy Story 4”

“Missing Link”

“How to Train Your Dragon ...”

“I Lost My Body”

“Klaus”

“A French upstart is the only film with a shot to unseat a beloved Pixar smash.”

Tom O’Neil
Gold Derby

“Toy Story 4”

“How to Train Your Dragon ...”

“Missing Link”

“I Lost My Body”

“Klaus”

“Most Oscar pundits assume ‘Toy Story 4’ will triumph just like part 3 did, but the ‘Dragon’ franchise is overdue and ‘I Lost My Body’ will get the artsy vote.”

Claudia Puig
KPCC’s FilmWeek

“Toy Story 4”

“How to Train Your Dragon ...”

“I Lost My Body”

“Missing Link”

“Klaus”

“The charming and inventive French-language ‘I Lost My Body’ might just edge out Woody’s swan song in ‘Toy Story 4.’”

Anne Thompson
IndieWire

“Toy Story 4”

“I Lost My Body”

“How to Train Your Dragon ...”

“Missing Link”

“Klaus”

“Pixar could win its tenth Oscar in this category for ‘Toy Story 4,’ which opens up the world of Woody and Buzz to some remarkable female characters, including Bo Peep.”

The Buzzmeter speaks! Experts predict the Oscar winners — and you can too