Meet This Year's Best Picture Contenders
If your leftover Halloween candy pile is down to a few stray pieces of Laffy Taffy* and Tootsie Rolls, it can mean only one thing: It's time for film awards season!
Which films will contend for the Oscars' biggest prize in March? To find out, 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 15 potential best picture contenders from 2022, plus more than a dozen bonus wildcards. In a welcome change, this year's best picture slate could include multiple films that you've heard of—in fact, it could include some of the year's most successful films at the box office. So let the guessing game begin ...
* Please take our Laffy Taffy.
What is it? An Antoine Fuqua-directed, true-story-inspired 19th century drama about a brutally tortured slave (Will Smith) who escapes and embarks on a perilous to the North, where he joins the Union Army.
Why is it a contender? The subject matter makes Emancipation an instant contender. Distributor Apple will be hungry to prove that its best picture win last year (for CODA) wasn't a fluke—and Emancipation looks like its best chance at cracking the field this year.
What are its chances? Impossible to predict—and a lot will depend on just how good the film is. (That should ideally be the case for all best picture contenders, but, well, you know.) Normally, the subject matter alone would mark Emancipation as a sure thing, but a funny thing happened on its way to theaters: The film's star slapped a presenter on stage during last year's Academy Awards broadcast, a moment that upstaged the awards themselves. That should rule out a nomination for Smith himself—and he cannot attend the ceremony if he somehow does get nominated—and could tank Emancipation's overall Oscar hopes. But an informal survey by The Hollywood Reporter suggested that some Academy voters might be willing to move past The Slap and consider the movie (aside from its star) on its merits.
When can I see it? Emancipation will open in theaters on December 2nd and begin streaming on Apple TV+ on December 9th.
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