Oscar Predictions: Best Cinematography – Could Claudio Miranda's Camera Work Clinch the Best Picture Nom for 'Top Gun: Maverick'?

2023 Oscars best cinematography predictions include “Babylon," "The Batman," "Bardo," "Empire of Light," "Top Gun: Maverick" and "The Fabelmans."

Oscar Predictions: Best Cinematography – Could Claudio Miranda’s Camera Work Clinch the Best Picture Nom for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’?

Variety Awards Circuit section 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 are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each inpidual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

LAST UPDATED: Sept. 15, 2022

2023 Oscars Predictions: Best Cinematography

CATEGORY COMMENTARY: We’ll see if the science fiction and the action genres can get representation in the race with Claudio Miranda for “Top Gun: Maverick,” Russell Carpenter for “Avatar: The Way of Water” or Larkin Seiple for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” When it comes to “Top Gun,” if the studio wants to get into the best picture category, it needs to stay gain at least four tech noms to stay in the discussion, and cinematography could be its ticket as it looks “assured” recognition for best film editing, sound and visual effects (so far).

In terms of the overdue, Darius Khondji, whose impressive career has only managed to be recognized once by the Academy — “Evita” (1996) — has two worthy entries under the guidance of two pisive films, “Bardo (or False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths)” and “Armageddon Time.” Former Oscar-winning veterans are in the mix and expected to make noise with the Academy. Janusz Kaminski’s creation of the childhood of master filmmaker Steven Spielberg in “The Fabelmans” is another stellar effort from the two-time winner — “Schindler’s List” (1993) and “Saving Private Ryan” (1998). He’s also fresh off another nom for “West Side Story” (2021). His competition could come from the second most-nominated DP Roger Deakins who delivers the beauty to Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light.”

See the latest film predictions, in all 23 categories, in one place on Variety’s Oscars Collective.

To see the ranked predictions for each inpidual category, visit Variety’s Oscars Hub.

ALL AWARDS CONTENDERS AND RANKINGS:

