The 95th annual Oscars Award Ceremony will be held on March 12, 2023, and will most certainly prove to be a special night. This year’s nominees shed new light on relevant and hard-hitting issues, along with innovative cinematography. Every movie nominated has an element that is truly unique and original. With that being said, here are my predictions for best actor in a leading role, actress in a leading role, and best picture.

The movie Elvis was an opportunity for Austin Butler to hop out of the shadows. Butler’s first blockbuster hit, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, came in 2019 when he played the film’s main villain, Charles Watson; however, his performance was somewhat overshadowed by the juggernaut cast featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie. Regardless, Elvis allowed Butler to shine in the spotlight of a leading role – his part was demanding and required the complete embodiment of Elvis Presley, with Butler hitting it out of the park in that regard. Because of this, I predict that Austin Butler will win best actor in a leading role for his performance as Elvis Presley in the movie Elvis.

A close second to the performance of Butler was Brendan Fraser in the movie The Whale. Fraser plays an extremely overweight online English professor named Charlie who recently lost his partner. Fraser brings this character to a new level when he amplifies the complexity of Charlie’s romantic life along with showing the simplicity of just wanting to know his daughter better. Both performances were legendary, but Butler gets the edge here.

As for an actress in a leading role, there is absolutely no question about who this award should be going to. Michelle Yeoh’s performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once was flawless. Yeoh plays a workaholic Chinese immigrant that owns a failing laundromat. Yeoh’s character isn’t your average world-saver, and that’s what makes her character so unique. Her performance combined everything, from funny and lighthearted jokes to depression and stress, into a performance for the ages. A performance with that much range deserves nothing less than an award. Yoeh’s sensational performance tops the nominees by a country mile.

Best Picture is the hardest prediction of all the academy awards this year. The average movie watcher most likely will vouch for a movie like Top Gun: Maverick or Avatar: The Way of The Water to win. Audiences who enjoy a good period piece may think All Quiet on The Western Front should win. The winner at the end of the night won’t be any of those movies. Everything Everywhere All at Once will have the honor of taking home the award for best picture in 2023. The movie is absolutely brilliant. Its ability to break down complex ideas, allowing the audience to see the true meaning of the movie is unmatched by any other nominee. Editing, music, and action are some of the elements where this movie excelled. The movie is quirky and intense but is also layered with an overall message that touches the heart of the audience.

The night of March 12th will most likely be owned by Everything Everywhere All at Once. The movie is one of 17 A24 films that have been nominated for an Oscar this year. As the cinema industry transforms and moves towards streaming, companies like A24 are releasing fewer and fewer movies in theaters. So regardless of whether you prefer to sit at home and stream movies or if your favorite experience is to wolf down movie theater popcorn while watching a film on the big screen, everyone should take some time out of their day to check out at least a few of the nominees for the 95th annual Oscars.