Who could be in the running for a big win at the 2018 Oscars?

And whose chances have been dashed since the Weinstein scandal

The Oscars 2018 are still months away, but the long race to a little gold man is already heating up.

The Academy Awards - the last in a packed awards season calendar that kicks off with the Golden Globes on 7th January - will take place next year on Sunday 4th March.

The Oscars 2018 nominations were announced at a live event in LA on Tuesday 23rd January. Though it's still too early to say exactly who will win big, here's who we think stands a very good chance of being nominated (and who, following the Weinstein scandal, has definitely fallen out of the race)...

Want even more Oscars coverage? We'll be reporting on the best looks at the Oscars red carpet and if you're feeling a little nostalgic, we've also curated the top Oscar speeches, Oscar snubs, best Oscars dresses of all time and Oscars after party dresses for you.

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Oscars 2018 Predictions

Who could be in the running for Best Actress?

Saoirse Ronan has come close before with Atonement and Brooklyn; could 2018 finally be her year? She's certainly had very buzzy reviews for her lead in Greta Gerwig's indie drama Lady Bird. Another brilliantly underrated actress being tipped for Oscar success is Sally Hawkins for her role in Guillermo del Toro's spooky fairytale The Shape Of Water, along with Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri. Carey Mulligan could also get the nod for Netflix movie Mudbound.

Previous winners who could pop up in Oscars best actress nominee bracket again include Judi Dench for Victoria & Abdul and Kate Winslet for Woody Allen's Wonder Wheel. Also, in news that will surprise absolutely no-one, Meryl Streep is a potential contender for The Post.

Could Margot Robbie also be in with a chance for I, Tonya? Reviews of her biopic - which sees her play controversial U.S figure skater Tonya Harding - suggest the movie could be a game-changer for the Australian actress whose star has been on the rise for several years now.

https://youtu.be/OXZQ5DfSAAc

Who could be in the running for Best Actor?

Relative newcomer, Interstellar's Timothée Chalamet, could do a Lupita and sweep Best Actor for his extraordinary turn opposite Armie Hammer in Call Me By Your Name. Other more established names in the running include Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour), Andrew Garfield (Breathe), James Franco (The Disaster Artist) and Tom Hanks - the Meryl of the Best Actor category - for The Post.

But it's also worth keeping your eye on the brilliant Daniel Kaluuya. There's been buzz building around Get Out as a serious Oscar contender for some time now - with plenty of nods at the Independent Spirit Awards - so the film could be next year's runaway hit.

Who are the contenders for Best Supporting Actor and Actress?

There's been a massive amount of buzz surrounding Mary J Blige's performance in Mudbound, the movie about two families struggling to adjust to life in Mississippi after WWII that Netflix bought at Sundance earlier this year. Can Blige keep the momentum going until March?

Another potentially exciting Best Supporting Actress contender is Orphan Black's Tatiana Maslany, who had the critics raving about her performance opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Stronger. Otherwise there's the always-brilliant Alison Janney, who could win the statuette for her turn as the flint-hearted LaVona Harding in I, Tonya. Also don't count out well as Laurie Metcalf's stunning performance in Lady Bird.

The potential Best Supporting Actor category doesn't appear to have an obvious frontrunner: there's Michael Stuhlbarg for Call Me By Your Name - which could mirror Timothee Chalamet in the Best Actor category - Jason Mitchell for Mudbound and Willem Dafoe for The Florida Project. Otherwise Armie Hammer could be the push for Call Me By Your Name instead of Stuhlbarg, or Ben Mendelsohn for Darkest Hour.

Which potential Best Picture winners should we watch now?

As is generally the case, a lot of the big hitters (like La La Land) aren't out in the U.K until January. But there are a few to catch now if you haven't already. Christopher Nolan's magnificent Dunkirk came out at a very odd time for an Oscar-worthy movie (July), but still looks likely to receive plenty of nods during awards season. The same goes for off-beat rom-com The Big Sick.

Call Me By Your Name came out here in October and is well worth a watch, while movie Mudbound drops on Netflix this month, meaning you won't even have to leave your house to catch a potential Best Picture winner.

Who is definitely out of the 2018 Oscars race post-Weinstein?

Benedict Cumberbatch won't be in the running this year as Harvey Weinstein's original Oscar hopeful The Current War - starring Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison - has now been shelved until later next year.

Once one of the most powerful Oscar campaigners, Harvey Weinstein has now been expelled from the Academy following a wave of sexual harassment and assault allegations made against him.

The Weinstein Company's first movie to be released following the scandal, Amityville: The Awakening, grossed just $700 in its opening weekend.

And just in case you want to reminisce, here's what happened at the 2017 Oscars...

Oscars 2017 Winners

Much to nobody's surprise, La La Land cleaned up at the Oscars after winning a total of six awards. Emma Stone was awarded the Oscar for Best Actress, whilst Casey Affleck won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in Manchester By The Sea. The cast of Moonlight also walked away with 3 awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali and Viola Davis won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Fences.

Oscars 2017 red carpet

The stars showed up in style for the Oscars 2017 red carpet, and golden gowns appeared to be the clear choice for many of the celebs. Once again the A-lists used the red carpet as a chance to get political, this time adorning blue ribbons in support of the American Civil Liberties Union. Emma Stone also took the opportunity to throw very subtle shade at Donald Trump with this hidden detail on her Oscars dress.

