It’s May! It’s May! The lusty month of May! Where our every thought turns towards the next year’s Oscar Day!

As is tradition on this site, every May, we put together our initial predictions for what films and performances will make an impact on the coming year’s Oscar races. Of course, this early, nothing is set in stone and a lot of these will probably fall by the wayside as the year progresses. Still, it’s kind of fun to see where we’re at now and watch how we change leading up to the 85th Academy Awards. We’ll only be looking at the top six categories (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress). Wesley Lovell’s full prediction list is listed in the new 85th Oscar section on the left leading to the Oscar Hopefuls page. So, sit back, relax and enjoy some foreshadowing, precise or astray!

KEY:

Best Picture

• Anna Karenina (O) [New]
• Argo (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Brave (O) [New]
• The Dark Knight Rises (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Django Unchained (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Gravity (O) [New]
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Hyde Park on the Hudson (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Lawless (O) [New]
• Life of Pi (O) [New]
• Lincoln (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• The Master (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Les Miserables (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• The Silver Linings Playbook (O) [New]
• The Surrogate (O) [New]
• Zero Dark Thirty (O) [New] (O) [New]

Best Director

• Ben Affleck – Argo (O) [New]
• Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Tom Hooper – Les Miserables (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Peter Jackson – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (O) [New]
• Ben Lewin – The Surrogate (O) [New]
• David O. Russell – The Silver Linings Playbook (O) [New]
• Steven Spielberg – Lincoln (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained (O) [New]

Best Actor

• Bradley Cooper – The Silver Linings Playbook (O) [New]
• Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Great Gatsby (O) [New]
• Clint Eastwood – Trouble with the Curve (O) [New]
• John Hawkes – The Surrogate (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master (O) [New]
• Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Bill Murray – Hyde Park on the Hudson (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Brad Pitt – Killing Them Softly (O) [New]

Best Actress

• Sandra Bullock – Gravity (O) [New]
• Viola Davis – Won’t Back Down (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Helen Hunt – The Surrogate (O) [New]
• Keira Knightley – Anna Karenina (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Jennifer Lawrence – The Silver Linings Playbook (O) [New]
• Laura Linney – Hyde Park on the Hudson (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Carey Mulligan – The Great Gatsby (O) [New]
• Meryl Streep – Hope Springs (O) [New]
• Michelle Williams – Take This Waltz (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Mary Elizabeth Winstead – Smashed (O) [New]

Best Supporting Actor

• Bryan Cranston – Argo (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Russell Crowe – Les Miserables (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Robert De Niro – The Silver Linings Playbook (O) [New]
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Lincoln (O) [New]
• Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Jude Law – Anna Karenina (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• William H. Macy – The Surrogate (O) [New]
• Joaquin Phoenix – The Master (O) [New]
• Peter Sarsgaard – Lovelace (O) [New]
• David Strathairn – Lincoln (O) [New]

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams – The Master (O) [New]
• Amy Adams – Trouble with the Curve (O) [New]
• Samantha Barks – Les Miserables (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Laura Dern – The Master (O) [New]
• Sally Field – Lincoln (O) [New] (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables (O) [New] (O) [New]
• Jennifer Lawrence – The Silver Linings Playbook (O) [New]
• Jacki Weaver – The Silver Linings Playbook (O) [New]
• Olivia Williams – Hyde Park on the Hudson (O) [New] (O) [New]