2018 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Picture

February 21, 2019

Roma

With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. We end with the biggest award of the night: Best Picture. I don’t know who’s going to win. I think I know who the favorite is, but there are five films here that could win and I wouldn’t really be surprised.

Best Picture

Black Panther
Tomatometer Score: 97% Positive
Total Oscar Nominations: Seven
Golden Globe Nominations: Three
Golden Globe Wins: None
BAFTA Nominations: One
BAFTA Wins: One
Guild Nominations: Four
Guild Wins: Two
Notes: This was the biggest film of the year and a lot of the general public think this film should win the Best Picture Oscar. However, it is a comic book movie and a lot of Oscar voters don’t take comic book movies seriously enough for this to have a shot at winning. I would love if it won, but I would also be shocked.

BlacKkKlansman
Tomatometer Score: 96% Positive
Total Oscar Nominations: Six
Golden Globe Nominations: Four
Golden Globe Wins: None
BAFTA Nominations: Five
BAFTA Wins: One
Guild Nominations: Six
Guild Wins: None
Notes: This film has done well during Awards Season picking up a lot of major nominations. However, it has had trouble converting those nominations into wins and I really don’t think it will change that streak when it comes to the Best Picture Oscar. That said, I also don’t think it will go home empty handed.

Bohemian Rhapsody
Tomatometer Score: 61% Positive
Total Oscar Nominations: Five
Golden Globe Nominations: Two
Golden Globe Wins: Two
BAFTA Nominations: Seven
BAFTA Wins: Two
Guild Nominations: Three
Guild Wins: One
Notes: This film just isn’t Award-worthy, not as a whole. There are parts that deserve recognition, but the overall film follows the musical biopic formula too much to stand out. On the other hand, it has won some major awards so far, so I wouldn’t be completely shocked if the film won. I would be more than a little annoyed, on the other hand.

The Favourite
Tomatometer Score: 94% Positive
Total Oscar Nominations: Ten
Golden Globe Nominations: Five
Golden Globe Wins: One
BAFTA Nominations: Twelve
BAFTA Wins: Seven
Guild Nominations: Four
Guild Wins: None
Notes: Despite its name, this movie was never the favorite to win the Best Picture Oscar. Even after it tied for first place with ten Oscar nominations, it still wasn’t seen as a serious contender for the top prize. If it does win, I would be happy, but more than a little surprised.

Green Book
Tomatometer Score: 79% Positive
Total Oscar Nominations: Five
Golden Globe Nominations: Five
Golden Globe Wins: Three
BAFTA Nominations: Four
BAFTA Wins: One
Guild Nominations: Five
Guild Wins: Two
Notes: A Tomatometer Score of 79% positive is just not Oscar-worthy. Despite this, the film has not only earned a lot of major nominations, it has been able to convert many of those into wins. This has led many to think it is the favorite to win the Best Picture Oscar. I think that was true in the past, but its stock has fallen and this is no longer the case. I’m not saying it won’t win, but it is no longer the favorite.

Roma
Tomatometer Score: 96% Positive
Total Oscar Nominations: Ten
Golden Globe Nominations: Three
Golden Globe Wins: Two
BAFTA Nominations: Seven
BAFTA Wins: Four
Guild Nominations: Three
Guild Wins: One
Notes: Four different films have been seen as the favorite to win the Best Picture Oscar. Roma was slow to climb to the top, but it appears to have peaked at the right time to win it all.

A Star is Born
Tomatometer Score: 90% Positive
Total Oscar Nominations: Eight
Golden Globe Nominations: Five
Golden Globe Wins: One
BAFTA Nominations: Seven
BAFTA Wins: One
Guild Nominations: Eight
Guild Wins: None
Notes: This film is the opposite of Roma. It peaked way too early and its chances of winning the Best Picture Oscar have fallen so much that it is no longer really in the race anymore.

Vice
Tomatometer Score: 66% Positive
Total Oscar Nominations: Eight
Golden Globe Nominations: Six
Golden Globe Wins: One
BAFTA Nominations: Six
BAFTA Wins: One
Guild Nominations: Five
Guild Wins: None
Notes: How did this film get nominated for the Best Picture Oscar? Bohemian Rhapsody was nominated thanks to its music, but I’m not sure how this film has done so well during Awards Season. I really think it is the longest of the long shots on this list.

Conclusion: Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book, and A Star is Born were all at one time considered the favorite to win the Best Picture Oscar. However, they have all seen their stock fall leaving Roma as the new favorite.


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Filed under: Awards Season, A Star is Born, Vice, Roma, Bohemian Rhapsody, BlacKkKlansman, The Favourite, Green Book