Tag: Iman Vellani

29th Critics’ Choice Awards Nomination Predictions

The Critics’ Choice Awards are one of the more reliable precursors when it comes to movies and actors who might receive Oscar nominations. Hopefuls will hear their names called tomorrow for the 29th annual ceremony.

This show can sometimes be unpredictable with how many nominees there will be in each race. Last year there were 11 in Picture, 10 in Director, and 6 for others. I’ll project 10 in Pic and Director and go with six in the remainder of the derbies (and an alternate), but don’t be surprised if they alter the formula.

Let’s get to it!

Picture

American Fiction

Barbie

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

May December

Oppenheimer

Past Lives

Poor Things

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Alternate: The Color Purple

Director

Bradley Cooper, Maestro

Greta Gerwig, Barbie

Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest

Todd Haynes, May December

Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things

Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

Alexander Payne, The Holdovers

Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

Celine Song, Past Lives

Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall

Alternate: Cord Jefferson, American Fiction

Actress

Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall

Greta Lee, Past Lives

Carey Mulligan, Maestro

Margot Robbie, Barbie

Emma Stone, Poor Things

Alternate: Natalie Portman, May December

Actor

Bradley Cooper, Maestro

Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon

Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers

Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer

Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers

Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction

Alternate: Colman Domingo, Rustin

Supporting Actress

Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple

Penelope Cruz, Ferrari

Rachel McAdams, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

Julianne Moore, May December

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

Alternate: Jodie Foster, Nyad

Best Supporting Actor

Willem Dafoe, Poor Things

Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer

Ryan Gosling, Barbie

Charles Melton, May December

Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things

Alternate: John Magaro, Past Lives

Original Screenplay

Anatomy of a Fall

Barbie

The Holdovers

May December

Past Lives

Saltburn

Alternate: Maestro

Adapted Screenplay

All of Us Strangers

American Fiction

Killers of the Flower Moon

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Alternate: The Zone of Interest

Foreign Language Film

Anatomy of a Fall

Monster

Perfect Days

Society of the Snow

The Taste of Things

The Zone of Interest

Alternate: Fallen Leaves

Animated Feature

The Boy and the Heron

Elemental

Nimona

Robot Dreams

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Alternate: Wish

Cinematography

The Killer

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Saltburn

Alternate: The Zone of Interest

Costume Design

Barbie

Chevalier

The Color Purple

Killers of the Flower Moon

Poor Things

Priscilla

Alternate: Oppenheimer

Editing

Anatomy of a Fall

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Past Lives

Poor Things

Alternate: The Holdovers

Makeup

Barbie

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Maestro

Nyad

Poor Things

Society of the Snow

Alternate: Oppenheimer

Production Design

Asteroid City

Barbie

The Color Purple

Killers of the Flower Moon

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Alternate: Maestro

Score

Elemental

Killers of the Flower Moon

Oppenheimer

Past Lives

Poor Things

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Alternate: The Boy and the Heron

Song

“Dance the Night” from Barbie

“I’m Just Ken” from Barbie

“Quiet Eyes” from Past Lives

“Road to Freedom” from Rustin

“This Wish” from Wish

“What Was I Made For?” from Barbie

Alternate: “Peaches” from The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Visual Effects

The Creator

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Godzilla Minus One

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Alternate: Napoleon

Ensemble

Air

Barbie

Killers of the Flower Moon

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Saltburn

Alternate: The Color Purple

Comedy

American Fiction

Asteroid City

Barbie

Joy Ride

The Holdovers

No Hard Feelings

Alternate: Bottoms

Young Actor/Actress

Joe Bird, Talk to Me

Andrew Barth Feldman, No Hard Feelings

Abby Ryder Fortson, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

Ariana Greenblatt, Barbie

Milo Machado-Graner, Anatomy of a Fall

Violet McGraw, M3GAN

Alternate: Iman Vellani, The Marvels

And that equates to these movies generating these numbers of nominations:

14 Nominations

Barbie, Poor Things

12 Nominations

Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer

7 Nominations

Maestro, Past Lives

6 Nominations

Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers

5 Nominations

May December

4 Nominations

American Fiction, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

3 Nominations

The Color Purple, Saltburn

2 Nominations

All of Us Strangers, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Asteroid City, Elemental, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, No Hard Feelings, Society of the Snow, The Zone of Interest

1 Nomination

Air, The Boy and the Heron, Chevalier, The Creator, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Ferrari, Godzilla Minus One, Joy Ride, The Killer, M3GAN, Monster, Nimona, Nyad, Perfect Days, Priscilla, Robot Dreams, Rustin, Talk to Me, The Taste of Things, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Wish

Oscar Predictions: The Marvels

Marking the 33rd entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Marvels is out Friday amid mixed buzz and lower than normal box office projections. The review embargo that lifted today may explain why.

Nia DaCosta’s sci-fi adventure with Brie Larson reprising her Captain Marvel role currently sports a 58% Rotten Tomatoes score. That ranks 31st out of the 33 pics ahead of only Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Eternals.

To be fair, some critics are calling it a fun if rather slight and forgettable superhero tale. Yet the most negative reviews are calling it one of the worst MCU flicks.

Visual Effects is the most prominent race where these movies get Academy attention. 13 of the previous 32 have. None have won. Unfortunately for The Marvels, even that aspect is being criticized. Lucky for the MCU, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will probably nab a spot in the eventual quintet like its two predecessors did. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

The Marvels Box Office Prediction

Blogger’s Update (11/08): I am lowering my The Marvels prediction from $62.3 million to $46.3 million and that gives it the lowest MCU premiere ever.

After a series of delays dating back to summer 2022, the MCU’s 33rd adventure arrives November 10th with The Marvels. Nia DaCosta, best known for her 2021 Candyman remake, directs. Captain Marvel Brie Larson leads a cast that includes Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Park Seo-joon, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Beginning with Spider-Man: No Way Home, we’ve seen a run of six MCU pics that opened to $100 million or over. It certainly helped that each one of them was a sequel in a well-established sub franchise including Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor, and Black Panther.

The nine digit premiere streak should end here and the debut may look more like a trilogy of titles from 2021. Black Widow started with $80 million in the summer of that year and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings did $75 million over the Friday to Sunday portion of its Labor Day weekend bow. Finally, Eternals managed $71 million in November.

Two years later, I’m not confident The Marvels even matches those grosses. Other than Captain Marvel and Jackson’s Nick Fury, the other characters are relatively unknown compared to various Avengers counterparts. There’s always the risk of superhero overload and we’ve seen our share of letdowns in the genre in 2023 (The Flash, Blue Beetle, Shazam! Fury of the Gods). Yes, those were all DCU, but the subpar earnings could apply here.

I’m projecting The Marvels will have the lowest MCU beginning since Ant-Man ($57 million) back in 2015. That would be a rather significant letdown for Marvel in their third feature from Phase Five and the third smallest opening overall of the 33 picture series.

The Marvels opening weekend prediction: $46.3 million

For my Journey to Bethlehem prediction, click here:

Journey to Bethlehem Box Office Prediction

For my The Holdovers prediction, click here:

The Holdovers Box Office Prediction