Final 88th Oscar Predictions

Is Spotlight this year's Crash?

The Oscars are Sunday night, and we might actually be in for some surprises this year. Best Picture feels like a race between The Revenant and The Big Short, but I'm reluctant to count out Spotlight. The supporting acting categories could also have a potential shocker, but some of the below-the-line categories (Score, Costume Design, Production Design...) seem ripe for an upset. I've gone out on a limb or two with my predictions, though I'm sure not everything will pay off. Good luck to everyone else predicting the winners!

Best Picture:

Will win: The Revenant
Could win: The Big Short
Should win: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Director:

Will win: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant
Could win: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Should win: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Actor:

Will win: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Could win: Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Should win: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Best Actress:

Will win: Brie Larson, Room
Could win: Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Should win: Cate Blanchett, Carol

Best Supporting Actor:

Will win: Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Could win: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Should win: Tom Hardy, The Revenant

Best Supporting Actress:

Will win: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Could win: Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Should win: Rooney Mara, Carol

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Will win: The Big Short
Could win: Room
Should win: Carol

Best Original Screenplay:

Will win: Spotlight
Could win: Inside Out
Should win: Spotlight

Best Production Design:

Will win: Mad Max: Fury Road
Could win: Bridge of Spies
Should win: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Cinematography:

Will win: The Revenant
Could win: Mad Max: Fury Road
Should win: The Revenant

Best Costume Design:

Will win: Carol
Could win: Mad Max: Fury Road
Should win: Carol

Best Film Editing:

Will win: Mad Max: Fury Road
Could win: The Big Short
Should win: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Original Score:

Will win: The Hateful Eight
Could win: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Should win: Sicario

Best Original Song:

Will win: "Til It Happens to You" from The Hunting Ground
Could win: "Writing's on the Wall" from Spectre
Should win: "Earned It" from Fifty Shades of Grey

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

Will win: Mad Max: Fury Road
Could win: The Revenant
Should win: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Sound Mixing:

Will win: The Revenant
Could win: Mad Max: Fury Road
Should win: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Sound Editing:

Will win: Mad Max: Fury Road
Could win: The Revenant
Should win: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Visual Effects:

Will win: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Could win: The Revenant
Should win: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Animated Feature Film:

Will win: Inside Out
Could win: Anomalisa
Should win: Inside Out

Best Documentary Feature Film:

Will win: Amy
Could win: Cartel Land

Best Foreign Language Film:

Will win: Son of Saul (Hungary)
Could win: Mustang (France)

Best Live-Action Short Film:

Will win: Stutterer
Could win: Shok

Best Animated Short Film:

Will win: Bear Story (Historia de un Oso)
Could win: World of Tomorrow

Best Documentary Short Film:

Will win: Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
Could win: Body Team 12

Predicted Tally:

The Revenant - 5
Mad Max: Fury Road - 4
Amy - 1
Bear Story (Historia de un Oso) - 1
The Big Short - 1
Carol - 1
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah - 1
Creed - 1
The Danish Girl - 1
The Hateful Eight - 1
The Hunting Ground - 1
Inside Out - 1
Room - 1
Son of Saul - 1
Spotlight - 1
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 1
Stutterer - 1

The Oscars will be presented live on ABC this Sunday, Feb. 28.