A surprising front-runner is emerging in this year’s Oscar race. After Vulture’s Kyle Buchanan crowned “Spotlight”—Tom McCarthy’s meticulously fact-based drama about the Catholic sex abuse scandals—the presumptive winner back in September, it’s been treated as a shoo-in all year. The same was true last year, when Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” looked like it would sweep the awards—that is, until “Birdman” took the Producers and Directors Guild Awards late in the season, en route to a best picture win.
This year, another Alejandro G. Iñárritu film might be mounting its own last-minute push. After racking up 12 Oscar nominations—including best picture, best director (Iñárritu), best actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), best supporting actor (Tom Hardy), best cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki), and best editing (Stephen Mirrione)—“The Revenant” seems poised to be the Mexican director’s second champ in a row. Although Vegas bookies still favor “Spotlight” (with 4-5 odds) and the New York Post argued the “The Revenant” is still a long shot, the numbers are on Iñárritu’s side. The film with the most nominations usually wins picture. Last year, “Birdman” led with nine noms.