Oscars 2017 best moments

The Oscars were full of talking points throughout the night, from Natalie Portman pulling out at the last minute to Dev Patel taking THE sweetest date and Meryl Streep getting the standing ovation she truly deserves - it's fair to say we weren't bored. Once again the red carpet was adored with the cutest celebrity couples - although Jessica Biel didn't look too impressed with hubby Justin Timberlake.

However, the night's biggest talking point was THAT awkward moment when La La Land were mistakenly given the Oscar for Best Motion Picture - an award Moonlight actually won. Though that's not exactly a 'best moment', is it.

Who presented at the Oscars 2017?

The Academy confirmed that all of 2016’s acting category winners will be returning for this year’s ceremony to present their successors with their academy awards on stage, so we can definitely expect Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson, Alicia Vikander and Mark Rylance to present the four main acting awards. We'll have to wait and see who will join those four as the Academy Awards presenters.

What was in the Oscars 2017 goodie bags?

Each nominee received an Oscars goodie bag worth £160,000 (yes, really), filled with everything you could ever need from five holidays (from California and Hawaii to Sorrento and Lake Como) to 10 years' worth of make up. The lucky recipients can also expect to find in their Oscars goodie bags everything from 10 sessions with a celebrity personal trainer and an Oomi smart home system to 12 cases of Opal apples and a Haze Dual vaporiser. There's even a set of personalised Crayola crayons and a teach yourself CPR kit in there for good measure.

What was on the menu at the Oscars 2017?

The official Oscars menu was put together by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, and featured a whopping 50 dishes - Oscar themed whenever possible. We're talking gold-dusted truffle popcorn, lobster corn dogs, carrot juice-infused pasta, smoked salmon hors d’oeuvres served on Oscar-shaped crackers, and every kind of sushi imaginable served from a 2,600lb ice raw bar. In terms of desserts it only gets better, offering up lava cakes, red velvet waffles, home made pretzels, oreo s'mores and caramel cappuccino Oscar statue lollipops.

Oscars 2017 Nominees

Best Picture

ACTUAL WINNER: Moonlight 'WINNER': La La Land Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures Lion Manchester By The Sea

Best Actor

WINNER: Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling, La La Land Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington, Fences

Best Actress

WINNER: Emma Stone, La La Land Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins Isabelle Huppert, Elle Ruth Negga, Loving Natalie Portman, Jackie

Best Supporting Actress

WINNER: Viola Davis, Fences Naomie Harris, Moonlight Nicole Kidman, Lion Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures Michelle Williams, Manchester By The Sea

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight Jeff Bridges, Hell Or High Water Lucas Hedges, Manchester By The Sea Dev Patel, Lion Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

Best Director

WINNER: La La Land, Damien Chazelle Manchester by the Sea, Kenneth Lonergan Moonlight, Barry Jenkins Arrival, Denis Villeneuve Hacksaw Ridge, Mel Gibson

Best Adapted Screenplay

WINNER: Moonlight Arrival Fences Hidden Figures Lion

Best Original Screenplay

WINNER: Manchester By The Sea 20th Century Women Hell or High Water La La Land The Lobster

Best Animated Feature

WINNER: Zootopia Kubo and the Two Strings Moana My Life as a Zucchini The Red Turtle

Best Animated Short

WINNER: Piper Blind Vaysha Borrowed Time Pear Cider and Cigarettes Pearl

Film Editing

WINNER: Hacksaw Ridge Hell or Highwater La La Land Moonlight Arrival

Best Cinematography

WINNER: La La Land Lion Moonlight Silence Arrival

Best Costume Design

WINNER: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find ThemAllied Florence Foster Jenkins Jackie La La Landd

Best Hair and Make-up

WINNER: Suicide SquadA Man Called Ove Star Trek Beyond

Best Foreign Language Film

WINNER: The Salesman Land of Mine A Man Called Ove Tanna Toni Erdmann

Best Documentary Feature

WINNER: OJ: Made In AmericaFire At Sea I Am Not Your Negro Life, Animated 13th   Best Documentary Short subject

Extremis 4.1 Miles Joe’s Violin Watani: My Homeland The White Helmets

Best Live Action Short

WINER: Sing Timecode Ennemis Intérieurs La Femme et le TGV Silent Nights

Best Production Design

WINNER: La La Land Passengers Arrival Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them Hail, Caesar

Best Sound Editing

WINNER: Arrival Deepwater Horizon Hacksaw Ridge La La Land Sully

Best Sound Mixing

WINNER: Hacksaw Ridge Arrival La La Land Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Best Visual Effects

WINNER: The Jungle Book Kubo and the Two Strings Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Deepwater Horizon Doctor Strange

Best Original Song

WINNER: City of Stars (La La Land) Audition (La La Land) Can't Stop the Feeling! (Trolls) The Empty Chair (Jim: The James Foley Story) How Far I'll Go (Moana)

Best Original Score

WINNER: La La Land Lion Moonlight Passengers Jackie

When were the Oscars 2017?

The Oscars 2017 were held on Sunday 26th February in Los Angeles. It was a late one for all the Brits watching, with the red carpet starting at 4pm in LA (that's midnight for us).