"Spotlight" may be the early frontrunner, but it faces some serious competition from four big studio films.
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After months of speculation and predictions, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have finally announced their nominations for best picture. As expected, Tom McCarthy's early frontrunner "Spotlight" made the cut, and it seems to be taking the same route as "Boyhood" last year in that it is a critically beloved indie that also happens to be relatively small scale and very talkie.
While "Spotlight" may seem like the early frontrunner, the drama faces some serious competition from four strong studio nominees, all of which joined the journalism drama as DGA nominees. These titles are "The Big Short" and "The Revenant, " both of which have been surging at the box office lately, and the latter of which won three Golden Globes, including best picture, as well as "The Martian" and "Mad Max: Fury Road." Rounding out the nominees are "Bridge of Spies, " "Room" and "Brooklyn, " though none of them are posing a serious threat to the top five.
Below is Anne Thompson's take on how things might shake down in the race for best picture. Check out Thompson on Hollywood's Oscar predictions page for more awards season analysis. Click here for more category breakdowns on Indiewire.
Nominees:
"Spotlight"
"The Big Short"
"The Revenant"
