Predicting Oscar Winners

by Ryan James Tobin ’26 on February 26, 2026

A&E - Film & TV

Awards season is not only officially upon us, but also coming to a close. With the Academy Awards coming up, some stars have made tremendous moves and pushes to take home the big one this year. Here is an overview of who I think will walk away with the gold for the biggest categories on March 15.

Best Actor

Nominees: Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).

Predicted Winner: Timothee Chalamet

Why? Chalamet has been consistently incredible since his prominent role in Lady Bird. He has also been an Academy Award staple, as this is his fourth nomination with zero wins to his name. DiCaprio is a close second in my book as he turned in my personal favorite performance of his career in a film that is likely to win him many Oscars this year. Sadly, based on how this awards season panned out, Chalamet has a very large lead in this race in comparison to the former Oscar winner. Jordan, Hawke, and Moura all turned in career-defining performances as well, and Moura also has the awards season momentum to achieve a shock win here. However, I think it’s the man who always says he is chasing greatness that finally gets to call himself one of the greats in this case.

Best Actress

Nominees: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia).

Predicted Winner: Rose Byrne

Why? All five of these leading performances are unparalleled. Buckley has been the clear favorite for the longest time in this particular race, however, not every front-runner receives the statue. Byrne was If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, meaning that the entire movie rested on her shoulders, and she still delivered an awe-inspiring performance. She also has the resume and career that Oscar voters typically like to reward. Looking further down the line, Oscar darling Stone is in third for me in this particular category, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the votes between the top two contenders, Byrne and Buckley, are split so evenly that Stone ends up taking home the top prize. As for now, this writer is pulling for the Aussie.

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees: Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another), Sean Penn (One Battle After Another), Delroy Lindo (Sinners), Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value), and Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein).

Predicted Winner: Stellan Skarsgård

Why? The men’s best supporting actor race is by far the closest and most unpredictable. As aforementioned, I think Oscar voters are going to be splitting votes between two candidates in multiple fields. Del Toro and Penn were both magnificent in a star-studded One Battle After Another cast, but if I had to choose between one of them, I don’t know if I could. That leads me next to the two men who had the best awards seasons and are therefore riding a wave of momentum into the big night: Elordi and Skarsgård. Both received notable best supporting actor wins on the road to the Academy, but neither has a clear edge over the other. Furthermore, both star in movies that are absolutely stunning but for different reasons—one for cinematography, and the other for emotional experience. I mention this because I think Skarsgård takes home the top prize due to the emotional depth of the film he is representing—that is the only edge I believe is visible in this face.

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees: Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).

Predicted Winner: Teyana Taylor

Why? While my heart is telling me to go with the dark horse—Fanning—my head is telling me that Taylor simply has this in the bag. It is also worth mentioning that my original pick before the Golden Globes, Ariana Grande (Wicked: For Good), wasn’t even nominated. It may just come down to Madigan vs. Taylor, and the One Battle After Another star has had an awards season for the history books, taking home many of the top coveted prizes.

Best Director

Nominees: Chloe Zhao (Hamnet), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value), and Ryan Coogler (Sinners).

Predicted Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson

Why? When multiple shots from your nearly three hour film are being held in such high regard that people claim “cinematic masterpiece,” “best visual art they’ve seen,” or “this needs to be taught in film schools”—you should be a shoe in. Right? Not exactly. Those remarks have been made for multiple people in this category, and this race is not very cut and dry. Anderson has nearly swept the Best Directing prize this awards season and is my pick to win it all, but it’d be incredible to see history made if Coogler were to become the first black director to win the prize, or Zhao become the first woman to win it twice.

As for the other major categories, here are my predicted winners:

Best Picture: One Battle After Another

Best Animated Feature: KPop Demon Hunters

Best Cinematography: Sinners

Costume Design: Frankenstein

Film Editing: F1

International Feature Film: The Secret Agent

Casting: One Battle After Another

Writing (Original): Sentimental Value or Sinners

Writing (Adapted): One Battle After AnotherAnd finally, Best Original Song: “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters

Weekly Award Roundup: Four Friars Honored

by on February 25, 2021

Sports

Awards Announced on February 15

By Scott Jarosz ’21

Sports Staff

Despite drastic changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Providence College athletics are now in full swing. Teams that would normally play in the fall are now playing in the spring, adding to the teams that usually play their games in the current season. With athletic teams from all seasons playing simultaneously, a plethora of PC athletes recently earned awards. On Feb. 15, Mary Baskerville ’22, David Duke ’22, Emma Bodmer ’24, and Nick Poisson ’24 all received awards in women’s basketball, men’s basketball, women’s soccer, and men’s hockey, respectively.

Baskerville was a star for the PC Women’s Basketball Team during the week of Feb. 8, averaging 16.5 points, six rebounds, 4.5 steals, and three blocks over the course of two games. Baskerville’s impressive numbers earned her a spot on the Big East Weekly Honor Roll. In the first game of the week against Creighton University, Baskerville recorded her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. In the second contest of the week against Marquette University, Baskerville scored an impressive 19 points on nine of 13 shooting from the field. Baskerville will look to build off of this outstanding week as her and her team forge on through the remainder of the season.

David Duke, a guard for the men’s basketball team, also earned an award on Feb. 15 after putting on two impressive performances. Across two games, Duke averaged 17 points, 9.5 rebounds, three assists, and two steals. These averages secured Duke the Big East Player of the Week award. This marks the second time Duke has been named Big East Player of the Week this season. Duke and the Friars played two games over the course of his award-winning week, the first being at home against the University of Connecticut, and the second being away at DePaul University. He scored 17 points in each game and also led his team to victory in both games. Duke hopes to maintain his high level of performance moving forward as he and his team eye a run in the Big East Tournament.

Another PC athlete who received an award on Feb. 15 was Emma Bodmer, the goalkeeper for the women’s soccer team. Bodmer was named Big East Goalkeeper of the Week after her first collegiate appearance on Feb. 14 against the University of Rhode Island. Shw recorded three saves in her first game and did not allow a single goal. Thanks in part to her performance, PC came out victorious over URI by a score of 2-0. Bodmer’s outstanding debut bodes well for the Friars, as she has big shoes to fill following the departure of former standout goalie Shelby Hogan ’20RS after the COVID-19 pause. She has continued to fill in those shoes valiantly, as on Feb. 22, she was again named Big East Goalkeeper of the Week.

Nick Poisson of the men’s hockey team was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week on Feb. 15 thanks to his strong performance in PC’s game against UConn. He tallied two assists, guiding PC to a 4-0 victory over the visiting team. Poisson has recorded a total of four goals and six assists this season, and he will look to continue his strong rookie year play as the Friars wrap up their season.

Even though their seasons have been drastically impacted by COVID-19, PC athletes have adapted to the changes and have performed at an elite level. These four athletes in particular have proven that hard work pays off, especially during this unusual time in collegiate sports.