2013 Oscar Predictions: Adding Some Watts-age to the Best Actress Top Five

The Best Actress race, but one of the biggest reasons I was having a hard time moving her in was in the question of “Who do I move out?”

Sadly, at this point the odd woman out is Emmanuelle Riva (Amour) though my confidence in a Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) nomination is also trending downward, but I think there is enough momentum there to keep her in over the likes of Riva, Helen Mirren (Hitchcock) and Rachel Weisz (The Deep Blue Sea) for now.

Now, the next question is to wonder is the #3 position too low for Watts? Can she build up enough steam to leapfrog both Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) and Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)? These coming days and following the Oscar nominations things could begin to change dramatically in this race.

So, with this update I offer my current list of predicted Best Actress nominees:

1. Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
2. Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
3. Naomi Watts (The Impossible)
4. Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone)
5. Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

You can browse my full list of Best Actress contenders and rankings right here.