Some Oscar seasons end with little suspense, with the major races all but decided before the ceremony even begins.
Not this year.
This has been an unusually fluid season in which several categories still feel wide open as we head into Sunday’s show (starting at 7 p.m. Eastern, 4 p.m. Pacific, on ABC and Hulu). Though I’m about to tell you what to expect from the broadcast, you can count on a few upsets and surprises, too.
A ‘Battle’ royale with ‘Sinners’
This Oscar night could be a clash of the titans, as two big films from Warner Bros. vie for the lion’s share of awards. “One Battle After Another” has dominated the season, winning top prizes from the Golden Globes and key Hollywood guilds, and a best-picture path for that film could also see Oscar wins for actors Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor as well as writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson. But you can’t count out Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” which broke the record for the most Oscar nominations and gained momentum at the Screen Actors Guild’s Actor Awards, where its lead, Michael B. Jordan, prevailed. This one could be close.
The best actor bloodbath
Speaking of Jordan, he’s considered the very tenuous front-runner in a best-actor race in which any nominee has a shot at winning. “Marty Supreme” star Timothée Chalamet notched some early wins at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards but has faded since. Leonardo DiCaprio could benefit if “One Battle After Another” sweeps the whole ticket. And with the race so tight, a dark-horse winner could emerge from either Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”) or Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”).
Conan’s return
After a well-received hosting stint last year, Conan O’Brien will resume his Oscar duties for a second time on Sunday. I’d expect that this gig is O’Brien’s for the foreseeable future, given how long ABC and the academy stuck with the four-time host Jimmy Kimmel. Still, there’s at least one guaranteed shake-up on the horizon: The Oscars will move from ABC to YouTube in 2029, signaling a brand-new era for what has long been thought of as one of broadcast television’s biggest nights.
A massive in memoriam
Could the night’s most memorable moment come not from an acceptance speech but from a tribute? The annual In Memoriam segment, honoring people from the movie industry who died in the past year, looks to be particularly supersized on Sunday, with the montage expected to include stars like Diane Keaton, Val Kilmer, Robert Duvall and Catherine O’Hara. It’s rumored the segment will also feature Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal honoring their “When Harry Met Sally” director Rob Reiner, as well as Barbra Streisand performing a tribute to her former costar Robert Redford.
