While many award-winning movies are released at the end of the year, this year’s buzzy titles, like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Top Gun: Maverick are already being hailed as early awards season contenders.
Similarly, several highly-anticipated movies that are sure to capture the attention of the Academy will premiere in the latter half of the year. It might be because of the talent in front of or behind the camera or the ambitious and high-concept plot, but those participating in Oscar pools will want to pay attention to these movies.
Everything Everywhere All At Once (Currently In Theaters)
From the visionary minds of directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert comes Everything Everywhere All at Once, a multiversal adventure starring Michelle Yeoh. The plot follows a woman (Yeoh) who must connect with alternate versions of herself to prevent a powerful being from destroying the multiverse.
Everything Everywhere All at Once received universal acclaim from critics, who praised the inventiveness of the script and the film’s production values. Yeoh’s performance also garnered considerable praise, as did the work of her co-star Ke Huy Quan. The film was also a considerable commercial success, becoming A24’s highest-grossing domestic project, which bodes well for its awards prospects. Yeoh could receive her first-ever Oscar nomination, and there’s a strong possibility the movie grabs a Best Picture nod.
Top Gun: Maverick (Currently In Theaters)
Contrary to popular belief, blockbusters are far from foreign presences at the Academy Awards. This year, Top Gun: Maverick can be the big film that makes it even bigger at the Oscars. The legacy sequel follows Maverick’s (Tom Cruise) return to the Top Gun program to train a new generation of pilots, including Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of his deceased best friend, Goose.
Top Gun: Maverick could replicate Mad Max: Fury Road and Dune‘s success stories, dominating the craft categories at the 2023 Oscars. At the very least, the film should be a top contender in the Sound and Editing categories, with possibilities in Visual Effects, Cinematography, and Original Song for Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand.”
Cha Cha Real Smooth (June 17)
The Sundance Film Festival is always a great platform for indie films, and this year’s breakout seems to be Cooper Raiff’s comedy-drama Cha Cha Real Smooth. The film follows Andrew (Raiff), a man who works as a bar mitzvah party host and his developing relationship with a mother (Dakota Johnson) and her autistic daughter (Vanessa Burghardt).
Cha Cha Real Smooth received positive notices from critics, who praised Raiff’s direction and screenplay. The film has the potential to follow in the footsteps of other beloved comedies that received multiple Oscar nominations, and like last year’s Best Picture winner CODA, it will also be streaming on Apple TV+.
Killers Of The Flower Moon (November)
Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese will reunite for the sixth time in Killers of the Flower Moon, and this time, they’re bringing Robert De Niro — himself on his tenth collaboration with Scorsese — along for the ride. Based on a real-life story, the film will follow a series of murders in 1920s Oklahoma, committed after the discovery of oil on tribal lands.
Recent Oscar nominee Jesse Plemons and Lily Gladstone co-star in the film, adding further prestige to the project. Killers of the Flower Moon is currently the favorite of many experts to win Best Picture at the 2023 Oscars, and it’s easy to understand why. It only takes a quick look at the talent in front of and behind the camera to know this will be one for the ages.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 11)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will have the difficult task of addressing Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing and what it means for Black Panther’s legacy. Details of the plot remain under wraps, even as the film remains scheduled for a November 11 release.
Director Ryan Coogler is a proven talent by now, so hopes for the film are high. Its predecessor earned seven Oscar nominations and walked away with three statuettes, setting a precedent for Wakanda Forever‘s success. The emotional weight of the storyline will contribute to crafting a powerful narrative that could earn Marvel Studios another Best Picture nomination.
The Fabelmans (November 23)
Acclaimed directors doing semi-autobiographical films is often a recipe for success. Alfonso Cuarón and Kenneth Branagh both won Oscars for their personal black-and-white masterpieces, Roma and Belfast respectively, and now, Steven Spielberg is following in their footsteps.
The Fabelmans is a loose adaptation of Spielberg’s childhood from seven to eighteen years old and will star Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, and Paul Dano as fictional versions of Spielberg’s mother, uncle, and father. The cast alone is buzzy enough, but Spielberg’s involvement and deep connection to the film make it a surefire bet for Oscar glory. Williams and Rogen have very real shots at scoring nominations in the supporting actor categories, and the film could easily claim Best Picture.
Avatar: The Way Of Water (December 16)
James Cameron is an Oscar darling, and betting against him seems like a fool’s errand. The acclaimed director finally returns this year with the sequel to his smash-hit Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water. The film, set 10 years after the original, will follow the Sully family, although details remain unknown.
The first Avatar received nine Oscar nominations, winning three. Work on the sequel began in 2017, shooting back to back with the third film in the franchise. The production efforts have been herculean, and the Academy will surely take notice. Furthermore, Cameron is a revered director who has never helmed a bad picture; all odds seem to be in Avatar: The Way of Water‘s favor.
Babylon (December 25)
Oscar-winner Damian Chazelle’s highly-anticipated follow-up to La La Land is Babylon, a period drama starring Diego Calva, Margot Robbie, and Brad Pitt. Plot details remain unknown, but the film will take place during Hollywood’s Golden Age, with Robbie and Pitt playing Clara Bow and John Gilbert, respectively.
Babylon is one of the highest-profile upcoming films, mainly because of Chazelle’s involvement and the leading actors. It could finally win Robbie an Oscar and is a safe bet to net some craft category nominations. Actors like Tobey Maguire, who will play Charlie Chaplin, also have a shot at finally earning recognition from the Academy.
The Whale (No Confirmed Release Date)
Provocative auteur Darren Aronofsky will return this year with an adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter’s play The Whale. The film follows Charlie (Brendan Fraser), a 600-pound man trying to reconnect with his seventeen-year-old daughter (Sadie Sink, one of Stranger Things‘ many breakout actors) after abandoning her years earlier.
Alongside Fraser and Sink, the supporting cast includes Hong Chau, Samantha Morton, and Ty Simpkins. Aronofsky isn’t always a certainty when it comes to awards success, but if critics like the movie, it could mean first-ever acting nominations for Fraser and Sink.
