Looking Ahead to the Next Oscar Race

With the body of the 86th Academy Awards just lowered into the ground and topped off with fresh dirt, there’s no time like the present to look forward to the 87th.

Voting and predicting is already underway in the AwardsWatch Forums (as we do) for the 2014/2015 season. Foxcatcher, delayed from Winter 2013 to Fall 2014 looks to be a prime player and a smart move by Sony Pictures Classics. The fact-based story of Olympic wrestling and murder is ranking high in Picture, Directing, Lead Actor and Supporting Actor.

After her Lead Actress bid failed this year, Amy Adams is looking to come back in a big way with Tim Burton’s Big Eyes. The drama, centered around artist Margaret Keane in the 1950s, could be the role and timing Adams is looking for. Her co-star, two-time Oscar winner Christophe Waltz, could be adding another award to his already stocked mantle as well.

David Fincher’s Gone Girl is definitely showing up in the prediction race but will it play like The Social Network or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Rosamund Pike appears to have the best shot right now. The big screen adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim fairy tale mash-up musical Into the Woods could perform well, at the very least scoring yet another nomination for Meryl Streep.

Jessica Chastain will again find herself with a wealth of roles and films for critics and the Academy to choose from this year. Miss Julie, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby and A Most Violent Year could either do well for her or cancel each other out.

Michael Keaton (remember him?) is making some big Best Actor noise for Birdman. The film, director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s first feature since 2010’s Biutiful, centers around a washed up actor who once played an iconic superhero trying to mount a comeback. Get it?

Here are the results of the first round of predictions in the acting categories, generated from Feb.1 to March 1. First round voting is currently underway in Best Picture and Best Director.

BEST ACTOR

01. Steve Carell, Foxcatcher (84%)
02. Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice (71%)
03. Michael Keaton, Birdman (59%)
04. Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes (53%)
05. Brad Pitt, Fury (43%)
06. Jack O’Connell, Unbroken (22%)
07. Ben Foster, Untitled Lance Armstrong Biopic (14%)
08. Chadwick Boseman, Get on Up (12%)
09. Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game (10%)
09. Robert Downey Jr., The Judge (10%)
09. Oscar Isaac, A Most Violent Year (10%)
09. Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner (10%)

BEST ACTRESS

01. Amy Adams, Big Eyes (75%)
02. Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl (66%)
02. Michelle Williams, Suite française (66%)
04. Meryl Streep, Into the Woods (40%)
05. Reese Witherspoon, Wild (39%)
06. Jessica Chastain, Miss Julie (33%)
07. Cate Blanchett, Carol (20%)
08. Hilary Swank, The Homesman (16%)
09. Jessica Chastain, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (11%)
10. Helen Mirren, The Hundred-Foot Journey (10%)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

01. Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher (77%)
02. Josh Brolin, Inherent Vice (50%)
02. Neil Patrick Harris, Gone Girl (50%)
02. Logan Lerman, Fury (50%)
05. Edward Norton, Birdman (38%)
06. Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes (35%)
07. J.K. Simmons, Whiplash (23%)
08. Benicio Del Toro, Inherent Vice (19%)
09. Martin Sheen, Trash (15%)
10. Robert Duvall, The Judge (12%)
10. Garrett Hedlund, Unbroken (12%)
10. Matthias Schoenaerts, Suite française (12%)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

01. Viola Davis, Get on Up (62%)
02. Kristin Scott Thomas, Suite française (55%)
03. Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year (43%)
03. Anna Kendrick, Into the Woods (43%)
05. Emma Stone, Birdman (33%)
06. Emily Blunt, Into the Woods (29%)
07. Rooney Mara, Carol (17%)
07. Rooney Mara, Trash (17%)
09. Marion Cotillard, Macbeth (12%)
10. Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars (10%)
10. Octavia Spencer, Get on Up (10%)