7 Comments

One missing contender this year is Challengers. It won last night for its score only - not a good sign that it will receive a lot of love this season. Easily my favourite movie of 2024.

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Challengers never seemed like an awards magnet of a movie, but I'm happy it's score is getting the recognition it deserves!

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Interesting that you say Madison is Anora's best shot at a major award. Does that imply you don't think Anora is the favorite for Best Picture at the Oscars, or Best Musical/Comedy at the Globes?

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More the former! I loved Anora and would be happy to see it emerge as a BP frontrunner, but I'm not sure it'll nab Best Picture or Best Director wins at this point since it's a pretty small movie compared to splashier, bigger movies like The Brutalist or Conclave. But that's what's fun about where we are right now: nothing has coalesced, so maybe my gut is totally wrong and we'll see Anora perform really well the next few weeks.

(Also no offense to the Globes but here I just meant the Oscars in terms of major awards.)

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Fascinating! I think that reflects how up in the air this awards season has been. There doesn't seem to be much consensus, be it amongst critics or the public or awards bodies. Although admittedly, maybe this is the norm, and my impression is simply because I've only paid attention to the Oscars for a few years prior, and last year's BP winner was basically a lock from July on.

That something like Anora and The Brutalist (and Nickel Boys!) is in the conversation at all makes me super happy. Although I'm anxious as I watch these precursors, and it becomes more and more possible that Wicked could muscle them out of the way. Not that Wicked was bad, it's just not the kind of movie I think needs any more laurels. Its laurels are its huge box office, which it will repeat this upcoming November.

Which of course all goes to the question of what the goal of the Oscars is, which I recall both of you writing about in this column before. And how interesting it is when ~10,000 people can all vote with their OWN ideas of what that is.

I agree with you that the acting awards are fairly set, and I can't see tonight's show upsetting that. I will hope against hope that Saldaña falls, though, as I greatly prefer most of the other nominees. Not to mention the egregious category fraud the studio committed to avoid Madison steamrolling her, throwing Gascón to the wolves in the process.

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I think hopefully with Wicked only getting the consolation Barbie prize of "Box Office crowd pleaser," even at the Globes which splits out musicals from dramas, we're in post-peak Wicked. (No offense to Wicked but Best Picture it's not.)

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Agreed. And good call on Anora! Proving there's a reason you guys bog about awards and I do not. XD

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