‘Oppenheimer’ predicted to sweep Oscars

Hollywood – The chain reaction set off by the fusion of Barbie and

Oppenheimer will come to a head tomorrow at the Oscars, where one is expected to own the red carpet and the other to dominate the awards.

Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan’s epic drama about the father of the atomic bomb, and half of last summer’s Barbenheimer phenomenon – is the overwhelming favourite to win best picture honours and much more on Hollywood’s biggest night.

The combination of a revered director, unimpeachable cast, box office and critical success and an urgent subject matter means “there is no justifiable reason to predict anything else,” Hollywood Reporter awards columnist Scott Feinberg said. “It would be an alltime upset if Oppenheimer does not win” best picture, he said.

The film is tipped to take golden statuettes for best director, supporting actor for Robert Downey Jnr and a host of technical prizes from cinematography and editing to sound and score. It also has a strong chance at best actor for Cillian Murphy, who is locked in a tight race with Paul Giamatti of The Holdovers.

And if the film – based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of J Robert Oppenheimer – wins best adapted screenplay, the sweep could be huge.

“I went pretty much all Oppenheimer this year,” said one Oscars voter, who asked to remain anonymous as academy members are instructed not to discuss their ballots. “It was just such a monumental cinematic achievement.”

Elsewhere, the competition for best actress promises to be a nail-biter.

Emma Stone gives a stunning, brave performance in Poor Things, but Lily Gladstone of Killers of the Flower Moon has not just the clout of her director Martin Scorsese, but the weight of history behind her. She is seeking to become the first native American to win an acting Oscar.

And what about Barbie, released on the same weekend as

Oppenheimer, prompting a bizarre and highly meme-able double bill that collectively grossed $2.4 billion (about R447 billion) worldwide?

The surreal feminist comedy is unlikely to leave the Oscars empty-handed. As well as technical prizes like costume design, it boasts the two frontrunners for best song.

Both Billie Eilish’s What Was I Made For? and the movie’s show-stopping I’m Just Ken will be performed during the Oscars gala. Supporting actor nominee Ryan Gosling’s live performance of the latter power ballad is likely to be a standout moment.

With Margot Robbie nominated as a producer, America Ferrera as supporting actress and Greta Gerwig for screenplay, the cast and crew of Barbie are expected to turn the Oscars’ red carpet bright pink. –