Your Oscar Votes - Reader's Choice
Saturday, April 24, 2021 at 9:27PM
NATHANIEL R in Oscars (20), Reader Rankings

We've been polling you for the last month plus on the Oscar charts about who you feel SHOULD win the Oscars  in each category and we now have the results, so we know what the readers are rooting for tomorrow... 

BEST PICTURE

  1. Nomadland 42%
  2. [TIE] Promising Young Woman and Minari 18% each
  3. Sound of Metal 8%
  4. The Father 6%
  5. [TIE] Mank and Trial of the Chicago 7 3% each
  6. Judas and the Black Messiah 2%

An easy victory for Nomadland. The rest of the candidates were no match for the top three and all scored under 10%.

BEST DIRECTOR

  1. Chloe Zhao Nomadland 64%
  2. Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman 14%
  3. David Fincher, Mank 9 %
  4. Lee Isaac Chung 7&
  5. Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round 6% 

It's Zhao in a landslide... though not as big of a landslide as two other categories were.

BEST ACTRESS 

  1. Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman 53%
  2. Frances McDormand, Nomadland 17%
  3. Viola Davis, Ma Rainey 13%
  4. Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman 11%
  5. Andra Day, United States vs Billie Holliday 7%

In a bit of a surprise given how tight this particular race was at awards shows, you voted resoundingly in favor of just one candidate: Carey Mulligan.

BEST ACTOR 

  1. Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal 34%
  2. Anthony Hopkins, The Father 31%
  3. Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey 27%
  4. Steven Yeun, Minari 7%
  5. Gary Oldman, Mank 1% 

Now this was a competition. It was a three way intense battle at first but Riz pulled ahead. Gary Oldman has the worst vote count of anyone from the four acting categories. Only one other thing scored 1% in a competition (in Cinematography)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  1. Youn Yuh-jung, Minari 39%
  2. Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy 27%
  3. Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm 18%
  4. Amanda Seyfried, Mank 9%
  5. Olivia Colman, The Father 8% 

In a bit of a surprise your votes here were much different than they were when we polled you for the Smackdown. Of course that was a different voting system. Glenn Close was in last place at the Smackdown (from your votes) when you had to judge all five performances, but in second place here where you could only vote for one person and you could vote daily. Among reader votes received for the Smackdown, Maria Bakalova's performance was the most polarizing scoring everywhere from 1 to 5 hearts so she ended up in the middle of the pack, just as she did here. Curiously Olivia Colman came in second in the Smackdown but is in last place here, suggesting that people feel that Oscar for The Favourite was enough for now.  

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 

  1. Paul Raci, Sound of Metal 47%
  2. Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and... 35%
  3. Sacha Baron Cohen, Chicago 7 9%
  4. [TIE] Leslie Odom Jr, One Night and LaKeith Stanfield, Judas and... 5% each

Readers of The Film Experience have also let it be known that they prefer supporting actors in supporting categories putting Raci up top. We're a bit surprised to see Leslie Odom Jr in last place though (remember when people thought he would win the Oscar months ago before we knew that Judas and the Black Messiah was arriving this season) 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

  1. Promising Young Woman 55%
  2. Minari 21%
  3. Trial of the Chicago 7 12%
  4. Sound of Metal 11%
  5. Judas and... 2%

Promising Young Woman achieves a decisive victory here. It might at the Oscars, too. We shall see 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

  1. Nomadland 40%
  2. The Father 39%
  3. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm 9%
  4. One Night in Miami 7%
  5. White Tiger 5%

The closest vote in ANY category for readers. Nomadland just barely edges out The Father in a virtual tie. 

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

  1. Another Round (Denmark) 45%
  2. Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina) 24%
  3. Collective (Romania) 20%
  4. [TIE] Better Days (Hong Kong) and The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia) 5% each

Quo Vadis Aida?'s strong showing suggests it's still on the rise. If they had released it sooner they might have had a chance to topple Another Round on Oscar night. 

