Updated 4/21

The Power of the Dog	Passing	Nightmare Alley	Dune	The Tragedy of Macbeth
Jane Campion hasn’t had serious Oscar success since 1993, but with an acclaimed novel and a prime cast, this looks like it could be the one to bring her back.	Sundance hit from a well-respected actress-turned-director with a poignantly topical story and striking visuals	Guillermo Del Toro will forever be on Oscar’s radar thanks to his Best Director win, but his films are either huge awards successes or complete misses with no in-between	The Oscars like one or two blockbusters and they love an auteur. If the film hits big, expect a big awards reception.	The Coen’s rarely miss, but we will see when it is just one of the Coen brothers, but the addition of McDormand and Denzel should help.
Worth	The French Dispatch	Mass	Soggy Bottom	Parallel Mothers
Another Sundance entry, but with a 9/11 slant and filled with likeable performers. Could be a feel-good hit	Wes Anderson couldn’t get arrested by the Academy for years until he finally broke through. Now, they won’t leave him alone. We just need to wait to see it.	With American gun violence out of control, the timely message plus the positive buzz from Sundance could lead to big things for this indie	Every Paul Thomas Anderson movie means something, and we’ll see how experimental he gets with Cooper and a largely unknown cast	Despite five Oscar nods including Best Director, Pedro Almodovar has never directed a Best Picture nominee. Surely, that will change eventually, right?
		ALTERNATIVES
Three Thousand Years of Longing	Luca	Blonde	The Forgiven	Coda
George Miller’s Oscar success with Mad Max Fury Road automatically puts him in the spotlight, but Elba and Swinton should make things much more interesting	Animated hits have been right on the cusp of Best Picture success for years and if this one turns into a big hit, don’t be surprised when the Oscars come calling	My Week with Marilyn showed the Academy still cares about Marilyn Monroe in movie form, though Dominik has never been their cup of tea	Now that his brother is an Oscar success, can John Michael McDonough receive his own accolades? His films have been smaller, but Chastain and Fiennes could change the narrative	The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and AppleTV paid a king’s ransom to stream it. Maybe it could be their first awards breakthrough
		MORE ALTERNATIVES
Spencer	Canterbury Glass	Last Night in Soho	Don’t Worry Darling	Nine Days
Pablo Larrian movies are their own animal, but if this film hits, you never know. Jackie might have been closer to a Best Picture nomination than we think.	Russell’s film’s have had their Oscar success, but mostly in the acting categories. He hasn’t made a film since 2015 and may have soured since.	Edgar Wright seems primed for an awards breakthrough and Taylor-Joy might be his ticket. But, is the film more of a popcorn film or does it go deep enough for the Academy?	Olivia Wilde broke through in a big way with Booksmart and now a lot of eyes are on her next film. A fun cast could send this in Oscar’s direction	Maybe too weird and ethereal for Oscar, but the 2020 Sundance breakthrough will release in the Summer