And The Predicted Nominees Are:
Rank	Film	Director of Photography	Distributor
1	“The Fabelmans”	Janusz Kaminski	Universal Pictures
1	A semi-autobiography based on Spielberg’s own childhood growing up in post-war Arizona, from age seven to eighteen.
2	“Empire of Light”	Roger Deakins	Searchlight Pictures
2	“Empire of Light” is a love story set in and around a beautiful old cinema on the South Coast of England in the 1980s.
3	“Babylon”	Linus Sandgren	Paramount Pictures
3	Set in Hollywood during the transition from silent films to talkies, focusing on a mixture of historical & fictional characters.
4	“Top Gun: Maverick”	Claudio Miranda	Paramount Pictures
4	After thirty years, Maverick is still pushing the envelope as a top naval aviator, but must confront ghosts of his past when he leads TOP GUN’s elite graduates on a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those chosen to fly it.
5	“Bardo (or False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths)”	Darius Khondji	Netflix
5	A renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker living in Los Angeles, who, after being named the recipient of a prestigious international award, is compelled to return to his native country.
Next in Line
6	“Avatar: The Way of Water”	Russell Carpenter	20th Century Studios
6	Jake Sully lives with his newfound family formed on the planet of Pandora. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the army of the Na’vi race to protect their planet.
7	“TÁR”	Florian Hoffmeister	Focus Features
7	Set in the international world of classical music, the film centers on Lydia Tár. widely considered one of the greatest living composer/conductors and first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra.
8	“Everything Everywhere All at Once”	Larkin Seiple	A24
8	An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save the world by exploring other universes connecting with the lives she could have led.
9	“Women Talking”	Luc Montpellier	MGM/United Artists Releasing
9	A group of women in an isolated religious colony as they struggle to reconcile their faith with a string of sexual assaults committed by the colony’s men.
10	“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”	Autumn Durald	Marvel Studios
10	The nation of Wakanda is pitted against intervening world powers as they mourn the loss of their king T’Challa.
Other Top-Tier Contenders
11	“The Banshees of Inisherin”	Ben Davis	Searchlight Pictures
12	“The Son”	Ben Smithard	Sony Pictures Classics
13	“The Wonder”	Ari Wegner	Netflix
14	“The Woman King”	Polly Morgan	TriStar Pictures
15	“Thirteen Lives”	Sayombhu Mukdeeprom	Amazon Studios/MGM
16	“The Batman”	Greig Fraser	Warner Bros.
17	“White Noise”	Lol Crawley	Netflix
18	“Nope”	Hoyte van Hoytema	Universal Pictures
19	“Amsterdam”	Emmanuel Lubezki	20th Century Studios
20	“Devotion”	Erik Messerschmidt	Sony Pictures
Also In Contention
21	“Armageddon Time”	Darius Khondji	Focus Features
22	“Elvis”	Mandy Walker	Warner Bros.
23	“Don’t Worry Darling”	Matthew Libatique	Warner Bros
24	“Blonde”	Chayse Irvin	Netflix
25	“Three Thousand Years of Longing”	John Seale	MGM/United Artists Releasing
26	“RRR”	K. K. Senthil Kumar	Variance Films
27	“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”	Steve Yedlin	Netflix
28	“Decision to Leave”	Kim Ji-yong	Mubi
29	“The Pale Blue Eye”	Masanobu Takayanagi	Netflix
30	“Triangle of Sadness”	Fredrik Wenzel	Neon
All Contenders Listed (Unranked-Alphabetical)
—	“A Man Called Otto”	Matthias Koenigswieser	Sony Pictures
—	“After Yang”	Benjamin Loeb	A24
—	“Aftersun”	Gregory Oke	A24
—	“All Quiet on the Western Front”	James Friend	Netflix
—	“Ambulance”	Roberto De Angelis	Universal Pictures
—	“Amsterdam”	Emmanuel Lubezki	20th Century Studios
—	“Argentina, 1985”	Javier Julia	Amazon Studios
—	“Armageddon Time”	Darius Khondji	Focus Features
—	“As They Made Us”	David Feeney-Mosier	Quiver
—	“Athena”	Matias Boucard	Netflix
—	“Avatar: The Way of Water”	Russell Carpenter	20th Century Studios
—	“Babylon”	Linus Sandgren	Paramount Pictures
—	“Bardo (or False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths)”	Darius Khondji	Netflix
—	“Beast”	Philippe Rousselot	Universal Pictures
—	“Black Adam”	Lawrence Sher	Warner Bros
—	“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”	Autumn Durald	Marvel Studios
—	“Blonde”	Chayse Irvin	Netflix
—	“Bodies Bodies Bodies”	Jasper Wolf	A24
—	“Bones & All”	Arseni Khachaturan	MGM/United Artists Releasing
—	“Nanny”	Rina Yang	Amazon Studios
—	“Both Sides of the Blade”	Eric Gautier	IFC Films
—	“Broker”	Hong Kyung-pyo	Neon
—	“Bros”	Brandon Trost	Universal Pictures
—	“Bullet Train”	Jonathan Sela	Sony Pictures
—	“Call Jane”	Greta Zozula	Roadside Attractions
