Oscar Experts are unanimous that Christopher Nolan (‘Oppenheimer’) will win Best Director

Marcus James Dixon
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

If you’re hoping for drama at this year’s Academy Awards, we suggest looking somewhere other than the Best Director race. Gold Derby’s Oscar Experts from major media outlets unanimously predict that there’s a “near zero” chance Christopher Nolan (“Oppenheimer”) won’t be taking home this trophy. The filmmaker has already claimed precursor prizes at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, and is also the favorite at the upcoming BAFTAs and DGA Awards.

For the record, Nolan’s fellow nominees in the director category are Yorgos Lanthimos (“Poor Things”), Jonathan Glazer (“The Zone of Interest”), Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) and Justine Triet (“Anatomy of a Fall”). Not making an appearance in this race is Greta Gerwig (“Barbie”), who was shockingly snubbed on nominations morning — though she is nominated as a screenwriter.

More from GoldDerby

Here are the 16 Oscar Experts who are predicting a victory for Nolan as Best Director: Anne Thompson (Indiewire), Christopher Rosen (Gold Derby), Claudia Puig (KPCC), Eric Deggans (NPR), Jazz Tangcay (Variety), Joyce Eng (Gold Derby), Keith Simanton (IMDb), Matt Neglia (Next Best Picture), Michael Musto (Queerty), Nikki Novak (Fandango), Peter Travers (ABC), Ray Richmond (Gold Derby), Sasha Stone (Awards Daily), Susan King (Gold Derby), Susan Wloszczyna (Gold Derby) and Tariq Khan (Gold Derby).

SEE Oscar nominations: How did your favorite films fare?

Universal Pictures’ “Oppenheimer” stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, aka the father of the atomic bomb. Emily Blunt plays his wife, Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer, and Robert Downey Jr. takes on the role of Rear Admiral Lewis Strauss. The film, based on the biography “American Prometheus,” made a whopping $952 million worldwide, cementing its status as one of the most lucrative biopics in box office history.

Nolan has long been considered “overdue” for an Oscar win after previously earning bids for writing “Memento” (2001), writing and producing “Inception” (2010), and directing and producing “Dunkirk” (2017). Will he finally claim victory this year for “Oppenheimer” in any of his three categories: picture, director or adapted screenplay? The movie leads all others this year with 13 nominations, including actor (Murphy), supporting actor (Downey), supporting actress (Blunt), cinematography, costume design, film editing, makeup & hairstyling, production design, score and sound.

Currently at Gold Derby, none of our Experts are predicting wins for the other four Best Director nominees. However, many more awards pundits will soon be chiming in with their Oscar predictions, so that could change in the coming weeks.

PREDICT the 2024 Oscar winners through March 10

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

Best of GoldDerby

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.