2018 Oscar Predictions: BEST DIRECTOR (July) – Bigelow and Spielberg Tie for the Top Spot

Erik Anderson July 5, 2017

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Kathryn Bigelow (Detroit) returns to the #1 spot this month in our Best Director predictions, albeit tied with last month’s #1, Steven Spielberg (The Papers). Interestingly, Spielberg’s point total remains the same while Bigelow’s rises five.

Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) and Joe Wright (Darkest Hour) flip spots, and nearly the same point totals, giving Nolan his highest ranking to date. Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) moves up one to enter the top 5. That pushes Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) out and down to #6.

Two of last month’s debuts not only hang on but improve this month; Sean Baker (The Florida Project) moves up from #8 to #7 and Jordan Peele (Get Out) lands at #9 from a #11 start in June. Two of last month’s debuts fall off after just a single month; Michael Gracey (The Greatest Show on Earth) and Sofia Coppola (The Beguiled).

Richard Linklater (Last Flag Flying) returns the chart this month in a big way, landing at #10. Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) is the month’s sole new entry. He starts out at #14.

Two additions hit the Other Contenders list, featuring some potentially very Oscar-y names. Clint Eastwood is said to be getting his latest film (which hasn’t even started shooting yet) The 15:17 to Paris done by December and Ridley Scott could have his Getty kidnapping drama All the Money in the World, which is currently filming, ready for December as well.

Here are the 2018 Oscar predictions in Best Director for July from the Gold Rush Gang. Keep an eye on all of the Gold Rush Gang’s 2018 Oscar predictions updated LIVE throughout the month.

Green – moves up from last month
Red – moves down from last month
Blue – debut/new entry
Orange – re-entry

	BEST DIRECTOR	ERIK ANDERSON	BRYAN BONAFEDE	GREG HOWARD	EVAN KOST	JASON OSIASON	KENNETH POLISHCHUK	DENIZCAN SÜRÜCÜ	RICHARD ANTHONY	ŞÜKRÜ SÖĞÜT	MATT DINN	TOTAL POINTS

1	Kathryn Bigelow – Detroit	1	4	1	2	6	3	1	4	2	1	85
1	Steven Spielberg – The Papers	2	1	3	1	10	2	2	1	1	2	85
3	Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk	7	2	5	3	1	7	5	8	4	4	64
4	Joe Wright – Darkest Hour	5		2	5	5	6	4	7	3	5	57
5	Luca Guadagnino – Call Me By Your Name	6	3	7	6	2	10	7	2	6	6	55

6	Denis Villeneuve – Blade Runner 2049	4	7	6	8	8	4	6	5	5	10	47
7	Sean Baker – The Florida Project	3	6		4	4	1	8	9	9	9	46
7	Dan Gilroy – Roman Israel, Esq.		8	8	7	3		3	3	7	3	46
9	Jordan Peele – Get Out	9	5		9	7	8		10		8	21
10	Richard Linklater – Last Flag Flying							9	6	10	7	12
11	Dee Rees – Mudbound	10		4				10				9
12	Andrew Haigh – Lean on Pete		10	10					8	8		8
13	Todd Haynes – Wonderstruck				10		5					7
14	Guillermo Del Toro – The Shape of Water	8				9						5
15	Paul Thomas Anderson – Phantom Thread		9								10	3
16	George Clooney – Suburbicon						9					2
16	Alexander Payne – Downsizing			9								2
16	Alfonso Gómez-Rejón – The Current War								9			2
19	Martin McDonaugh – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri								10			1

	OTHER CONTENDERS
	Aaron Sorkin – Molly’s Game
	Andy Serkis – Breathe
	Clint Eastwood – The 15:17 to Paris
	Darren Aronofsky – mother!
	David Gordon Green – Stronger
	Garth Davis – Mary Magdalene
	Michael Gracey – The Greatest Showman
	Michael Haneke – Happy End
	Reginald Hudlin – Marshall
	Ridley Scott – All the Money in the World
	Sebastián Lelio – Disobedience
	Sofia Coppola – The Beguiled
	Stanley Tucci – Final Portrait
	Stephen Frears – Victoria and Abdul
	Woody Allen – Wonder Wheel
	Yorgos Lanthimos – The Killing of a Sacred Deer

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.