THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 66 OCTOBER 30, 2019
*Box office figures are global, as of Oct. 28.
HUSTLERS: COURTESY OF STX.RABBIT: COURTESY OF FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES.DOLEMITE: FRANÇOIS DUHAMEL/NETFLIX.POPES: PETER MOUNTAIN/NETFLIX.WOMEN: COURTESY OF COLUMBIA PICTURES.US
: CLAUDETTE BARIUS/UNIVERSAL.AERONAUTS: COURTESY OF AMAZON STUDIOS.BOMBSHELL:HILARY BRONWYN GAYLE/LIONSGATE.FORD: MERRICK MORTON/TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX.HOLLYWOOD: ANDREW COOPER/COLUMBIA PICTURES.PLAYBOOKAWARDS SEASON
201942 MOVIES
MOVING IN
ON OSCAR
THE CONTENDERS
W
hen the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
announced in August 2018 that the 92nd Oscars would
take place on Feb. 9, 2020, it marked the earliest date ever
for the awards. The move also set Hollywood abuzz with
talk of a truncated campaign season: three weeks shorter than in
recent years. It remains to be seen how this shorter race will affect
a film’s momentum, but as the season kicks off in earnest, the field
remains crowded with plenty of hopefuls.
Todd Phi l lips’ Joker took the season’s first big prize when it won
the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in August. It’s unusual
for a Hollywood studio production to be lauded at the fest, which
favors international auteurs, let alone a comic book movie. The vic-
tory solidified the Warner Bros. drama as an immediate contender,
though it’s not without controversy: When it screened at other
fests ahead of its Oct. 9 release, it was met with some criticism
for its violence.
Joker wasn’t the only strong debut at Venice. Noah Baumbach’s
Marriage Story earned serious buzz, and the Netflix title was one
of only a couple of films to do the four-festival tour of Venice,
Telluride, Toronto and New York. At Toronto, Fox Searchlight’s
Jojo Rabbit played especially strong and earned the audience
award, often an Oscar bellwether. And several actors — including
Renée Zellweger in Judy, Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers and Jonathan
Pryce in The Two Popes — made strong first impressions during
festival season.
While many films wait to debut (some, including Sam Mendes’
war drama 1917 and Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell, still haven’t
been seen), there are also a few trying to keep up momentum
months after premiering, namely Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon
a Time in Hollywood (it bowed in July but returned to theaters
Oct. 25 with an additional 10 minutes of footage). And the
Korean-language Parasite, which won the top prize in Cannes,
has become a breakout in the U.S. after opening in October with
the highest per-screen average of the year. Can it follow Roma’s
playbook to land nominations or wins in categories other than
international film?
Other big questions loom. Will Netflix, with several strong con-
tenders, including Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, have another
go at best picture? Will Apple’s first foray make a dent? As the race
revs up, THR takes a look at 42 top contenders vying for attention.Awards season is here, and dozens of films are ready
to shake up this slightly shorter race, from a group of
hungry hustlers to an imaginary friend named Hitler
By Rebecca Ford1917 (Universal)
RELEASE DATE Dec. 25
Sam Mendes’ World War I drama
that’s designed to look like it’s one
continuous take hasn’t screened
for media, but a well-executed
war epic could turn voters’
heads even with a fashionably
late arrival.Ad Astra (Fox)
RELEASE DATE Sept. 20
BOX OFFICE $125.8 million*
James Gray’s ambitious soul-
searching, space-exploring
drama follows Brad Pitt’s astro-
naut as he scours the galaxy for
his missing father (Tommy Lee
Jones).The Aeronauts (Amazon)
RELEASE DATE Dec. 6
The Theory of Everything
stars Felicity Jones and Eddie
Redmayne (both of whom earned
acting noms — and a win forRedmayne — for the 2014 biopic)
reunite to play a couple who
attempt to explore the sky via
hot air balloon.Avengers: Endgame (Disney)
RELEASE DATE April 26
BOX OFFICE $2.8 billion
Marvel broke into the best pic-
ture nominations in 2018 with
Black Panther. Endgame is now
the highest-grossing movie of
all time, and both Titanic and
Avatar — previous holders of that
distinction — got best picture
nominations (Titanic won).The Banker (AppleTV+)
RELEASE DATE Dec. 6
Is there room for another stream-
ing company in the awards race?
Apple steps in with this drama
starring Samuel L. Jackson and
Anthony Mackie as two men who,
in the 1960s, game the racist
system by establishing a bank
for themselves.