Nominations for the 98th Oscars will be announced in 24 categories on Thursday, January 22nd.
Most of this season, it’s felt like there were six contenders vying for five spots. Both the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes chose the same six men: Sean Penn (One Battle After Another), Benicio Del Toro (One Battle After Another), Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value), Paul Mescal (Hamnet), Jacob Elordi (Frankentsein), and Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly). With Elordi and Skarsgård splitting the prizes, the common wisdom was that Sandler would be the one to miss, which he did at SAG. But a complete snub of international performers meant that Skarsgård also didn’t get nominated there, with Miles Caton (Sinners) subbing in, beating out another contender from his own film, Delroy Lindo (Sinners). While Andrew Scott (Blue Moon) and Jacobi Jupe (Hamnet) have also picked up some precursor mentions, they haven’t mustered enough mainstream support for nominations. The same is true for another contender who would likely end up being nominated alongside his father had his film made any noise in the United States: Alexander Skarsgård (Pillion). Josh O’Connor (Wake Up Dead Man) seemed like he might make the cut before his film failed to get much awards attention. This race feels like the most predictable one, which is never a smart thing to say.
Predicted nominees:
Benicio Del Toro (One Battle After Another)
Jacob Elordi (Frankentsein)
Paul Mescal (Hamnet)
Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)
Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value)
