Our staff’s picks for the film we think will win the Academy’s top honor … and the film we think should actually be the winner.

We’re an opinionated lot here at IGN Entertainment, especially when it comes to movies. And this year’s Oscars race has stirred us up.Ahead of this’s Sunday’s Oscars ceremony, 12 IGN-ers have chimed in with their Oscar predictions, naming their picks for which film they believe WILL win Best Picture … as well as the film they believe SHOULD actually win that category. (I swear we didn’t compare notes before everyone sent in their guesses!)You will notice the same two films being the most oft-mentioned candidates in the will/should debate but we aren’t universal in our assessment of the film we think will take home the Academy’s top prize.
Before we get to our picks, a reminder of which nine films are nominated for Best Picture this year:

• Ford V Ferrari
• The Irishman
• Jojo Rabbit
• Joker
• Little Women
• Marriage Story
• 1917
• Once Upon a Time In Hollywood
• Parasite

Now read on for our Best Picture Oscar predictions, starting with …Joshua Yehl (Sr. News and Features Editor)

• Should Win: 1917
• Will Win: 1917

A war movie winning the Oscar for Best Picture? Unheard of, I know. But 1917’s “one continuous shot” format makes the whole experience utterly captivating and personal. It immersed me in the story in a way no movie ever has before, and though it dragged me through the horrors of WWI, it also created a moment of pure human beauty that stirred something in my ice-cold heart. And for that, I think 1917 deserves a golden statue man.
Jesse Schedeen (Staff Writer)

• Should Win: Parasite
• Will Win: 1917

I’d like to see Parasite take home the Oscar, both because it deserves it and because now seems like the perfect time to finally break the Academy’s streak of not giving the top honor to foreign films. But given the general trend this awards season and the Academy’s love of war movies, 1917 seems all but a lock for Best Picture at this point.Laura Prudom (Deputy Editorial Manager)

• Should Win: Parasite
• Will Win: 1917

Parasite is one of the most gripping, unnerving, and deliciously hilarious films in recent memory, burrowing into my brain as soon as I stepped out of the theater and remaining rooted there even now, months after I first saw it. Bong Joon-hos masterful blend of social commentary, black comedy, and steadily-building tension easily make Parasite my favorite movie of 2019 (closely followed by Jojo Rabbit, which accomplishes similar goals in a more overtly comedic way) – and more than deserving of Best Picture. I would love to see it pull off a win since its a story that transcends language, but given some voters admitted reluctance to read subtitles, I have a feeling 1917 might be a broader crowd-pleaser (which Id prefer to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood or The Irishman, which were too long and self-indulgent for my tastes).Jim Vejvoda (Executive Editor, Movies)

• Should Win: Parasite
• Will Win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

As much Id love to see Parasite win, I suspect it will have to make do with Best Foreign Film. And while 1917 seems the sure bet to win Best Picture, I continue to hear and read from those in the industry who find it a gimmick movie (but one they will vote for in other key categories). So thats why I suspect Quentin Tarantinos ode to a bygone Hollywood and to those working in the industry will take home top honors. Hollywood loves talking about itself and celebrating itself and Tarantinos film certainly fits that bill. I also suspect Oscar voters want to finally award a Tarantino movie a Best Picture win since hes declared his intent to retire from directing features after his next film. (Hes only ever won Oscars for screenwriting.)Nick Limon (Video Producer)

• Should Win: Parasite
• Will Win: 1917

A foreign picture taking Best Picture? A long shot, sure. But in an era where world cinema is the most accessible its ever been, Parasite could be poised to take the big win (not that Bong Joon-ho cares anyway). The Oscars are so local. The movie I think will win is 1917. The Academy loves movies with a gimmick. It’s a good gimmick though.
Tyler Robertson (Social Media Coordinator)

• Should Win: Parasite
• Will Win: 1917

As awesome as it would be to see a phenomenal foreign film like Parasite get the win, I think it will end up going to 1917 in the end. The brilliant use of the all-in-one-shot storytelling combined with Hollywoods love for wartime flicks will give it the edge it needs to take the Oscar home. Parasite could pull a Moonlight on us, but considering the Academys preferential voting system, its likely 1917 will be towards the top of pretty much everyones list.Sydnee Goodman (Host)

