2015 has been a brilliant year for female film performances and that is reflected in both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories, which are loaded with talent.
Brie Larson
Best Actress is always an exciting category and 2016 is going to be no different as Brie Larson (Room), Cate Blanchett (Carol), Jennifer Lawrence (Joy), Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), and Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) are all set to go head to head.
Larson has been dominating the awards season so far, but she is not as heavy a favourite to triumph as Leonardo DiCaprio for Best Actor... could someone else steal the gong?
I think if anyone is standing in Larson's way of Oscar glory, then it is two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett.
Brie Larson - Room
Larson is no stranger to the big screen but her performance in Room is set to be the one that sends her star rocketing - she really is one to watch out for over the next couple of years.
Room is already one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2016 and is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Emma Donoghue. The movie sees Lenny Abrahamson in the director's chair and Larson takes on the central role of Ma.
The film follows five-year-old Jack and his mother, who escape from the room where they have been held prisoner for many years - their escape is the first time that the young boy has seen the outside world.
Larson's central performance has been winning over critics left right and centre and she really has been the toast of the award's season so far. The actress has picked up a Golden Globe, Bafta, and Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance and looks in pole position for Sunday night.
This is the first Oscar nomination of Larson's career to date and she would be the first actress to win with her first nomination since Sandra Bullock back in 2010 for The Blind Side. I think we are going to see Larson in the Oscar mix many more times going forward.
We are used to seeing the likes of Cate Blanchett and Jennifer Lawrence in the Oscar mix, but it is great to see the Academy recognising new acting talent. Should Larson win, she would be in the top ten of young Best Actress Oscar winners.
Cate Blanchett - Carol
Cate Blanchett is a pro when it comes to being in the Oscar mix and if anyone can stop Larson from winning on Sunday night, then it is the Aussie actress for her performance in Carol.
Carol sees Blanchett reunite with filmmaker Todd Haynes for the adaptation of the novel by Patricia Highsmith. Blanchett takes on the central role of Carol, who starts an intimate relationship with a young woman in 1952.
When Carol hit the big screen in the autumn of 2015, Blanchett was the early favourite to not only be in the Oscar race, but to scoop the Best Actress gong once again. While she has picked up a string of nominations for her performance, she has missed out on the major awards this season.
This is the seventh Oscar nomination of Blanchett's career and her fourth for Best Actress. It is the first time that we have seen her in the Oscar mix since she won Best Actress for Blue Jasmine.
Blanchett may have missed out to Larson on the award circuit so far, but the actress is a favourite amongst Oscar voters and could quite easily sneak the win.
Who film will win? While Larson is in the mix with some well-seasoned Oscar stars, I do think that 2016 will be her year. She has won a string of major award in recent weeks and it would be unusual for someone to triumph at the Oscars, Baftas and Screen Actors Guild but miss out on the Oscar.
The Oscar winners will be announced Sunday 28th February.
Tagged in Cate Blanchett Oscars Brie Larson