Oscar winners 2021

So there you have it – there were a few surprises during this belated awards ceremony, but Nomadland was the biggest winner on the night with three wins, while The Trial of the Chicago 7 failed to win with any of its six nominations. But I know the real question on everyone’s lips is – how many of my predictions did I get correct?!

When the smoke cleared, I got 7 out of 10 correct, which isn’t my best result, but isn’t bad either...

Best picture winner – Nomadland 

My Prediction – Nomadland 

It looked like Nomadland was the favourite to take Best Picture … and it did.

Best actress winner – Frances McDormand (Nomadland) 

My Prediction – Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) 

I didn’t think that Nomadland would win an acting award, but Frances McDormand managed to pick up her third Best Actress Oscar – a very impressive achievement in anyone’s book.

Best actor winner – Anthony Hopkins (The Father) 

My Prediction – Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) 

Although I believed there was an outside chance that Anthony Hopkins could take this, I thought that the fact that this was Chadwick Boseman’s final chance at an Oscar might swing the vote for him. While it’s hard not to feel that Boseman deserved the recognition, you also can’t take anything away from Hopkins, who has now won two Best Actor Oscars (and become the oldest recipient of that award).

Best supporting actress winner – Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari) 

My Prediction – Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari) 

Yuh-Jung Youn appeared to be the front-running in this category, and her win makes her only the second Asian woman to win an acting Oscar.

Best supporting actor winner – Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah) 

My Prediction – Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah) 

I said that this appeared to be the easiest category to predict, as Daniel Kaluuya quickly emerged as the favourite nominee. After being nominated for Get Out, Kaluuya’s now won for Judas and the Black Messiah, and at 32 I get the feeling that he’s only getting started.

Best director winner – Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) 

My Prediction – Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) 

Although I predicted that Chloe Zhao would win in this category, you can never take anything for granted – but she has now become the first Asian woman to win the Best Director Oscar. Nomadland was only her third film, and interestingly, her next is the big budget Marvel film Eternals (hopefully due out this November).

Best adapted screenplay winner – The Father 

My Prediction – The Father 

I thought this would be a “consolation” prize, but actually the film won two Oscars in the end.

Best original screenplay winner – Promising Young Woman  

My Prediction – Promising Young Woman 

I wanted Promising Young Woman to win something (it’s a great film, and a great script), but I thought it was too close to call. Thankfully, it didn’t come away from the ceremony empty-handed, as Emerald Fennell got the well-deserved Best Original Screenplay Oscar.

Best cinematography winner – Mank 

My Prediction – Nomadland 

I thought Nomadland would win the technical Oscar and miss out on the acting Oscar – but it was the other way around! I should have known that the Academy always like films about classic Hollywood, so was always in with a good chance of winning something.

Best costume design winner – Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 

My Prediction – Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 

I thought that Ma Rainey's Black Bottom’s combination of period costumes and showbiz flair may give it a slight advantage over the competition, and it looks like I was right.

Other winners: 

In the other categories, I thought that Soul deserved the Best Original Score Oscar, but not the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar, which should have gone to Onward (which I thought was the better film in every respect). I was also glad to see that Tenet got the well-deserved Best Visual Effects Oscar win.