—	“Catherine Called Birdy”	Laurie Rose	Amazon Studios
—	“Causeway”	Diego García	A24/Apple Original Films
—	“Cha Cha Real Smooth”	Cristina Dunlap	Apple Original Films
—	“Close”	Frank van den Eeden	A24
—	“Corsage”	Judith Kaufmann	IFC Films
—	“Crimes of the Future”	Douglas Koch	Neon
—	“Death on the Nile”	Haris Zambarloukos	20th Century Studios
—	“Decision to Leave”	Kim Ji-yong	Mubi
—	“Devotion”	Erik Messerschmidt	Sony Pictures
—	“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”	John Mathieson	Marvel Studios
—	“Don’t Worry Darling”	Matthew Libatique	Warner Bros
—	“Elvis”	Mandy Walker	Warner Bros.
—	“Emily the Criminal”	Jeff Bierman	Roadside Attractions
—	“Empire of Light”	Roger Deakins	Searchlight Pictures
—	“EO”	Michał Dymek	Janus Films and Sideshow
—	“Everything Everywhere All at Once”	Larkin Seiple	A24
—	“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”	Steve Yedlin	Netflix
—	“God’s Country”	Andrew Wheeler	IFC Films
—	“Good Night Oppy”	John Beck-Hofmann, David Paul Jacobson	Amazon Studios
—	“Happening”	Laurent Tangy	IFC Films
—	“Holy Spider”	Nadim Carlsen	Utopia
—	“Hunt”	Lee Mo-gae	No U.S. Distribution
—	“Hustle”	Zak Mulligan	Netflix
—	“I Love My Dad”	Steven Capitano Calitri	Magnolia Pictures
—	“I Wanna Dance With Somebody”	Barry Ackroyd	Sony Pictures
—	“In Good Hands”	Martin Szecsanov	Netflix
—	“Lady Chatterley’s Lover”	Benoît Delhomme	Netflix
—	“Lightyear”	Jeremy Lasky, Ian Megibben	Pixar
—	“Living”	Jamie D. Ramsay	Sony Pictures Classics
—	“Lyle, Lyle Crocodile”	Javier Aguirresarobe	Sony Pictures
—	“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”	Bianca Cline	A24
—	“Master Gardener”	Alexander Dynan	No U.S. Distribution
—	“Master”	Charlotte Hornsby	Amazon Studios
—	“Men”	Rob Hardy	A24
—	“Montana Story”	Giles Nuttgens	Bleecker Street
—	“Mr. Malcolm’s List”	Tony Miller	Bleecker Street
—	“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”	Felix Wiedemann	Focus Features
—	“My Policeman”	Ben Davis	Amazon Studios
—	“Nitram”	Germain McMicking	IFC Films
—	“Nope”	Hoyte van Hoytema	Universal Pictures
—	“Official Competition”	Arnau Valls Colomer	IFC Films
—	“One Fine Morning”	Denis Lenoir	Sony Pictures Classics
—	“Pearl”	Eliot Rockett	A24
—	“Persuasion”	Joe Anderson	Netflix
—	“R.M.N.”	Tudor Vladimir Panduru	IFC Films
—	“Raymond & Ray”	Igor Jadue-Lillo	Apple Original Films
—	“Return to Seoul”	Thomas Favel	Sony Pictures Classics
—	“RRR”	K. K. Senthil Kumar	Variance Films
—	“Saint Omer”	Claire Mithon	Neon/Super
—	“See How They Run”	Jamie D. Ramsay	Searchlight Pictures
—	“She Said”	Natasha Braier	Universal Pictures
—	“Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies”	Brian Burgoyne	Focus Features
—	“TÁR”	Florian Hoffmeister	Focus Features
—	“The Banshees of Inisherin”	Ben Davis	Searchlight Pictures
—	“The Batman”	Greig Fraser	Warner Bros.
—	“The Eight Mountains”	Ruben Impens	M2 Pictures
—	“The Fabelmans”	Janusz Kaminski	Universal Pictures
—	“The Good Nurse”	Jody Lee Lipes	Netflix
—	“The Gray Man”	Stephen F. Windon	Netflix
—	“The Greatest Beer Run Ever”	Sean Porter	Apple Original Films
—	“The Inspection”	Lachlan Milne	A24
—	“The Lost King”	Zac Nicholson	Warner Bros.
—	“The Menu”	Peter Deming	Searchlight Pictures
—	“The Northman”	Jarin Blaschke	Focus Features
—	“The Pale Blue Eye”	Masanobu Takanyagi	Netflix
—	“The Phantom of the Open”	Kit Fraser	Sony Pictures Classics
—	“The Silent Twins”	Jakub Kijowski	Focus Features
—	“The Son”	Ben Smithard	Sony Pictures Classics
—	“The Swimmers”	Christopher Ross	Netflix
—	“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”	Nigel Buck	Lionsgate
—	“The Whale”	Matthew Libatique	A24
—	“The Woman King”	Polly Morgan	TriStar Pictures
—	“The Wonder”	Ari Wegner	Netflix
—	“Thirteen Lives”	Sayombhu Mukdeeprom	Amazon Studios/MGM
—	“Thor: Love and Thunder”	Barry Idoine	Marvel Studios
—	“Three Thousand Years of Longing”	John Seale	MGM/United Artists Releasing
—	“Ticket to Paradise”	Ole Bratt Birkeland	Universal Pictures
—	“Till”	Bobby Bukowski	Orion/United Artists Releasing
—	“Top Gun: Maverick”	Claudio Miranda	Paramount Pictures
—	“Tori and Lokita”	Benoît Dervaux	Janus Films
—	“Triangle of Sadness”	Fredrik Wenzel	Neon
—	“Turn Every Page”	Mott Hupfel	Sony Pictures Classics
—	“Turning Red”	Mahyar Abousaeedi, Jonathan Pytko	Pixar
—	“Vengeance”	Lyn Moncrief	Focus Features
—	“War Pony”	David Gallego	Picturehouse Entertainment
—	“White Noise”	Lol Crawley	Netflix
—	“Women Talking”	Luc Montpellier	MGM/United Artists Releasing

2023 Academy Awards Predictions

The 95th Oscars ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre and televised live on Sunday, March 12, 2022, on ABC.

2022 category winner: “Dune” (Warner Bros.) – Greig Fraser

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