“OBAA” stays on top but “Sinners” is on the rise

by Cláudio Alves

SINNERS is gaining steam and catching up. | © Warner Bros.

It’s been two weeks since our last update on regional critics prizes and other such organizations. Much has happened in the meantime, though One Battle After Another remains the frontrunner with the most wins. And yet, Sinners is starting to show some strength. So far, Coogler’s southern gothic vampire proto-musical mélange is the only film to take Best Picture honors away from PTA’s latest. That’s not to say these are the only choices on voters’ minds. In a season already full of repetition, when notions of “spreading the wealth” are thoroughly repudiated, the runner-up mentions often tell a more interesting story than the winners' list. Just look at the LAFCA…

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The Golden Globe Nominations are here!

by Eric Blume

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER leads the pack with nine Globe nominations. | © Warner Bros.

The 83rd Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning, and, despite a few clunkers, I'm going to give a HOT TAKE and say that, overall, these nominations are pretty fantastic. It'll be interesting to see how Oscar voters screw them up! But then, I'll go out on a limb with another HOT TAKE and say that, often, the Globes do better than Oscar wins for Brokeback Mountain, The Social Network, The Power of the Dog, Colin Ferrell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, etc. Let's take a look category by category...

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Critics Choice Voters All Infected By "Sinners"

by Nathaniel R

SINNERS

As a voting member, despite my votes rarely being reflected in nominations, it is my duty to share the annual Critics Choice Award Nominations. As is increasingly the case in modern awards voting, hardly a problem unique to the CCAs, there is far less spread the wealth than there use to be. I believe this is an unintended consequence of expanded Best Picture lists which theoretically narrow voters ideas about a) what they should watch and b) what they should vote for without "wasting" their precious few ballot spots. This year FOUR pictures had double digit nominations with Ryan Coogler's genre hopping vampire picture Sinners scoring 17 (gulp) nominations, just one shy of Barbie's all time record (18). One Battle After Another was in second place with 14 nominations. 

Anyway let's get to the nominations, some commentary, and a few Oscar punditry notes, too.... 

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One Award After Another

by Cláudio Alves

Jafar Panahi on the set of IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT | © Neon

In the blink of an eye, the awards season goes from a sleepy little non-starter into a breakneck race for gold. In the past few days, various organizations announced their prizes, so it's time to start doing more of these round-ups. Though, if things continue to go the way of these first few groups, you'll soon grow tired of reading One Battle After Another at the top of these things. PTA's critical darling won the top honor at the Gotham Film Awards, from the New York and Atlanta critics, as well as the NBR.

But that wasn't the only story of the past few days. Iranian dissident director Jafar Panahi has, again, been sentenced to prison, banned from travelling or making films. As the It Was Just An Accident auteur has been living outside Iran since his last travel ban was lifted in 2023, the proceedings were conducted in absentia, and Panahi remains free. However, he has said he'll return to Iran to complete his sentence after the season ends. May these awards and encompassing media circus provide a platform for the director to speak up before he is silenced once more…

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Oscar Volleys: Best Picture could be more multicultural than ever before!

The Oscar Volleys are back! Tonight, it's time for Eric Blume, Eurocheese and Nick Taylor to discuss the Best Picture race...

HAMNET, Chloé Zhao | © Focus Features

ERIC: Hi gentlemen, I'm looking forward to our three-way... to talk about the ten possible Best Picture nominees. We're just starting to get some clarity on early predictions, so we might as well add our own two cents regarding the big race. Do you both agree that the two absolute lockshere are One Battle After Another and Hamnet? It's fun that they are two very different films that generate very different feelings, OBAA being sort of the "head" movie and Hamnet being the "heart" movie? That's an oversimplification, of course, but I don't think it's untrue…

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