The 92nd Oscar
nominations have been officially announced, and so we need to take a look at
the Best Actress category to see who has the best chance of clinching the
Academy Award.
If you have been paying
attention to the awards season thus far, there is one actress who appears to be
the clear favorite.
But surprises are bound to
happen, just as it did in last year’s edition. Glen Close came so close to
winning her first Oscar for her remarkable performance in “The Wife.” But she
lost to Olivia Colman (“The Favorite”).
The first version of the list
was published in July 2019 and featured the top five:
- Cate Blanchett
- Cynthia Erivo
- Renee Zellweger
- Saorise Ronan
- Meryl Steep
The cold reception of both
Steep’s and Blanchett’s films got them removed from the list.
Therefore, here are our Oscar
2020 Best Actress predictions, in no particular order:
Scarlett
Johansson – Marriage Story (Odds:
+875)
Johansson may be a double
nominee, but it appears she may lose to her Marriage Story co-star Laura Dern
for Best Supporting Actress (Jojo Rabbit).
And in Best Actress, she’s up against Renee Zellweger.
Renee
Zellweger – Judy (Odds: -850)
The only Oscar nomination for
Judy, a relatively standard Hollywood biopic is
Best Makeup and Hairstyling. However, Zellweger remarkably surpassed the film’s
critical standing to take her position as one in the race for Best Actress.
This brilliant actress has
won some great awards including the SAG Award, the Golden Globe, and BAFTA
Award for this particular category. No one doubts that Zellweger will win her
second Oscar as she has beaten other nominees for everything.
Charlize
Theron – Bombshell (Odds: +1,500)
Bombshell
happened
to score a few nods in the acting categories as Margot Robbie in Best
Supporting Actress. At the same time, Theron got a Best Actress nomination for
her spooky – and brilliant – transformation into Megyn Kelly, former Fox News
personality.
But Theron is at a
disadvantage since she’s won this award before, i.e. for 2003’s Monster. Ronan and Johansson have never
won an Oscar before; besides, they headline Best Pictures nominees.
Perhaps, if Bombshell had fared better, especially
in terms of reception or if Theron’s performance in the movie was breathtaking,
she may have excellent odds.
Saoirse
Ronan – Little Women (Odds: +1800)
Ronan is one of the fewest
actresses that have been nominated four times for an Oscar at age 25. So, it is
only a matter of time before she takes home the award. However, many have
stated that this year is NOT the year she wins the Oscar.
And one of the reasons is
that Ronan was snubbed for the SAG Awards while she lost the Golden Globe to
Zellweger, just like Johansson. So, Ronan’s chances of winning the Oscar this
year is pretty slim.
Cynthia
Erivo – Harriet (Odds: +2000)
Erivo may win an Oscar for
Best Original Song for Harriet, and
not for Best Actress. The film had lukewarm reviews as it never took off as
expected.
But Erivo was frequently
mentioned as one of the film’s biggest highlights, and this was the primary
reason why she was nominated for the SAG and Golden Globe Award in addition to
the Oscar.
Even though Erivo’s chances
of beating the others to win the Oscar are pretty low, anything can happen on
Oscar Sunday.
