'The Revenant, ' Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
Distributor: Fox
Released: Dec. 25
Budget $135M | Box Office: $155.8M
Nominations: Picture; lead actor, Leonardo DiCaprio; supporting actor, Tom Hardy; director, Alejandro G. Inarritu; cinematography; costume design; film editing; makeup and hairstyling; production design; sound editing; sound mixing; visual effects
The Pitch: Everything you see onscreen is real — well, except for that angry mama bear. Inarritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, having established their bravura bona fides with last year's Oscar winner Birdman, brought it to the next level, toughing it out through an arduous shoot, which took them from Canada to Argentina. DiCaprio manned up by wading into frozen water and eating raw bison liver — and with four previous acting noms and no wins, he's due.
The Knock: Hey, didn't these guys just win? Many felt the movie was punishing. And as for DiCaprio, he didn't have all that much dialogue to master, and the best actor award has to be for more than enduring a Survivor-level challenge.