Meet This Year's Best Picture Contenders
As we head into the holiday season, we also head into the heart of film awards season. And once again, we are looking at a rather unpredictable year. Though cinemas have mostly reopened this year, the Oscar race is once again being impacted by the pandemic, with many films failing to reach the large audiences that would have greeted them in a normal year—or reaching them directly in their homes rather than on the big screen.
But the uncertainty doesn't mean we don't have a general idea of which films will contend for best picture nominations at the upcoming Oscars. We have surveyed industry experts, calculated the Metascores, and examined the top performing films at this year's major film festivals to come up with a list of 20 potential best picture contenders from 2021, plus a few bonus wildcards.
What is it? A feel-good drama from director Siân Heder about the sole hearing member (Emilia Jones) of a deaf Gloucester fishing family who decides to pursue her dreams of becoming a singer despite the disapproval of her mother (Marlee Matlin).
Why is it a contender? The crowd-pleasing if formulaic CODA (short for "Child Of Deaf Adults") got an early jump on the race by winning four awards (including the festival's top jury and audience prizes) at Sundance in February, where the film was also well-reviewed. And it will have the benefit of being available to stream for nearly six months prior to the announcement of Oscar nominations.
What are its chances? "Formulaic" usually isn't a problem for Oscar voters, and some experts place CODA into their top tier of contenders, though others have it just missing out. A year ago, Minari turned a sweep of the top two prizes at Sundance into a best picture nomination, though CODA's reviews aren't quite as strong. But Apple will be eager to push the film for consideration after spending a record $25 million to acquire CODA at the festival. Expect it to get a nomination.
When can I see it? It's streaming now on Apple TV+.
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