• Should Win: Parasite
• Will Win: 1917

I deeply, deeply hope Parasite wins Best Picture, but the more likely choice is 1917. It intimately captures the horrors of war and is gorgeous to watch. With that said, Parasite burned itself into my brain as my personal favorite of 2019 with its style, perfectly paced story, and social commentary. Lets hope Im wrong and Parasite wins.
Jeffrey Vega (Social Producer)

• Should Win: Parasite or Jojo Rabbit
• Will Win: 1917

I think 1917 will win Best Picture, and it definitely deserves to win. However, I want Jojo Rabbit or Parasite to win Best Picture. Jojo Rabbit is a beautiful and hilarious film that promotes it’s never too soon for peace. Parasite is an incredible and terrifying story about class and I still can’t stop thinking about it. I’m not a fan of watching movies with subtitles, but I would never know about this international film without them, and so I am grateful for that. Movies are good!Michael Swaim (Manager of Video Programming)

• Should Win: Parasite
• Will Win: Joker

Parasite is a deft, endlessly engaging and razor-sharp indictment of the systems that keep us apart, cordon us off from one another, and ultimately put us into inevitable conflict. Bong Joon-ho is an important filmmaker in his prime, and the real miracle is that Parasite works not only as pointed satire, but equally well as a slow-burn thriller with shocking turns, and a comedy of manners revolving around a truly hilarious and dysfunctional family. We used to call those “upstairs/downstairs” movies when Altman made them. In the post-Get Out world, perhaps we should call them “upstairs/downstairs/basement” movies, because Parasite adds another level and a new dimension to the exercise, both literally and figuratively. An insightful and thrilling masterwork.Joker is about a clown that is actually very sad, if you can imagine such a thing. It’s an enduring symbol of dichotomy in American culture that has made us swoon since before Smokey sang “Tears of a Clown,” when all we could do to get our sad clown fix was lavish this powerful tribute to emotional dissonance on the finest of velvet canvasses. Joaquin Phoenix is a good actor. Of the nominees, Joker also made the most money for the people who vote on who wins the award, which is why it will likely win the award, which, when you think about it, is why Parasite should win instead. Here’s hoping!
David Griffin (TV Streaming Editor)

• Should Win: 1917
• Will Win: 1917

1917 is a cinematic experience that needs to be seen on the big screen and is worthy of the Oscar for Best Picture due to the superb execution from every level of the filmmaking process. Director Sam Mendes and cinematographer Roger Deakins are able to create a captivating experience, which follows two men during WWI who are sent on a suicide mission in order to prevent a slaughter. The movie is both harrowing and uplifting and never loses its narrative focus on the two soldier’s epic journey through war-torn France. The one-shot style approach Deakins and Mendes implement keeps the tension high. 1917 is simply the best war film since Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan back in 1998.Scott Collura (Executive Editor of Entertainment Features)

• Should Win: The Irishman
• Will Win: 1917

I expect Sam Mendes single-shot, World War I epic 1917 to win Best Picture this weekend. The film has already nabbed the top prize at the Producers Guild Awards and the Directors Guild awards, and it won Best Motion Picture – Drama at the Golden Globes and Best Film at the BAFTAs, so those are pretty good indicators of how the Academy will swing. Id like to see The Irishman win it, however, for its long-game meditation on aging and regret.Terri Schwartz (Editor-in-Chief, Entertainment)

• Should Win: Parasite
• Will Win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

No other 2019 movie has stayed with me as much as Parasite: it defies genres, is impeccably directed, edited, scored, acted and executed, and is a sharp social satire that feels fresh when compared to the other Oscar contenders. In all ways, Parasite deserves to win Best Picture, and my hope is it has the momentum behind it to surprise us all and take the big award of the night, foreign film or not. To me, Parasite would be the most exciting choice to win because it would see the Academy breaking with tradition in a big way; on the other hand, the more likely contenders for Best Picture are 1917 and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which fall neatly into Oscar-bait films in their own way. If not Parasite, I see OUATIH taking home the big prize. Quentin Tarantinos fairy tale about the golden age of Hollywood seems like it would speak directly to many Academy members, and Im sure his precision with recreating that famous era around Los Angeles goes a long way with many Academy members who likely lived through it. Still, Im not counting Parasite out of the running. Respect!What film do you want to see win Best Picture? Let us know in the comments and be sure to vote in the poll above!