2027 Oscars: Early Best Picture Contenders to Watch

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By TRH Entertainment Desk

The race for the 99th Academy Awards is already heating up Nolan, Sorkin, Cruise and Iñárritu are all in the mix — here’s who’s leading the early Oscar buzz.

Mumbai, August 3, 2026 — The 98th Academy Awards are barely a memory, but Hollywood’s next big race is already underway. With the 99th Academy Awards set for March 14, 2027, industry trackers are laying early groundwork for what could be a stacked Best Picture field.

Nolan and Sorkin Lead the Pack

Much of the season’s early buzz centers on Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to his Best Picture win for “Oppenheimer.” According to Variety’s Awards Circuit predictions, updated in late July, “The Odyssey” currently leads projected nomination counts with 14, ahead of “Dune: Part Three” with 12 and “The Debut” with nine.

Sony’s awards hopes may rest on Aaron Sorkin, whose “The Social Reckoning” stars Jeremy Strong as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Gold Derby’s awards analysis notes the film has quickly earned a reputation as the season’s designated “Serious Movie for Grown-Ups,” a status previously held by films like “Spotlight,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” and “The Social Network.”

A Cruise Redemption Story

Away from the prestige-drama lane, entertainment sites are watching Tom Cruise’s most serious awards push yet. Per early-odds coverage, “Digger,” directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, has Cruise sitting at +400 early odds for a first Academy Award.

Entertainment Weekly rounded out the acting-side conversation by noting that Timothée Chalamet, Amy Adams, Tom Cruise and Octavia Spencer all have high-profile projects positioning them as early contenders, alongside returning awards favourites like Iñárritu, Nolan and Martin McDonagh.

Cannes Carries Over

The fall festival circuit is expected to reshuffle the race significantly, but this year’s Cannes lineup already left a mark. IndieWire’s coverage of the festival’s aftermath highlighted Neon’s Nigerian generational drama, featuring Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo alongside David Oyelowo and Ayo Edebiri, as a title expected to gain momentum on the fall circuit. The site also flagged Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s follow-up to “Drive My Car” as a potential multi-category player, including Picture, Original Screenplay and Director, should Neon campaign it well.

Variety separately pointed to Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine,” led by John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Mariana di Girolamo, as generating “massive early buzz,” with Searchlight Pictures pushing hard after coming up empty with “The Banshees of Inisherin”. Cannes itself also produced two contenders worth tracking, per Variety: Palme d’Or winner “Fjord” from Cristian Mungiu, and the tied best director winners “Fatherland” from Paweł Pawlikowski and a collaboration from Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo.

A Wildcard From New York

One late addition is turning heads. AwardsWatch industry trackers flagged Tony Gilroy’s fall premiere as significant, noting that Gilroy’s “Behemoth!” landing the Centerpiece Selection slot at the New York Film Festival is one of the season’s most significant early signals.

Long Road to Nominations

The road to nominations is long. Variety confirms the key dates ahead: the Governors Awards will honour Glenn Close and Ridley Scott on November 15, preliminary shortlist voting runs December 7–11 with shortlists announced December 15, and nominations voting follows January 11–15, 2027. Official nominations will be unveiled January 21, 2027, with the ceremony airing live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre, hosted by Conan O’Brien.

With the fall festivals — Telluride, Toronto, Venice, and New York — still to come, this list is far from final. But the early positioning already suggests a competitive, star-studded season ahead.