Oscars: Best Director — Will Billion Dollar ‘Barbie’ Get Greta Gerwig Invited to the Ceremony Again?

VarietyAwards Circuitsection is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

OSCARS | EMMYS | GRAMMYS | TONYS

2023 Oscars Predictions:

Best Achievement in Directing

Weekly Commentary (Updated Aug. 10, 2023): Itll all be up to the directors to promote their movies, at least if the ongoing Hollywood strikes continue.

The good news for studios is there are masters of film expected to be in the mix including Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon), Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer) and Michael Mann (Ferrari).

The other positive spin on the far-out look is a number of women directors could be in the discussion including Greta Gerwig, whose history-making Barbie continues to pick up momentum. She would be only the second woman to be nominated a second time after Jane Campion achieved it two years ago with The Power of the Dog.

Another former directing nominee that we should expect to hear buzz about is Emerald Fennell with her Amazon drama Saltburn. Her follow-up after Promising Young Woman, she could also factor into the race along with debut filmmaker Celine Song for the indie arthouse hit Past Lives.

Venice and Telluride will kick off at the end of August. Well see how some of the films play.

Read:VarietysAwards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.

The submission deadline for general categories is Nov. 18, 2023. Preliminary shortlist voting will begin on Dec. 18, with the results announced on Dec. 21. The voting period will run from Jan. 11-16, 2024, with the official nominations announcement on Jan. 23.

The 96th Oscars will be held on Sunday, Mar. 10.

The list below is not final and will be updated during the awards season.

