Gold Rush Gang 2016 Oscar Predictions: BEST ACTOR (July)

Again this month the top two Best Actor contenders, Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl) and Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) remain intact. DiCaprio still even has the same point total. Redmayne drops just one point this month, with Gold Rush Gang member Jason switching out Redmayne for the #1 slot in favor of Tom Hiddleston (I Saw the Light). Although Hiddleston drops from 3rd to 4th this month his total points are up and that’s what really matters. Michael Caine (Youth), with whom Hiddleston was tied last month, edges him out by a single point. We’ll see how long that close battle lasts.

After those top four slots the votes go down to single digits, with Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs, which just got a full length trailer this week) making a big jump into 5th place (although with a smaller point total), replacing Jake Gyllenhaal in Southpaw. Gyllenhaal still manages to show up twice this month, with Demolition grabbing him seven points. I imagine this type of lack of unified support will continue until after Southpaw is released and people feel more comfortable putting their votes behind just one of those performances, or neither as other contenders rise. With a new trailer this week, Tom Hardy in Legend is gaining some steam as we speak.

Tom Hanks (Bridge of Spies) hangs on with the same placement and vote total as last month and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Walk) makes his chart debut at the expense of Bradley Cooper in Adam Jones. That film’s continued test screenings are proving to be a detriment to predicting him as it’s seen as a lack of faith in the film.