It’s been another long and punishing Oscar season, kicking off (one could argue) with the Sundance premiere of “Brooklyn” 12 months ago and taking us through Cannes, the fall festivals and the various precursor and guild awards before it all finally comes to a climax on Sunday night.

In places, it’s felt like the films themselves have been overwhelmed, not just by the glitz and glamor, but with the vital and overdue debate over the lack of diversity among the Academy’s choices and memberships: For the second year in a row, the acting nominees are entirely white. With Chris Rock hosting, it’s sure to continue to dominate during the actual ceremony, but there will also be some prizes handed out.read more

The polls for voting in the 88th annual Academy Awards have now just officially closed. The campaign that started in earnest at the three fall film festivals in early September is over. The answers will soon be in those envelopes to be opened on the Dolby Theatre stage on Sunday night. So now my final predictions of what those names will be can be officially revealed.

RELATED Undecided In Your Oscar Best Picture Ballot? Deadline Is Here To Help In what has been one of the tightest races in many years, the normal soothsayers we look to for guidance—the critics and guild awards—have been split all over the place. The guilds showed love to The Revenant (DGA), Spotlight (SAG, WGA) and The Big Short (PGA, WGA) with their top awards, and BAFTA added a late-inning win for The Revenant.

Pete Hammond badgeBut you can’t discount a movie like Mad Max: Fury Road, with its 10 nominations and a lot of below-the-line guild love. This might be a four-way race; one that could even stand to be spoiled by another film coming in from left field if all of the front-runners truly split. My final picks indicate Mad Max could run up a bigger final total of wins than any other movie going into the opening of the Best Picture envelope.

And wouldn’t it be fascinating to see something like Room, with only four nominations—though all of them key—sneak in like a little British film called Chariots Of Fire did in 1981, unseating all the favorites and pulling off one of the greatest Best Picture upsets in Oscar history? It could happen.

In fact, anything could happen in this highly unpredictable year. Remember that the Academy, unlike BAFTA, DGA or SAG, 88thOscarsKeyStatuette-556x815use a preferential ballot for the Best Picture category. I have found that many Oscar voters still don’t know what that means, and I have given up trying to explain it, but if you only voted for one movie in Best Picture and left the rest of the order blank, odds are good you might have disqualified any real influence you might have had on the outcome. Sometimes, and especially this year, a voter’s No. 2 or No. 3 choice just might turn out to be even more important than their first choice.read more

Leonardo DiCaprio could win the Best Actor Oscar and be so elated on stage that he announces plans to star in a Titanic sequel called Jack Live! It won’t make a difference. The 2016 Oscars campaign will be remembered as the year in which a glaring lack of diversity among the nominees (again) sparked an #OscarsSoWhite uproar and led to much-needed change within the Academy ranks. It’s a controversial, hot-button topic that host Chris Rock will surely address in the show’s opening moments on February 28. VISIT FOR MORE Not to say that the night won’t feature any high-stakes suspense. Though some categories were cinched before the Christmas presents were even unwrapped, the ultimate prize — Best Picture — remains a toss-up. The same goes for some of the first envelope-opens of the night. But will this uncertainty stop an Oscar fanatic who saw all the nominated movies and performances from making a few bold predictions anyway? Let’s get to it:

Best Picture

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn

The Martian

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

And the Oscar goes to . . . The Revenant. A sprawling and challenging revenge epic, this is the kind of heavy drama the Academy tends to favor. In a true neck-and-neck race, it’s got the muscle to overtake Spotlight. Still not convinced? Don’t forget it’s a box office studio hit, and a BAFTA and Golden Globe award winner that garnered the most nominations — and its director, Birdman helmer Alejandro G. Inarritu, is poised to take home back-to-back trophies. Hate to admit it, but it’s true: An angry mamma bear will always triumph over scrappy journalists.

Chris Rock References ‘Scandal’ and Shonda Rhimes in New Oscars Ads: Watch

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo

Matt Damon, The Martian

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

And the Oscar goes to . . . Leonardo DiCaprio. If you’re entering an Oscar pool and pick someone other than this five-time nominee, then I must seriously question your desire to win. The actor already has a shelf full of trophies for his grueling near-silent performance as 19th century fur trapper in peril, and he’s a lock for the golden guy as well. He probably should have won it two years ago for The Wolf of Wall Street, but no matter. The man is due. Plus, did you hear he ate raw bison to prep for the role????

