2027 Oscar Predictions: BEST CASTING (June)

This last season gave us the first brand new Oscar category in 25 years with Best Casting where Cassandra Kulukundis became the first ever winner, for One Battle After Another.

While we’re far away from really getting into winner talk, what information did her win, and the other nominations last season tell us? As a refresher, the other nominees were Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent and Sinners, all Best Picture nominees. All were also nominated in individual acting categories with Hamnet, One Battle and Sinners winning Best Actress, Supporting Actor and Best Actor, respectively. In a field of 10, it’s probably safe to say that the five nominees for Best Casting will more likely than not come from a Best Picture nominee, the odds just favor it.

One thing that didn’t happen in the category’s inaugural year was a single person being double-nominated, which was a distinct possibility. Most casting directors are responsible for several big titles per year and the chances of it happening still seem likely year to year but it was informational to see this new branch decisively choose not to.

Another interesting turn of events with these nominees was The Secret Agent getting in over Sentimental Value. While The Secret Agent had a Best Actor nod for Wagner Moura, Sentimental Value had four individual acting nominations (on top of Best Picture and Best Director) and bested TSA for International Feature Film. It showed us that the branch was willing to look outside some obvious choices to focus its energy elsewhere.

With that, looking at the titles I think will be in contention this year, I’m going to take as many cues from last season as possible. Films with likely lead acting nominations, large casts, casts with kids, top tier non-English language films in Best Picture nominee contention. But also I’ll be looking at specific casting directors and who the branch might be inclined to give a follow up nomination or an industry vet earning their first. Those in the running after nominations last season include Sinners‘ Francine Maisler with no less than three major titles: Digger, Dune: Messiah and The Social Reckoning. Interestingly, I don’t see much of a path for Nina Gold, Jennifer Venditti, Gabriel Domingues or winner Kulukundis with their 2026 projects.

I’m holding off on a few titles for now, like Tom Ford’s Cry to Heaven and Joel Coen’s Jack of Spades, with the former I’m hearing not even ready by Venice. If either do show up on the Venice lineup when it comes out July 23, I’ll reconsider. Neither have a studio attached yet (as do several potential festival titles this year) so that will have to happen quickly.

Here are my very early 2027 Oscar nomination predictions in Best Casting for June.

Next up: Behemoth! – Carmen Cuba (Searchlight Pictures), All of a Sudden – Coralie Amedeo (NEON), Carmen Cuba (Searchlight Pictures), Being Heumann – Adam Caldwell, Bernard Telsey (Apple Original Films), Coward – Sebastian Moradiellos (MUBI), I Play Rocky – TBA (Amazon MGM Studios), Obsession – Skylar Zurn (Focus Features), The Only Living Pickpocket in New York – TBA (Sony Pictures Classics), Saturn Return – Kim Ostroy (Netflix), Untitled Cliff Booth Movie – Laray Mayfield (Netflix), The Uprising – Daniel Hubbard (Focus Features)

Full list (alphabetical)

All of a Sudden – Coralie Amedeo (NEON)

Behemoth! – Carmen Cuba (Searchlight Pictures)

Being Heumann – Adam Caldwell, Bernard Telsey (Apple Original Films)

La bola negra – Eva Leira, Yolanda Serrano (Netflix)

Clarissa – Nina Gold (NEON)

Coward – Sebastian Moradiellos (MUBI)

Club Kid – Carmen Cuba (A24)

The Debut – Douglas Aibel (A24)

The Devil Wears Prada 2 – Ellen Lewis, Shayna Markowitz (20^th Century Studios)

Digger – Francine Maisler (Warner Bros)

The Dog Stars – TBA (20th Century Studios)

Dune: Messiah – Francine Maisler (Warner Bros)

Fatherland – Nina Haun, Karen Lindsay-Stewart, Magdalena Szwarcbart (MUBI)

Fight for ’84 – Rachel Tenner (Netflix)

Fjord – Hannah Chocron Foldøy (NEON)

Here Comes the Flood – Salah Benchegra (Netflix)

I Play Rocky – TBA (Amazon MGM Studios)

I Swear – Lauren Evans (Sony Pictures Classics)

Michael – Victoria Thomas (Lionsgate)

Minotaur – Anastasia Smekalova (MUBI)

Obsession – Skylar Zurn (Focus Features)

The Odyssey – John Papsidera (Universal Pictures)

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York – TBA (Sony Pictures Classics)

Paper Tiger – Douglas Aibel (NEON)

Project Hail Mary – Nicola Abellera Hallman, Jeanne McCarthy (Amazon MGM Studios)

Saturn Return – Kim Ostroy (Netflix)

Sense and Sensibility – Kharmel Cochrane (Focus Features)

The Social Reckoning – Francine Maisler, Molly Rose (Sony Pictures/Columbia)

Tenzing – Nikki Barrett, Danny Long, Sanjeev Maurya (Apple Original Films)

Untitled Cliff Booth Movie – Laray Mayfield (Netflix)

The Uprising – Daniel Hubbard (Focus Features)

Wild Horse Nine – Sarah Finn (Searchlight Pictures)

• Author
• Recent Posts

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), 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.

Latest posts by Erik Anderson (see all)

• Palm Springs International Film Society (PSIFS) Announces Two Awards in Honor of Former Festival Chairman and Philantropist Harold Matzner - July 17, 2026
• Danny Boyle’s ‘Ink’ to Open 83rd Venice Film Festival - July 17, 2026
• 2026 Toronto International Film Festival: New Films Starring Cate Blanchett, Mahershala Ali, Margaret Qualley, Naomi Watts Announced for TIFF51 - July 16, 2026