Yidio Oscars 2012 Predictions: Who Will Win Best Supporting Actress?

In the Yidio Oscars Spotlight, we take a look at the key races at this year's Academy Awards. Today we look at the Best Supporting Actress Category, where the race is more or less locked up.

Best Supporting Actress

With five actresses who are mostly newcomers to the scene, this is an exciting year to see who will emerge as a first-time Oscar winner.

Past Winners

New names and established actresses tend to share this category, as we might see Melissa Leo win one year, and Cate Blanchett win another (in fact, we have!). That makes this year's field particularly exciting, as they are all fairly new names.

The Nominees

Jessica Chastain - "The Help"

Berenice Bejo - "The Artist"

Octavia Spencer - "The Help"

Janet McTeer - "Albert Nobbs"

Melissa McCarthy - "Bridesmaids"

What Critics are Saying

Octavia Spencer has swept so far, winning the Golden Globe, SAG award and BAFTA award. That makes her an easy favorite to win the category. However, McCarthy is a fun pick, and you can't count out just how much she is loved in the industry right now because of her hilarious performance in "Bridesmaids."

Though the other three gave great performances, none are likely to upset, though if any of them did it would probably be Bejo.

Prediction

Octavia Spencer is the safe bet here. If you need to make some very bold picks, you could go with McCarthy, but you're playing with fire on this one. Choose your upsets elsewhere.