The trailer for “Dune” was released on September 9, and the three-minute preview was as epic as some full-length movies. So we asked our readers to let us know if they thought it looked like an Oscar winner. Almost all of them said the film will contend for something, but how many think it’s bound to win Best Picture? Scroll down for our complete poll results at the bottom of this post.
Only 15% of respondents said that “Dune” will win Best Picture, but another 47% think it will at least be nominated for that award, which makes a total of 62% of readers who agree that the sci-fi film will contend for the top prize. Another 21% voted that the film would be nominated in numerous categories, but not Best Picture, while another 14% argue that it will be relegated to one or two craft categories. Only 3% expect the film to be shut out entirely by the motion picture academy.
Science fiction and fantasy have historically been a tough sell at the Oscars, but things have been changing in the 21st century, starting with the “Lord of the Rings” juggernaut from 2001 to 2003. In recent years “Gravity” (2013) and “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) have dominated the awards, though neither of those films won Best Picture. Other movies like “The Martian” (2015) and “Black Panther” (2018) have competed for Best Picture, while the otherworldly fairy tale “The Shape of Water” (2017) actually won top honors.
And let’s not forget “Arrival” (2016), which was nominated for eight Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director (Denis Villeneuve) for telling the story of Earth’s first contact with aliens. As it happens, Villeneuve is also the man behind “Dune,” so he has a proven track record with breaking through the academy’s usual genre barrier.
Do you agree with our reader that he’ll do it again? The users who have made their early forecasts here in our predictions center certainly due. As of this writing the film ranks among the likely nominees for Best Picture and Best Director. But we’ll have a better idea once journalists and audiences actually get to see the whole extravagant film.
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
