At Sunday night's Oscars, "Sinners" is looking like a potential winner.

Ryan Coogler's vampire tale has suddenly rocked the boat of what was looking like a slam-dunk best picture win for Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another." And late surges by the "Sinners" cast have upended a number of the evening's other top categories as well.

Here's a look at the Academy Awards' marquee races and how they're shaping up ahead of Sunday's show, which is looking like one of the most unpredictable Oscar telecasts in years.

Best picture

This race was in the bag for "One Battle After Another," until it wasn't. PTA's fiery portrait of a gang of ex-revolutionaries had won top honors at the Critics' Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, the Gotham Awards, the National Board of Review, the National Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle, and on and on. It was not only headed to a best picture win, but it was cruising toward it in near-unanimous fashion. And then "Sinners" came charging around the corner, picking up more nominations than any film in Academy Awards history, and now things aren't looking as rosy for "One Battle." "Sinners" won the outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture at the Actor Awards, and has been riding a wave of positive buzz into Sunday's show. Did "One Battle" peak too early? Is "Sinners" coming on just at the right time? Is "One Battle" the safe choice, and has "Sinners" become the cool pick? Could "The Secret Agent" benefit from this hand-wringing and come out of nowhere to win? It's anyone's guess. The safe money is still with "One Battle," but don't be surprised if the vampires from "Sinners" show up to take a bite out of the best picture prize.

Prediction: "One Battle After Another," but it's looking like a coin toss heading into Sunday.

Don't be surprised by: "Sinners."

Best actor

A guy makes one joke about the opera and everything goes haywire. Oscar voting had already closed by the time the video of Timothée Chalamet making some remarks about opera and ballet and their current place in the culture went viral, and even though the clip was taken out of context as rage bait, Chalamet's best actor campaign for his work in "Marty Supreme" had already gone a little bit sideways, thanks to his perceived bravado and chest puffery in the lead-up to the film's release. In his place, "Sinners'" Michael B. Jordan has risen for his dual role as brothers Smoke and Stack in the vampire story, pitting the two young actors — Jordan is 39, Chalamet is 30 — against each other at the top of the category. Jordan, who won the recent Actor Award, has a slight edge here, but even "The Secret Agent's" Wagner Moura can't be completely counted out. "One Battle's" Leo DiCaprio and "Blue Moon's" Ethan Hawke are on the outside looking in on this one; in a less competitive year, Hawke may have been able to gain some momentum, but his role as songwriter Lorenz Hart in "Blue Moon" never gained any awards season traction.

Prediction: Michael B. Jordan, "Sinners."

Don't be surprised by: Timothée Chalamet, "Marty Supreme."

Best actress

If there's one guarantee at the Academy Awards, if there's one guarantee in this life, if there's one bet you want to place in Vegas (or on your phone), if you want to put your car and your mortgage and your fate down on just one wager, if everything you've ever done in this lifetime has led to this one simple inevitability, it is that Jessie Buckley is going to win best actress for her role in "Hamnet." It was decreed the moment the movie world premiered at last year's Telluride Film Festival, and maybe even before then, when it was whispered into existence by some benevolent, all-seeing god, who saw the writing on the wall and said, "This one's in stone." Bank on it. Lock it in. Roll it up and smoke it. Unless Rose Byrne comes along and pulls the upset of all upsets, that is.

Prediction: Jessie Buckley, "Hamnet."

Don't be surprised by: Be surprised, be very surprised, if Rose Byrne for "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" comes along and somehow wins.

Best supporting actor

If Sean Penn didn't already have two Oscars, he'd be an absolute lock here, but he does have two Oscars, and he's Sean Penn, so nothing is guaranteed. So then it goes to Stellan Skarsgård for "Sentimental Value," right? Eh, you might have thought so a few months ago, but reception toward "Sentimental Value" never warmed up, and Benicio del Toro was just such a joy in "One Battle After Another," so maybe it should go to him? Well, del Toro's already got an Oscar (for "Traffic"), and Jacob Elordi is doing such thoughtful, emotive work in "Frankenstein" that maybe it should be him. Oh wait, but what about Delroy Lindo? He's never won an Oscar — before this he had never even been nominated! — and the Academy could give him an award now, for "Sinners." Folks, welcome to the most up-in-the-air category of the night, which could go any of five ways.

Prediction: Sean Penn, "One Battle After Another." But will he get kicked out of the Dolby Theater for smoking indoors?

Don't be surprised by: Delroy Lindo, "Sinners."

Best supporting actress

The "Sentimental Value" duo of Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas cancel each other out, so this is a three-way race between "One Battle After Another's" Teyana Taylor, "Sinners'" Wunmi Mosaku and "Weapons'" Amy Madigan. Taylor had the early juice but has since waned, while Madigan in "Weapons" has been surging, helped along by her recent win at the Actor Awards. Meanwhile, if Mosaku sweeps in and wins, it's an early tell that "Sinners" is about to have a big night.

Prediction: Amy Madigan, "Weapons."

Don't be surprised by: Teyana Taylor, "One Battle After Another."

Best director

Since things have gotten topsy-turvy for Paul Thomas Anderson in the best picture race, he should be able to secure his first Academy Award in this category. Ryan Coogler ("Sinners") could be a spoiler, but it's not likely; the others (Chloé Zhao for "Hamnet," Joachim Trier for "Sentimental Value" and Josh Safdie for "Marty Supreme") are just along for the ride.

Prediction: Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another."

Don't be surprised by: "Sinners'" Ryan Coogler is an extreme longshot, so consider yourself surprised if he wins.

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The 98th Academy Awards

When: 7 p.m. ET Sunday

How to watch: ABC and Hulu

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