Look around. Do you see? Better movies are starting to find their way to theaters, after months of a creative, cultural drought. With Thanksgiving on the horizon, ticket buyers can actually choose from big-ticket franchise efforts (Doctor Strange, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) to crowd-pleasing animated features (Moana). And in addition, the Oscar contenders are finally starting to reach larger audiences. Moonlight, Loving, Nocturnal Animals and Manchester By The Sea and joining films like Allied, Arrival, Hacksaw Ridge and Bleed for This at multiplexes. It's a magical time of year.
This also means that Oscar analysts (myself included) are seeing more films, and the charts below can tighten up as mysterious films start to show their cards. Silence just released a trailer, and a few other movies have yet to fully pull back their curtains, but the majority of the playing field has been revealed as we head into Thanksgiving weekend. The Broadcast Film Critics Association will have their nominees on the table soon. The Indie Spirit Awards just revealed their nominees. And major regional critics groups, from New York to Los Angeles, will help make the larger Oscar picture a little more refined in coming weeks.
For the moment, here's where I think everyone stands:
Best Picture
The Frontrunners
The Contenders
Arrival
Fences
Hell or High Water
Jackie
Lion
Manchester By The Sea
Moonlight
Patriots Day
Sully
The Dark Horses
20th Century Women
The Founder
Hacksaw Ridge
Live By Night
Loving
A Monster Calls
Nocturnal Animals
Silence
The Longshots
Allied
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
The Birth of a Nation
Passengers
Rules Don't Apply
##
Best Director
The Frontrunners
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
The Contenders
Clint Eastwood, Sully
Pablo Larrain, Jackie
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea
Martin Scorsese, Silence
Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
Denzel Washington, Fences
The Dark Horses
Ben Affleck, Live By Night
J.A. Bayona, A Monster Calls
Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Jeff Nichols, Loving
Morten Tyldum, Passengers
Robert Zemeckis, Allied
The Longshots
Garth Davis, Lion
Jon Favreau, The Jungle Book
John Lee Hancock, The Founder
Ang Lee, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
David Mackenzie, Hell or High Water
##
Best Actor
The Frontrunners
Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea
Denzel Washington, Fences
The Contenders
Joel Edgerton, Loving
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Tom Hanks, Sully
Michael Keaton, The Founder
The Dark Horses
Ben Affleck, Live By Night
Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply
Andrew Garfield, Silence
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nocturnal Animals
Lewis MacDougall, A Monster Calls
Matthew McConaughey, Gold
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Miles Teller, Bleed for This
The Longshots
Ethan Hawke, Born to be Blue
Logan Lerman, Indignation
Nate Parker, The Birth of a Nation
Chris Pratt, Passengers
##
Best Actress
The Frontrunners
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
The Contenders
Amy Adams, Arrival
Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
Taraji P. Henson, Hidden Figures
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
The Dark Horses
Amy Adams, Nocturnal Animals
Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane
Marion Cotillard, Allied
Susan Sarandon, The Meddler
The Longshots
Kate Beckinsale, Love & Friendship
Emily Blunt, The Girl on the Train
Rebecca Hall, Christine
Jennifer Lawrence, Passengers
##
Best Supporting Actor
The Frontrunners
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
The Contenders
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Ralph Fiennes, A Bigger Splash
Lucas Hedges, Manchester By The Sea
Dev Patel, Lion
The Dark Horses
Kevin Costner, Hidden Figures
Adam Driver, Silence
Aaron Eckhart, Bleed for This
Aaron Eckhart, Sully
Ben Foster, Hell or High Water
Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
Simon Helberg, Florence Foster Jenkins
Liam Neeson, Silence
Jeremy Renner, Arrival
Peter Sarsgaard, Jackie
Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals
The Longshots
Tracy Letts, Indignation
Alan Rickman, Eye in the Sky
Mykelti Williamson, Fences
##
Best Supporting Actress
The Frontrunners
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
The Contenders
Felicity Jones, A Monster Calls
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Margot Martindale, The Hollars
Sienna Miller, Live By Night
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester By The Sea
The Dark Horses
Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women
Helen Mirren, Eye in the Sky
Janelle Monae, Hidden Figures
Lupita Nyong'o, Queen of Katwe
The Longshots
Leslie Mann, The Comedian
Julianne Moore, Maggie's Plan
