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? The bittersweet true story of an American soldier deployed in Iraq who chronicles his relationship with a New York Times reporter in a journal for their son. It's based on the memoir by Dana Canedy (who is played in the film by Chanté Adams).
Why is it a contender? It's the first film directed by Denzel Washington since 2016's Fences, a best picture nominee. (Washington's two other directorial efforts also received positive reviews.) And it stars Michael B. Jordan (who, it should be noted, is not the Jordan in the title) in an atypical role that could make the actor a contender for his first Oscar nomination.
What are its chances? Not as good as you might think, according to early forecasts: Most experts have the romantic tearjerker in a lower tier of contenders and missing out on a nomination. But there's a major catch: No one has seen the film yet. If Jordan receives positive reviews upon its release, expect its chances to improve considerably.
When can I see it? On Christmas Day, in theaters.
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