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

  1. Collective 46%
  2. Time 18%
  3. My Octopus Teacher 16% each
  4. The Mole Agent 11%
  5. Crip Camp 8%

Interestingly My Octopus Teacher which just keeps winning lately is firmly middle of the pack for all of you. 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

  1. Wolfwalkers 49%
  2. Soul 39%
  3. Shaun the Sheep Farmaggedon 7%
  4. Onward 4%
  5. Over the Moon 1%

We love you. This is one of the rare places where the gorgeous Wolfwalkers beat Pixar's giant contender. And comfortably too! Poor Over the Moon though... the runt of the litter this time.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN 

  1. Emma 40%
  2. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 34%
  3. Mank 10%
  4. Pinocchio 9% 
  5. Mulan 7%

Emma prevails in a close battle with Ma Rainey. We think the Oscar vote will be close too. We want a tie so badly! We've never had one in Costume Design. 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  1. Nomadland 70%
  2. Mank 18%
  3. Judas and the Black Messiah 7%
  4. News of the World 4%
  5. Trial of the Chicago 7 1%

Nomadland's cinematography has the second highest percentage for the win of any reader voting. The #1 most voted for thing is further down, keep scrolling. 

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

  1. Mank 57%
  2. The Father 22%
  3. [TIE] Tenet and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 9% each
  4. News of the World 3%

Mank in a landslide though The Father put up a weak fight. 

BEST FILM EDITING

  1. The Father 38%
  2. Sound of Metal 20%
  3. Nomadland 16%
  4. Chicago 7 14%
  5. Promising Young Woman 12% 

Voting was all over the place with this category though we were surprised to see Promising Young Woman land in last place among readers.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

  1. Tenet 59%
  2. Love and Monsters 16%
  3. Midnight Sky 9%
  4. The One and Only Ivan 8%
  5. Mulan 7%

Tenet way out front but happily the very charming Love and Monsters won some of you over.

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR

  1. Ma Rainey 44%
  2. Pinocchio 27%
  3. Hillbilly Elegy 13%
  4. Emma 10%
  5. Mank 6%

Pinocchio's strong showing here despite being underseen is telling. Could it surprise on Oscar night?

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

  1. Soul 52%
  2. Minari 23%
  3. Mank 12%
  4. News of the World 9%
  5. Da 5 Bloods 4%

Like all precursor awards everywhere you went with Soul. Happily Emile Mosseri (Minari) also placed well. He's so impressive.

BEST SOUND 

  1. Sound of Metal 89%
  2. Soul 5%
  3. [TIE] Greyhound, News of the World, Mank 2% each 

Sound of Metal's sound has the biggest landslide victory in any category. Almost 90% of the votes went its way.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

  1. Husavik, Eurovision 42%
  2. Speak Now, One Night in Miami 26%
  3. Io Si (Seen), The Life Ahead 20%
  4. Fight for You, Judas and... 8%
  5. Hear My Voice, Chicago 7 3%

"Husavik" was way out front, as we expected and it's true we were stumping for it all season.

ANIMATED SHORT

  1. If Anything Happens 49%
  2. Opera 21%
  3. Burrow and Opera 20%
  4. Genius Loci 6%
  5. Yes People 4%

The high profile of Netflix's candidate seems to have helped here. More surprising is Opera's high showing as that one was harder for people to find. It would surely have even more votes if it was easy to watch online.

LIVE ACTION SHORT

  1. The Letter Room 42%
  2. The Present 19%
  3. Two Distant Strangers 18%
  4. Feeling Through 14%
  5. White Eye 8%

Hmmm. Oscar Isaac's starpower seems to have helped. The Present, which came in second, is much better if you ask us.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

  1. Hunger Ward 28%
  2. Love Song for Latasha 21%
  3. Do Not Split 20 %
  4. [TIE] A Concerto is a Conversation and Colette 16% each

Tight race there with three titles vying for the win each with over 20% of the votes.

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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