This was being called one of the closest Oscar races in recent history, so our colleagues at Screencrush tracked the 2014 nominees and compiled their predictions. See how many they nailed.

Getty Images Entertainment / Kevin Winter
Getty Images Entertainment / Kevin Winter
loading...

Best Animated Feature

  • ‘Frozen’ (Winner)
  • ‘The Croods’
  • ‘Despicable Me 2′
  • ‘The Wind Rises’
  • ‘Ernest and Celestine’

With Pixar and ‘Monsters University’ shut out this year, it was a chance for Universal or DreamWorks to steal the prize from Disney. Well, sorry guys: Disney Animation was reborn in a major way and ‘Frozen’ was both a massive critical and commercial hit and we expect it to win an Oscar.

WHO WILL WIN: ‘Frozen’
DARK HORSE
: ‘Ernest and Celestine’

Best Foreign Film

  • ‘The Great Beauty’ (Winner)
  • ‘Broken Circle Breakdown’
  • ‘The Hunt’
  • ‘The Missing Picture’
  • ‘Omar’

The Golden Globe went to ‘The Great Beauty’ and we think that Italian film will repeat. If we had our way though, we’d vote for the mega-depressing ‘Broken Circle Breakdown’ (if you watch, make sure to bring your Kleenex).

WHO WILL WIN: ‘The Great Beauty’
DARK HORSE
: ‘Broken Circle Breakdown’

Best Cinematography

  • Philippe Le Sourd, ‘The Grandmaster’
  • Emmanuel Lubezki, ‘Gravity’ (Winner)
  • Bruno Delbonnel, ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’
  • Phedon Papamichael, ‘Nebraska’
  • Roger Deakens, ‘Prisoners’

Another tough one to pick because these were all beautiful looking films. That said, we’re going with Emmanuel Lubezki, who will benefit from a lot of well-deserved ‘Gravity’ buzz.

WHO WILL WIN: Emmanuel Lubezki, ‘Gravity’
DARK HORSE: Phedon Papamichael, ‘Nebraska’

Best Original Song

  • “Let It Go,” ‘Frozen" (Winner)
  • “Ordinary Love,” ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’
  • “Happy,” ‘Despicable Me 2′
  • “Alone Yet Not Alone,’ ‘Alone Yet Not Alone’
  • “The Moon Song,” ‘Her’

If the 2014 Oscars were a poker game, we’d tell you to push all your chips to the middle of the table for “Let it Go” winning Best Original Song. As close as a lock as you can get this year.

WHO WILL WIN: “Let It Go,” ‘Frozen’
DARK HORSE: “The Moon Song,” ‘Her’

Best Original Score

  • ‘The Book Thief’
  • ‘Her’
  • ‘Gravity’ (Winner)
  • ‘Saving Mr. Banks’
  • ‘Philomena’

‘Gravity’ again? Yes, ‘Gravity’ again.

WHO WILL WIN: ‘Gravity’
DARK HORSE
: ‘Her’

Best Visual Effects

  • ‘Gravity’ (Winner)
  • ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’
  • ‘Iron Man 3′
  • ‘The Lone Ranger’
  • ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’

Ah, duh, ‘Gravity’ all the way.

WHO WILL WIN: ‘Gravity’
DARK HORSE: ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’

Best Original Screenplay

  • Spike Jonze, ‘Her’ (Winner)
  • Eric Singer and David O. Russell, ‘American Hustle’
  • Bob Nelson, ‘Nebraska’
  • Woody Allen, ‘Blue Jasmine’
  • Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

‘American Hustle’ may not be the best script in this bunch, but it’s probably going to win simply because it was a much more commercially successful film.

WHO WILL WIN: ‘American Hustle’
DARK HORSE: ‘Her’

Best Adapted Screenplay

  • John Ridley, ’12 Years a Slave’ (Winner)
  • Terrence Winter, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
  • Steve Coogan, ‘Philomena’
  • Billy Ray, ‘Captain Phillips’
  • Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, ‘Before Midnight’Whether ’12 Years a Slave’ will win Best Picture remains to be seen, it should easily win Best Adapted Screenplay.

WHO WILL WIN: ’12 Years a Slave’
DARK HORSE: ‘Before Midnight’

Best Supporting Actor

  • Jared Leto, ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ (Winner)
  • Jonah Hill, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
  • Barkhad Abdi, ‘Captain Phillips’
  • Michael Fassbender, ’12 Years a Slave’
  • Bradley Cooper, ‘American Hustle’

Jared Leto has won most of the critics’ awards and the Golden Globe, so we see no reason he won’t repeat here at the Oscars.

