Best Supporting Actress Predictions (October)

Close vs. Colman. Round Two. After Olivia Colman’s shock defeat of perennial runner up Glenn Close in 2018, we’re looking at the two actors facing off again just two years later. Now that we’ve seen the trailer for Hillbilly Elegy, it’s clear this is an extreme case of Oscar bait, putting Close in the driver’s seat to win her long-overdue Oscar. But Colman is waiting in the wings to spoil Close’s victory for a second time.

Colman faces a tough challenge to snatch her second Academy Award for her acclaimed performance in The Father, given her shock win for The Favourite feels like it only happened yesterday. But Mahershala Ali was able to win twice in the space of three years, so never say never.

Ellen Burstyn could be the real dark horse here. The six-time nominee hasn’t been nominated since Requiem For a Dream in 2001 and the buzz is growing for her performance in Pieces of a Woman. But the real spoiler could be six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, whose performance as Aretha Franklin’s mother in Respect may just launch the actor to her first Oscar nom.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS PREDICTIONS:
1. Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix)
2. Olivia Colman – The Father (Sony Pictures Classics)
3. Ellen Burstyn – Pieces of a Woman (Netflix)
4. Amanda Seyfried – Mank (Netflix)
5. Saiorse Ronan – Ammonite (NEON)

MAJOR CONTENDERS:
Maria Bakalova – Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios)
Mary J. Blige – Respect (Universal Artists Releasing) [Moved to August 2021]
Olivia Cooke – Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios)
Nicole Kidman – The Prom (Netflix)
Audra McDonald – Respect (Universal Artists Releasing) [Moved to August 2021]
Kristin Scott Thomas – Rebecca (Netflix)
Meryl Streep – The Prom (Netflix)
Charlene Swankie – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)
Yuh-Jung Youn – Minari (A24)
Helena Zengel – News of the World (Univeral Pictures)