Jacob Tremblay and Brie Larson Tremblay and Larson in 'Room' George Kraychyk Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, Carol

Brie Larson, Room

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

And the Oscar goes to . . . Brie Larson. Blanchett and Lawrence have a case, but they each won in this category five minutes ago. Now the path is clear for Larson, who delivers a blistering turn as a devoted mom in the indie drama — and, like DiCaprio, has won every major award leading up to the big night. And hey, maybe her victory will finally convince people to see Room, which is one of the top 10 lowest-grossing Best Picture nominee in the past 33 years. (You can download it now on iTunes!)

Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan Stallone and Jordan in 'Creed' Barry Wetcher Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, The Big Short

Tom Hardy, The Revenant

Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight

Marky Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Sylvester Stallone, Creed

And the Oscar goes to . . . Sylvester Stallone. C’mon, is there anyone not rooting for Stallone to win gold 39 years after he lost the Best Actor race for the same role in Rocky? The 69-year-old star — already a seasoned pro at ambling up a flight of steps — is the sentimental choice here among voters and fans alike. He’s also the correct one. That said, if SAG winner Idris Elba got a nod for Beasts of No Nation, this race would have been a lot more interesting.

Alicia Vikander and Eddie Redmayne Vikander and Redmayne in 'The Danish Girl' Focus Features Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

Rooney Mara, Carol

Rachel McAdams, Spotlight

Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

And the Oscar goes to . . . Alicia Vikander. This is the closest one to call, and it’s difficult to resist the image of precious Kate and Leo photo opps with their Oscars. Yet there’s no denying Vikander, the current It Girl who enjoyed a monster breakout year (see: Ex_Machina. No, really. See it). She just won the SAG and her turn as the conflicted wife of a transgender pioneer is so meaty that it should have been in the Best Actress category. Semi-related intrigue: Will she thank her boyfriend and fellow nominee, Michael Fassender?

Amber Heard, Alicia Vikander Top Best Dressed at the Palm Springs International Film Festival 2016

...And the Rest!

Best Director: Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant

Best Original Screenplay: Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

Best Adapted Screenplay: Adam McKay & Charles Randolph, The Big Short

Best Animated Feature: Inside Out

Best Foreign Language Film: The Son of Saul

Best Documentary: Amy

Best Documentary Short: Body Team 12

Best Live Action Short: Ave Maria

Best Animated Short: Sanjays Super Team

Best Original Score: The Hateful Eight

Best Original Song: “Til It Happens to You,” Lady Gaga & Diane Warren

Best Sound Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Sound Mixing: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Production Design: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Makeup: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Cinematography: The Revenant

Best Costume Design: Carol

Best Film Editing: The Revenant

Best Visual Effects: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Ahead of Sunday’s Academy Awards, Forbes noted that Lawrence is this year’s highest paid Oscar nominee, pulling in an estimated $52 million pre-tax between June 2014 and June 2015 and putting her in the top spot on the publication’s annual list of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood.

Lawrence, nominated for her role in Joy, is competing in the Best Actress category against Cate Blanchett (Carol), Saoirse Ronan (Brookyln), Brie Larson (Room), and Charlotte Rampling (45 Years). None of Lawrence’s fellow nominees, or the five nominees in the supporting actress category (Rooney Mara, Alicia Vikander, Kate Winslet, Rachel McAdams, and Jennifer Jason Leigh), hit the $6 million cut-off to make the annual list, Forbes notes.

Sandra Bullock, who received an Oscar nomination for 2014’s Gravity, was the last actress to rank at the top of Forbes’ list while scoring a nod from the Academy. But Forbes notes that Lawrence’s distinction is different, as she ranked at the top of the list before landing her Oscar nod for Joy. And while Lawrence is theoretically outranked overall by Avengers star Robert Downey Jr., who brought in $80 million pre-tax for the year, the actor is not nominated for this year’s Academy Awards, which makes Lawrence the highest paid nominee of the season.