Will Barbie win anything at the Oscars?

As we head into the final hours of the awards race before Sunday's Oscars, it's difficult not to miss the days when Barbie's life in pink (and plastic), at one point, appeared that it was destined for slathering in Academy gold.

Amid vocal (and somewhat misguided) accusations of snubbery over Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig being left out of Best Actress and Best Director, respectively, the latest episode of EW's Awardist podcast (below) breaks down our final Oscar predictions — and attempts to highlight where Gerwig's commercial hit (inarguably pop culture's most impactful piece of cinema in years) could win big at the upcoming ceremony after its once-glistening prospects tumbled as the season raged on.

For those thinking that Barbie still has a shot at Best Picture, prepare yourself now to be as disappointed as Ken discovering that he was, indeed, a toxic man after all. Of the 10 Best Picture nominees the Academy has to choose from, Barbie has one of the weaker report cards; without nominations for Best Director, a leading performance, or Best Film Editing — typically indicators of major above-the-line traction — it probably sits among the lower tier of Best Picture nominees in voters' eyes. That's not to say there isn't deserved (and rightfully earned) passion for the well-reviewed, commercially beloved film. It's fantastic, and its eight overall nominations speak to its wide-reaching appeal across multiple Academy branches.

If anything, Barbie feels like a lock in only one category, though: Best Original Song, where Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell are primed to win their second category statuette for the soundtrack song "What Was I Made For?" but, if there's ever a time to dish out a no guts, no glory prediction, it's not the craziest thing in the world to think that Ryan Gosling's Mark Ronson/Andrew Wyatt concoction "I'm Just Ken" could pull off an upset on title recognition alone when voting opens to the whole Academy.

The other area Barbie could succeed in is Best Adapted Screenplay. It feels like a three-way race at this point, and there's still a question as to whether the so-so Oppenheimer script will go along for the ride as Christopher Nolan's film prepares to win Best Picture, or if Cord Jefferson's script for American Fiction will come out on top. It's a category dream for Oscar voters, as Fiction makes pointed social commentary about race in the popular culture of our reality, centered around a story about an artist — and the industry loves self-reflexive commentary above all.

Here is where the Academy's rare (but not non-existent) hive-mind mentality comes into play, and there could be enough of a reactionary swell following the "snubs" (again, not entirely accurate) of Gerwig and Robbie to push Gerwig into the winner's circle for her screenplay.

Barbie's chances in other categories are also far from locked, as its bids for Production Design and Costume Design feel threatened by the eye-catching, overt environments and aesthetic of Poor Things.

While most other major categories are buttoned up in favor of Oppenheimer, Nolan, Lily Gladstone, Robert Downey Jr., and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, developments in the Best Actor race — including one of EW's secret balloters revealing that there's overwhelming positive sentiment for Paul Giamatti and Jeffrey Wright — suggest that Cillian Murphy's hold on the category might not be as strong as his BAFTA/SAG victories (which occurred during the final window of Oscar voting) might suggest.

The 96th Academy Awards air Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC.

Check out more from EW's The Awardist, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year's best in TV.

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