And the Predicted Nominees Are:Martin Scorsese Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)Christopher Nolan Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)Emerald Fennell Saltburn (Amazon Studios)Michael Mann Ferrari (Neon)Greta Gerwig Barbie (Warner Bros.) Next in LineCeline Song Past Lives (A24)Jonathan Glazer The Zone of Interest (A24)Todd Haynes May December (Netflix)Bradley Cooper Maestro (Netflix)Alexander Payne The Holdovers (Focus Features) Other Top-Tier PossibilitiesYorgos Lanthimos Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures)Justine Triet Anatomy of a Fall (Neon)Craig Gillespie Dumb Money (Sony Pictures)Jeff Nichols The Bikeriders (20th Century Studios)Blitz Bazawule The Color Purple (Warner Bros.)Ben Affleck Air (Amazon Studios)Chloe Domont Fair Play (Netflix)David Fincher The Killer (Netflix)Andrew Haigh All of Us Strangers (Searchlight Pictures)Anh Hung Tran The Pot au Feu (IFC Films) Also In ContentionJoaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)Ridley Scott Napoleon (Apple Original Films/Sony Pictures)George C. Wolfe Rustin (Netflix)Pablo Larran El Conde (Netflix)George Clooney The Boys in the Boat (MGM)Sofia Coppola Priscilla (A24)Matt Johnson BlackBerry (IFC Films)Ava DuVernay Origin (No U.S. Distribution)Matt Brown Freuds Last Session (Sony Pictures Classics) **Maggie Betts The Burial (Amazon Studios) All Eligible Titles (Alphabetized by Studio)**Kenneth Branagh A Haunting in Venice (20th Century Studios)Jeff Nichols The Bikeriders (20th Century Studios)Ari Aster Beau is Afraid (A24)Sean Durkin The Iron Claw (A24)Celine Song Past Lives (A24)Sofia Coppola Priscilla (A24)Kelly Reichardt Showing Up (A24)Jesse Eisenberg When You Finish Saving the World (A24)Nicole Holofcener You Hurt My Feelings (A24)Jonathan Glazer The Zone of Interest (A24)Ben Affleck Air (Amazon Studios)Maggie Betts The Burial (Amazon Studios)Roger Ross Williams Cassandro (Amazon Studios)Garth Davis Foe (Amazon Studios)Emerald Fennell Saltburn (Amazon Studios)Christos Nikou Fingernails (Apple Original Films)John Carney Flora and Son (Apple Original Films)Martin Scorsese Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)Ridley Scott Napoleon (Apple Original Films/Sony Pictures)Guy Nattiv Golda (Bleecker Street)Wes Anderson Asteroid City (Focus Features)Alexander Payne The Holdovers (Focus Features)A.V. Rockwell A Thousand and One (Focus Features)Matt Johnson BlackBerry (IFC Films)Andrea Pallaoro Monica (IFC Films)Anh Hung Tran The Pot au Feu (IFC Films)Eva Longoria Flamin Hot (Hulu/Searchlight Pictures)Kelly Fremon Craig Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)Francis Lawrence The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Lionsgate)Adele Lim Joy Ride (Lionsgate)Lisa Cortes Little Richard: I Am Everything (Magnolia Pictures)Paul Schrader Master Gardener (Magnolia Pictures)James Gunn Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Marvel Studios)Nia DaCosta The Marvels (Marvel Studios)George Clooney The Boys in the Boat (MGM)Michael B. Jordan Creed III (MGM)RaMell Ross The Nickel Boys (MGM)Cord Jefferson American Fiction (MGM)Justin Triet Anatomy of a Fall (Neon)William Oldroyd Eileen (Neon)Daniel Goldhaber How to Blow Up a Pipeline (Neon)Alice Rochwacher La Chimera (Neon)Wim Wenders Perfect Days (Neon)Pablo Larrain El Conde (Netflix)Chloe Dumont Fair Play (Netflix)David Fincher The Killer (Netflix)Sam Esmail Leave the World Behind (Netflix)Todd Haynes May December (Netflix)Bradley Cooper Maestro (Netflix)Jimmy Chin, Chai Vasarhelyi Nyad (Netflix)David Yates Pain Hustlers (Netflix)Zack Snyder Rebel Moon (Netflix)George C. Wolfe Rustin (Netflix)J.A. Bayona Society of the Snow (Netflix)Ava DuVernay Origin (No U.S. Distribution)Tony Goldwyn Ezra (No U.S. Distribution)Ellen Kuras Lee (No U.S. Distribution)Reinaldo Marcus Green Bob Marley: One Love (Paramount Pictures) **Peter Sohn Elemental (Pixar)Ray Romano Somewhere in Queens (Roadside Attractions)Andrew Haigh All of Us Strangers (Searchlight Pictures)Taika Waititi Next Goal Wins (Searchlight Pictures) **Yorgos Lanthimos Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures)Jeymes Samuel The Book of Clarence (Sony Pictures) **Craig Gillespie Dumb Money (Sony Pictures)Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)Matt Brown Freuds Last Session (Sony Pictures Classics)Angus MacLachlan A Little Prayer (Sony Pictures Classics)Ilker atak The Teachers Lounge (Sony Pictures Classics)Michael Mann Ferrari (Neon)Christopher Nolan Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)Rebecca Miller She Came to Me (Vertical Entertainment)Greta Gerwig Barbie (Warner Bros.)ngel Manuel Soto Blue Beetle (Warner Bros.)Blitz Bazawule The Color Purple (Warner Bros.) **Denis Villeneuve Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.) **Paul King Wonka (Warner Bros.) **Rob Marshall The Little Mermaid (Walt Disney Pictures)Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn Wish (Walt Disney Pictures) ** 2022 category winner: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)

** indicates an unconfirmed release date in 2023 or could campaign in the lead or supporting categories. All release dates are subject to change.

Oscars Predictions Categories BEST PICTURE | DIRECTOR | BEST ACTOR | BEST ACTRESS | SUPPORTING ACTOR | SUPPORTING ACTRESS | ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY | ADAPTED SCREENPLAY | ANIMATED FEATURE | PRODUCTION DESIGN | CINEMATOGRAPHY | COSTUME DESIGN | FILM EDITING | MAKEUP HAIRSTYLING | SOUND | VISUAL EFFECTS | ORIGINAL SCORE | ORIGINAL SONG | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE | INTERNATIONAL FEATURE | ANIMATED SHORT | DOCUMENTARY SHORT | LIVE ACTION SHORT

About the Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, is Hollywoods most prestigious artistic award in the film industry. Since 1927, nominees and winners have been selected by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Seventeen branches are represented within the nearly 10,000-person membership. The branches are actors, associates, casting directors, cinematographers, costume designers, directors, documentary, executives, film editors, makeup and hairstylists, marketing and public relations, members-at-large, members-at-large (artists representatives), music, producers, production design, short films and feature animation, sound, visual effects and writers.