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Culture > Entertainment

Oscar 2023 Nomination Faves

Annie Hartnett
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Fairfield chapter.

The biggest night in movies is almost upon us: the Oscars! The star-studded award show is happening on Sunday, March 12th, and is airing on ABC. Every year, it’s so exciting to see the interviews, what the stars are wearing, and to watch moments that will go down in Hollywood history. This year, Jimmy Kimmel takes over the duty of hosting the show for the third time. 

The Oscars are always unpredictable. As seen at last year’s show with “the slap heard around the world” that Will Smith gave to Chris Rock after his best actor win, anything can happen. However, the 95th Academy Awards promise a lot of hope and are making history with stars like Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once, being the first Asian Actress nominated for best actress in a leading role. This year the race is tight as ever, and movie experts have already weighed in on their predictions for the awards. Here are some of the most popular picks.

Best Actor:

This year the best actor nominees are Austin Butler in Elvis, Brendan Fraser in The Whale, Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin, Paul Mescal in Aftersun, and Bill Nighy in Living. Both Brendan Fraser and Colin Farrell have received critical acclaim for their performances. This year Fraser made a comeback onto the big screen, and fans and movie critics have praised his return for his character in The Whale. Austin Butler (my personal favorite) is also a high contender for the award after winning The Golden Globe. If you saw Elvis, you could attest to the dedication Butler had for the role and can see how he can easily go home with the Oscar.

Best Actress:

The nominees for best actress are Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once, Cate Blanchett in Tár, Michelle Williams in The Fablemans, Ana De Armas in Blonde, and Andrea Riseborough in To Leslie. In this category, Michelle Yeoh seems to be a likely winner. With Everything Everywhere All At Once receiving the most nominations, it’s not surprising to see Yeoh as a favorite for the award. Cate Blanchett also has received acclaim for her performance as a musician in Tár and has been nominated numerous times.

Best picture:

Best picture is always an unpredictable category. This year the 10 nominees all face a tight race. Everything Everywhere All At Once leads every category with 11 nominations, so it wouldn’t be a total surprise if it won. The film has broken barriers in the industry and led actor Ke Huy Quan, who is best known for The Goonies, to win the Golden Globe for supporting actor in a motion picture. He delivered a heartfelt speech expressing his love for the movie and how it had given him the opportunity to act again. Plus, the movie has received extraordinary praise and is A24’s highest-grossing movie ever. The Fablemans won best picture at the Golden Globes, making it also a high competitor in the category. Other films, such as the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, are nominated, but predictions show that this film is less likely compared to the other nominees.

There are so many other categories where favorites are believed to win. Everything Everywhere All At Once is predicted to sweep the majority of the categories. However, as seen in years past, the Oscar’s is an unpredictable awards show where literally anything can happen. So on March 12th, make some popcorn, curl up on the couch, and watch Hollywood’s biggest night unfold!

XO, Annie

Annie Hartnett

Fairfield '26

Annie Hartnett is a writer for Her Campus’s Fairfield University chapter. She loves to write on the team and some of her favorite topics include pop culture, fashion, and mental health. She also has worked with the social media team to help curate content for Instagram and TikTok, as well as create designs on Canva to promote weekly articles. In addition to Her Campus, Annie is a New Student Leader at Fairfield, where she guides first year students and provides them with resources as they transition into college. She also is part of Fairfield University’s Student Association (FUSA) on the Marketing team where she works to boost engagement with students and market events for the class of 2026. Annie is a Marketing major and hopes to have a career in Social media marketing. She's also a general member of the Marketing Club and Women in Business where she hopes to gain exposure into the world of Marketing and other industries. In her free time, Annie loves exercising and trying new workout classes, watching rom-coms, and spending time with her friends and family. She loves listening to podcasts and all types of music, but her current top artists are Taylor Swift and Noah Kahan.