Here’s How Each Best-Picture Nominee Could Win an Oscar
The New York Times
“Belfast” and “The Power of the Dog” will probably face off for the top prize, but each contender has a path to other statuettes. We explain.
For the first time in more than a decade, the Oscars have given us 10 best-picture nominees, and it’s an eclectic bunch that runs the gamut from space operas to psychological westerns. But which films have the inside track to actually take home the gold?
As your resident Projectionist, I’ve sized up all 10 nominees. Some have a real shot at winning best picture, while others could score in different categories if voters are eager to spread the wealth. In the meantime, you’ve got almost two months to catch up with these titles before the Oscars on March 27. Get cracking!
If the best-picture race comes down to “Belfast” and “The Power of the Dog,” as many expect, then the Oscar nominations may have exposed a few weaknesses for Kenneth Branagh’s black-and-white dramedy: Namely, “Belfast” failed to score bellwether nominations for editing and cinematography, while “The Power of the Dog” clinched both. And though “Belfast” did earn two acting nominations, those honors went not to the actors who had campaigned the most, Caitriona Balfe and Jamie Dornan, but to their older co-stars, Ciaran Hinds and Judi Dench, in the supporting categories.
