2023 Oscar Predictions: BEST ACTOR (June)
On the precipice of the release of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, it’s tough to say whether or not star Austin Butler can secure a nomination spot at the top of summer and hold onto it all the way through the many months of pre-awards season, fall festivals and late-breaking releases. One thing I do know is that it has to be a big box office hit. It doesn’t need to be the $900M worldwide gross of Bohemian Rhapsody big but it’s got to be bigger than the $200M of Rocketman to sustain him.
Let’s get to a little more action and a little less conversation. Here are my 2023 Oscar predictions in Best Actor for June 2022.
Green – moves up ↑ Red – moves down ↓ Blue – new entry ♦
1. Brendan Fraser – The Whale (A24) ↑
2. Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films)
3. Hugh Jackman – The Son (Sony Pictures Classics)
4. Colman Domingo – Rustin (Netflix)
5. Song Kang-ho – Broker (NEON)
6. Austin Butler – Elvis (Warner Bros)
7. Diego Calva – Babylon (Paramount Pictures) ↑
8. Adam Driver – White Noise (Netflix) ↓
9. Colin Firth – Empire of Light (Searchlight Pictures)
10. Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures) ↑
11. Michael Fassbender – Next Goal Wins (Searchlight Pictures)
12. Bill Nighy – Living (Sony Pictures Classics) ↓
13. Christian Bale – Amsterdam (20th Century Studios)
14. Brad Pitt – Babylon (Paramount Pictures) – lead or supporting?
15. Micheal Ward – Empire of Light (Searchlight Pictures)
16. Park Hae-il – Decision to Leave (MUBI)
17. Kelvin Harrison Jr. – Chevalier (Searchlight Pictures)
18. Gabriel LaBelle – The Fabelmans (Universal Studios)
19. Paul Mescal – Aftersun (A24) ↑
20. Daniel Giménez Cacho – Bardo (or False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths) (Netflix)
Other contenders (alphabetical):
- Christian Bale – The Pale Blue Eye (Netflix)
- Timothée Chalamet – Bones and All (MGM/UAR)
- Harris Dickinson – Triangle of Sadness (NEON)
- Taron Egerton – Tetris (Apple Original Films) – 2022 or 2023?
- Zac Efron – The Greatest Beer Run Ever (Apple Original Films)
- Michael Fassbender – The Killer (Netflix) – 2022 or 2023?
- Jamie Foxx – The Burial (Amazon Studios)
- Jesse Garcia – Flamin’ Hot (Searchlight Pictures)
- Jalil Hall – Till (MGM/UAR)
- Ethan Hawke – Raymond & Ray (Apple Original Films)
- Nicholas Hoult – The Menu (Searchlight Pictures)
- Ewan McGregor – Raymond & Ray (Apple Original Films)
- Paul Mescal – Carmen (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Paul Mescal – Foe (Amazon Studios)
- Wagner Moura – Civil War (A24)
- Jack O’Connell – Lady Chatterley’s Lover (Netflix)
- Jim Parsons – Spoiler Alert (Focus Features)
- Dev Patel – Monkey Man (Netflix)
- Joaquin Phoenix – Disappointment Blvd. (A24) – 2022 or 2023?
- Joaquin Phoenix – Napoleon (Apple Original Films) – 2022 or 2023?
- Eddie Redmayne – The Good Nurse (Netflix)
- Sam Rockwell – See How They Run (Searchlight Pictures)
- Adam Sandler – Spaceman of Bohemia (Netflix)
- John David Washington – True Love (20th Century Studios)
Without distribution
- Steve Coogan – The Lost King – TBD
- Jean Dujardin – November – TBD
- Joel Edgerton – The Brutalist – TBD
- Jesse Eisenberg – Manodrome – TBD
- Jon Hamm – Maggie Moore(s) – TBD
- Melvil Poupaud – Brother and Sister – TBD
- Tahar Rahim – Don Juan – TBD
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), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) 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.
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