Will everyone go home a winner on Oscar night? As in all the Best Picture nominees. Since the academy expanded the Best Picture lineup nine years ago, only once has all the Best Picture nominees taken home at least one statuette: the 87th Academy Awards, held in 2015 for the films of 2014. Could it happen again this year?
Just like the 87th Oscars, there are “only” eight Best Picture nominees this year; eight is the fewest amount since the academy switched to a sliding scale between five and 10 films seven years ago. The fewer there are, the easier it is, of course, for every nominee to become a champ.
Four years ago, “Birdman” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” won four Oscars each; the former’s wins were biggies, including Best Picture and Best Director for Alejandro G. Inarritu, while the latter’s victories were all below the line, including Best Original Score and Best Production Design. “Whiplash” was next with three wins, highlighted by J.K. Simmons being named Best Supporting Actor. All the other Best Picture nominees scored one award: Best Sound Editing for “American Sniper”; Best Supporting Actress for “Boyhood” star Patricia Arquette; Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Imitation Game”; Best Original Song for “Selma”; and Best Actor for “The Theory of Everything” star Eddie Redmayne.
SEE Can ‘Roma’ overcome editing snub to win the Best Picture Oscar?
This year, all eight Best Picture nominees are outright frontrunners in some categories or strong contenders in second place in others, based on our combined odds. So Oscar night could play out like this:
“Black Panther” (7 nominations): costume design, production design or original score
“BlacKkKlansman” (6): adapted screenplay
“Bohemian Rhapsody” (5): actor
“The Favourite” (10): original screenplay, costume design or production design
“Green Book” (5): supporting actor or original screenplay
“Roma” (10): picture, director, cinematography or foreign language film
“A Star Is Born” (8): original song or sound mixing
“Vice” (8): editing or makeup and hairstyling
It will be the trickiest for “Black Panther,” which is the only Best Picture nominee not to be the predicted winner in any of its categories, but the superhero flick is in tight races in costume design and production design with “The Favourite.”
If every nominee does go home with a participation trophy Oscar, then we can officially say eight is enough.
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