It was just two weeks ago when the internet gasped at Green Book’s Best Picture win at the Oscars and cheered for Rami Malek’s Best Actor. But the 2019 Oscars are now behind us and, shockingly enough, movies for next year’s race have already started coming out. Here’s a rundown of movies that you should keep an eye on in the awards race next year.
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Us– This is Jordan Peele’s follow up to Get Out, which garnered four Oscar nominations in 2017 and won Best Original Screenplay. The reviews have already started to roll in for Us after its premiere at the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival, with some even referring to Peele as “this generation’s Alfred Hitchcock” and praising the performance of Oscar winner Lupita Nyongo. The horror genre seldom breaks through at the Oscars though, but we’ll just have to wait and see if Peele can break through that barrier again.
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Rocketman– After the success of Bohemian Rhapsody, don’t be surprised if this Elton John biopic becomes a huge hit. With Taron Egerton having been hand-picked by John himself, he’s bound to be good (and don’t just take my word for it, watch this and this and you’ll see he can sing). If Rami Malek can get Oscar gold from lip-synching, imagine what Egerton might be able to do by using his actual voice.
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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood– Quentin Tarantino. Leonardo DiCaprio. Those two names alone have probably already secured it at least a couple nominations just by existing. This movie is also going to be the late Luke Perry’s final acting credit, so that might also hold some traction with some of the younger Academy members.
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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood– Tom Hanks is playing the beloved Fred Rogers. Even though the Oscars snubbed Won’t You Be My Neighbor this year, I doubt they’ll repeat that mistake with Hanks in the TV icon’s shoes.
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Little Women– Greta Gerwig is at the helm of this film starring Emma Thompson, Meryl Streep, Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet, Laura Dern… the list is simply too long to list all of the talented actors in this rendition of the classic story. Gerwig greatly engaged audiences with her solo directorial debut Lady Bird, so the question is can she strike gold twice?
Obviously, these aren’t all the films coming out this year that stand a chance in next year’s Oscar race, but these are just some that already seem to be rising to a prominent level.