It’s Oscar season, and soon everyone will get to see which of the movies released in 2023 was voted the best in their category. The nominees were revealed back in January, with “Barbie,” one of the biggest box office smashes for 2023, nominated eight times in seven categories. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” was also nominated 13 times in 13 categories. Overall, this is shaping up to be one of the more memorable Oscar events in recent years, so let’s take a look at some of these categories and which nominees have the best chance of taking home the Oscar.

Actor in a Leading Role

This Oscar goes to the best lead actor in a movie. The nominees are Bradley Cooper for his performance in “Maestro,” Colman Domingo in “Rustin,” Paul Giamatti in “The Holdovers,” Cillian Murphy in “Oppenheimer,” and Jeffery Wright in “American Fiction.” I believe that this Oscar is going to go to either Murphy or Cooper. Both had fantastic performances, and I could see either one walking away with the Oscar by the end of the night. However, I’m going to give the edge to Murphy as I think he embodied the part of Robert Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist who is considered the father of the nuclear bomb.

Actor in a Supporting Role

The nominees for the best supporting role are Sterling K. Brown in “American Fiction,” Robert De Niro in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Robert Downey Jr. in “Oppenheimer,” Ryan Gosling in “Barbie,” and Mark Ruffalo in “Poor Things.” This is one of the harder categories to make a pick in, as you have multiple strong performances but I’d say there’s a good chance that Downey Jr. or Gosling get this Oscar. If I had to make a firm prediction I’d choose Gosling to walk away with the Oscar for his role as the clueless Ken in “Barbie.”

Actress in a Leading Role

Unlike the previous categories, I have no idea who could walk away with this Oscar. The nominees include Annette Bening for “Nyad,” Lily Gladstone for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Sandra Hüller for “Anatomy of a Fall,” Carey Mulligan for “Maestro,” and Emma Stone for “Poor Things.” If I had to take a guess, I would give the nod to Gladstone because although I have yet to watch some of these movies, there’s been a lot of buzz about her performance.

Actress in a Supporting Role

The nominees are Emily Blunt for “Oppenheimer,” Danielle Brooks for “The Color Purple,” America Ferrera in “Barbie,” Jodie Foster for “Nyad,” and Da’Vine Joy Randolph for her role in “The Holdovers.” Once again, I think this award will come down to an “Oppenheimer” vs. “Barbie” slugfest, with Blunt taking home the win for her role as Robert Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty.

Best Animated Feature

Now it’s on to the actual film and film production awards. In the animated category, the nominees include “The Boy and the Heron,” Disney’s “Elemental,” “Nimona,” “Robot Dreams,” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” I have no doubt that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will take home the Oscar. It is the sequel to the 2018 hit, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which also won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. This film features superior, mind-blowoing animation, a unique art style, and a genre-defining storyline and look. This film is one of the best movies I have ever seen.

Best Costume Design

The nominees are “Barbie,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Napoleon,” “Oppenheimer,” and “Poor Things.” I am torn with this category. I have a movie that I want to win, and one that I think will realistically win. The movie that I want to win is “Napoleon.” The recreation of the uniforms and fashion of the Napoleonic time period in France was visually rich, not only impressing me with look of the uniforms themselves, but the sheer number created for the hundreds of extras. However, I’m a realist, so I suspect that the winner will be “Barbie.”

Best Original Song

This category’s nominees include “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot,” “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie,” “It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony,” “Wahzhazhe (A Song for my People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie.” I believe that “I’m Just Ken” will win this Oscar easily as this song such a big impact on popular culture when it came out.

Best Original Score

The nominees include “American Fiction,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Oppenheimer,” and “Poor Things.” I really want “Indiana Jones” to win, because even though the movie was really wanting, I did enjoy was the soundtrack. Composer John Williams did a fantastic job, as always, with writing the music. However, in concert with my belief that “Oppenheimer” is likely to rack up some impressive wins, the Oscar will probably go to “Oppenheimer’s “Ludwig Göransson. Ever since I first heard Göransson’s work with the TV show “The Mandalorian” in 2019, I knew that he would get an Oscar, so I hope this will be his first of many.

Last but not least: Best Picture

This is the one Oscar that every filmmaker hopes to win. The nominees are stacked this year, including “American Fiction,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Barbie,” “The Holdovers,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” “Oppenheimer,” “Past Lives,” “Poor Things,” and “The Zone of Interest.” My pick is for “Oppenheimer” to take home this year’s Best Picture. It is one of director Christopher Nolan’s best films, which is saying something considering Nolan’s repertoire.

Overall, I feel like this year’s Academy Awards is going to be one to remember. While I don’t think that we’ll have another “Slap Heard Round the World” incident like 2022 (when actor Will Smith slapped Oscar host Chris Rock in front of millions of watchers), I can imagine something that hasn’t been seen in a while, namely, a record for the most Oscars be tied or broken. As I mentioned, “Oppenheimer” was nominated 13 times. “Titanic” (1998), “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003), and “Ben-Hur” (1959) currently are tied for the most Oscars with 11. Seeing the critical response to “Oppenheimer,” I can picture it getting close to or even surpassing the record.

The Oscars will air on March 10 at 7:00 pm Eastern Time on ABC. They will also be available to stream on YouTubeTV, Hulu Live TV, FuboTV, or AT&T TV.