WHO WILL WIN: Jared Leto, ’Dallas Buyers Club’
DARK HORSE
: Michael Fassbender, ’12 Years a Slave’

Best Supporting Actress

  • Lupita Nyong’o, ’12 Years a Slave’ (Winner)
  • Jennifer Lawrence, ‘American Hustle’
  • June Squibb, ‘Nebraska’
  • Julia Roberts, ‘August: Osage County’
  • Sally Hawkins, ‘Blue Jasmine’

Boy, this is a tough race to call. While Lupita Nyong’o was considered the odds-on favorite for much of the race, Jennifer Lawrence won both the Golden Globe and the BAFTA, making everyone second guess the early frontrunner. Could J-Law pull an upset? It’s weird to think that Jennifer Lawrence is a dark horse, but we’re going with Lupita just edging out the competition.

WHO WILL WIN: Lupita Nyong’o, ’12 Years a Slave’
DARK HORSE: Jennifer Lawrence, ‘American Hustle’

Best Actor

  • Matthew McConaughey, ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ (Winner)
  • Chiwetel Ejoifor, ’12 Years a Slave’
  • Bruce Dern, ‘Nebraska’
  • Leonardo DiCaprio, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
  • Christian Bale, ‘American Hustle’

And the McConaissance will be complete. We fully expect Matthew McConaughey to win for his exceptional performance in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ and that’d be alright, alright, alright with us.

WHO WILL WIN: Matthew McConaughey, ‘Dallas Buyers Club’
DARK HORSE: Chiwetel Ejoifor, ’12 Years a Slave’

Best Actress

  • Amy Adams, ‘American Hustle’
  • Cate Blanchett, ‘Blue Jasmine’ (Winner)
  • Sandra Bullock, ‘Gravity’
  • Judi Dench, ‘Philomena’
  • Meryl Streep, ‘August: Osage County’

Meryl Street, who knows her way around the Oscars, opted to not even campaign very heavily this year because Cate Blanchett seems to be all but a lock. Even though her movie came out this past summer, her stranglehold on the Best Actress race hasn’t wavered.

WHO WILL WIN: Cate Blanchett, ‘Blue Jasmine’
DARK HORSE: Amy Adams, ‘American Hustle’

Best Director

  • Alfonso Cuaron, ‘Gravity’ (Winner)
  • David O. Russell, ‘American Hustle’
  • Steve McQueen, ’12 Years a Slave’
  • Martin Scorsese, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
  • Alexander Payne, ‘Nebraska’Few films feel like an evolutionary leap forward in cinema like ‘Gravity’ did and, even if the rest of the films on this list were good, none matched what Alfonso Cuaron did with his film.

WHO WILL WIN: Alfonso Cuaron, ‘Gravity’
DARK HORSE:  Steve McQueen, ’12 Years a Slave’

Best Picture

If you couldn’t tell, it’s a two-horse race this year between ‘Gravity’ and ’12 Years a Slave’. We’re going to predict this, but really we could flip-flop between the two right up until the last second. For your Oscar pool, you’re probably safe flipping a coin. The choice will be between the historically significant, but grueling ’12 Years a Slave,’ and the massively successful and technically impressive ‘Gravity.’ Here’s how we think it’ll play out:

WHO WILL WIN: ’12 Years a Slave’
DARK HORSE: ‘Gravity’

FULL LIST OF WINNERS (Associated Press):

List of winners at Sunday's 86th annual Academy Awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Best Picture: "12 Years a Slave."

Actor: Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club."

Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine."

Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club."

Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years a Slave."

Directing: Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity."

Foreign Language Film: "The Great Beauty," Italy.

Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley, "12 Years a Slave."

Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze, "Her."

Animated Feature Film: "Frozen."

Production Design: "The Great Gatsby."

Cinematography: "Gravity."

Sound Mixing: "Gravity."

Sound Editing: "Gravity."

Original Score: "Gravity," Steven Price.

Original Song: "Let It Go" from "Frozen."

Costume: "The Great Gatsby."

Makeup and Hairstyling: "Dallas Buyers Club."

Animated Short Film: "Mr. Hublot."

Documentary Feature: "20 Feet from Stardom."

Documentary (short subject): "The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life."

Film Editing: "Gravity."

Live Action Short Film: "Helium."

Visual Effects: "Gravity."

___

Honorary Oscars:

— Peter W. Anderson.

— Film-processing labs over past century.

— Angelina Jolie.

— Angela Lansbury.

— Steve Martin.

— Piero Tosi.

 

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM