Statuette of Oscars
(Photo : Reuters)

The Academy Awards or the Oscars is one of the biggest awarding bodies in the motion picture industry. The Oscars recognize excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting members.

Winners of this prestigious event are given a golden statuette or known officially as the "Academy Award of Merit," but this statuette is more commonly known as Oscar.

That being said, it is no wonder why an Oscar is the most sought-after award for many celebrities and famous personalities. Winning an Oscar is not just a status symbol; it also holds an economic value. According to this report, it's a sure-fire way to increase the potential earning of a celebrity in the film industry. 

BBC News reports that there are six projects that everyone should watch for in the nominations. This includes Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, 1917, and The Irishman.

Here six possible nominations that everyone should be watching for:

1. Female Director

Only one female director was nominated since 2010 and five female directors were nominated since the award-winning body began. In 2018, the female director of Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig, got the award. This year, she will have a very tight race against the Hollywood heavyweights and other two female directors. If she gets nominated this year, it will be very historic because she will be the first woman who will be nominated twice as the best director. 

2. #OscarsSoWhite?

In the previous nomination, three out of four nominees won the acting statuettes. All winners were non-whites. However, Oscars this time is expected to be less diverse. If we based it on the previous Golden Globes Awards, Asian-American star Awkwafina was the only non-American victor.

3. British Talent

Last year, Olivia Colman won the best actress award. It is not surprising anymore that there will be more British stars who are hopeful to be nominated in the major awards. Some of the British stars who are expected to be nominated are Taron Egerton, Jonathan Pryce, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Florence Pugh, and Roman Griffin Davis. 

4. A double award for Scarlett Johansson

The Oscars has a rule saying that an actress or an actor cannot be nominated twice in the same acting category. However, Scarlett Johansson can be nominated as the best actress for Marriage Story and the best-supporting actress for Jojo Rabbit. 

5. Returning Oscar Favorites

Past Oscar's favorite nominees could be back in the pool. Sir Anthony Hopkins has been nominated four times since 1998, Tom Hanks has won twice but has not been nominated since 2001, Al Pacino has eight career nominations, and Renee Zellweger had three nominations from 2002 to 2014. They are all expected to be nominated.

6. Can Jennifer Lopez be nominated?

It will be a surprise if J-Lo will be nominated in this year's Oscars. It can be recalled that J-Lo was named as the 'worst actress of the decade' in 2000s. However, there is a possibility that she will be nominated because of her role in her movie who masterminds a group of women to swindle rich men.