Oscars 2024 final predictions: Who will win the golden trophy

For his atomic bomb thriller Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan is very close to winning his first Academy Award. In his decades-long career, Nolan's commendable cinematic style, gripping screenplays, and plots have made him one of the most acclaimed directors of this century. After a long wait and five Academy nominations overall, Nolan is the strongest contender in the Best Director category at the 96th Academy Award and may win his first Oscar trophy.

Anything can happen at the Academy Awards, especially in this category. We've seen many surprising winners take home the golden trophy over the years. ( I was shocked when La La Land lost in 2017.) The same can happen with Oppenheimer too, and if this happens, then it will be the Academy's biggest snub of his entire 96 years of history. 

Currently, the biopic drama is the potential winner of this category. However, if the Cillian Murphy-led film doesn't win, then Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon may take the prize.

By all means, the Best Actor trophy belongs to Cillian Murphy, considering the magic he did with his outstanding portrayal of J Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. He has already won numerous Best Actor trophies at prestigious awards shows such as the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, BAFTA, SAG, and PGA, making him a strong contender for this award season.

However, it is worth noting that Jeffrey Wright from American Fiction and Paul Giamatti from The Holdovers are also big nominees who could potentially win. 

The best actress category is going to be interesting. Emma Stone's extraordinary performance as Bella Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things deserves to go down in Academy history. However, the competition is tough as the other strong contender in the category is Lily Gladstone, whose simple, subtle yet impactful performance as Molly Burkhart in Killers of the Flower Moon has made a significant impact. She has already scripted history with her wins at the Golden Globe award, becoming the first Native American woman to achieve this feat. 

It's high time that the Academy should honour Robert Downey Jr.'s acting prowess. At the 96th Academy Award, Downey has clinched his second Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role of Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer, after 2009's Tropic Thunder, and this time he's one of the strongest contenders in this category, which also had Ryan Gosling for Barbie, Sterling K. Brown for American Fiction, Robert De Niro for Killers of the Flower Moon, and Mark Ruffalo for Poor Things.

One of the easiest categories to predict, at least this year. Da'Vine Joy Randolph has made great impact with her performance in The Holdovers, which makes her the clear winner of this category.