Kristen Stewart is a “luminous Lady Di” in Spencer, an imagining of “three agonizing days in the reluctant royal’s life” over a Christmas holiday spent at Sandringham, said USA Today.

The Guardian’s film critic Peter Bradshaw has already deemed it “the year’s best film”, and the Academy would “save time” by giving him the best actor title now, said the Evening Standard.īut The Tragedy of Macbeth may well return Denzel Washington “to his rightful place on the throne”, said Observer. Joel Coen’s take on the Shakespeare play will remind audiences why two-time Oscar-winner Washington “is the true king of Hollywood”. Meanwhile, Western epic The Power of the Dog should “well and truly silence Benedict Cumberbatch critics for good”, said the Metro, calling it “unquestionably” the performance of his career. His portrayal of Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Venus and Serena, has been described as one of the year’s great screen performances, but “of course, being the first frontrunner of the season is a dangerous game”, said Forbes. Though other contenders “fit the bill, they can’t hold a candle to the scale and grandeur” of this musical retelling.įorbes said in October that “the best actor Oscar is Will Smith’s to lose”. Now nods in the picture and director categories are all but certain for Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake. “Few films have ever won more Oscars than the 1961 musical West Side Story,” said pop culture writer Kyle Buchanan at The New York Times. Others think the Best Picture might go to a musical.

After eight Oscar nominations and no wins for director Paul Thomas Anderson, this movie could finally be the one that gets him an award, said Vanity Fair. Germain Lusssier, entertainment editor for Gizmodo, described the LA-based screenplay as “perfection”, while IndieWire’s chief film critic David Ehrlich said it reaches “god-tier” heights. The first reactions to another coming-of-age drama, Licorice Pizza, suggest it too could be a contender. It’s at least a “particularly strong candidate”, said the magazine, “if not the outright winner”. “We have seen next year’s big Oscar winner, and it is Belfast,” declared Rolling Stone, after Kenneth Branagh’s sentimental memory piece about growing up in Ireland received a “rapturous” screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The submissions are underway, and Hollywood pundits are offering their tips on the most likely winners. “This is the first time since 2008 that the ceremony will take place in March,” said Screen Daily, “having moved to avoid conflicting with the Winter Olympics.” The 94th Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theatre on 27 March 2022.

Best actress 2021