The Early Predictions
- Steve Jobs (dir. Danny Boyle)
- Joy (dir. David O. Russell)
- The Walk (dir. Robert Zemeckis)
- The Revenant (dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu)
- Bridge of Spies (dir. Steven Spielberg)
- Brooklyn (dir. John Crowley)
- Demolition (dir. Jean-Marc Vallée)
- Money Monster (dir. Jodie Foster)
- The Danish Girl (dir. Tom Hooper)
You can find my full field of 43, ranked contenders right here.
Not Considered… Yet
There are few other titles I haven’t yet mentioned, all of which you can find right here, but I also wanted to mention a few that I didn’t include in my early predictions and the reasons why as I assume there are a few some of you might ask about in the comments below.
First there’s Joel and Ethan Coen‘s Hail, Caesar!. Why is it not included? Well, Universal has set a February 5, 2016 release date, which means it’s a 2016 film, not a 2015 film. I have to assume if they see an opportunity to usher it into theaters early due to a weak contenders field they will, but until then I feel it’s best to let it be for now.
There has been some suggestion Martin Scorsese‘s Silence may hit theaters this year, but I’ll believe it when I see it. The film did begin production at the end of January in Taiwan so it’s entirely conceivable it will be ready, and considering Paramount’s slate this year looks rather weak I’m sure they’ll be pushing him to get it done, just as The Wolf of Wall Street was delivered at the final hour.
And, what to do with Warren Beatty‘s untitled Howard Hughes project? Over at the New York Times, Michael Cieply wrote a few days ago, “[S]o far invisible and largely shot nine months ago, [Beatty’s film] may be nearing completion and could be ready for release this year.” Shot nine months ago and could be ready for release this year? Again, like Silence, this is a Paramount Pictures release and with a slate that includes unlikely awards season candidates in Terminator: Genisys and Mission: Impossible 5, they are going to want to get at least one of these on the schedule, but until they do, I won’t be adding them to the field.
But Braaaaaad!
I know, I know… There are plenty of films on my list of 43 total contenders — Truth, Trumbo, Icon, The Sea of Trees, Suffragette, The Last Face and The Light Between Oceans — that don’t have distributors or release dates. What can I say, they seem more like certainties to at least be released, even if by a smaller outfit such as IFC or a boutique distributor such as Sony Classics, and Lord knows the Weinstein Co. is always looking to beef up their awards season prospects.
Yes, there are more
If you actually tried counting all the films I mentioned so far you’ll probably notice I haven’t yet mentioned all 43 titles promised in the headline. Others include some of the bigger studio films such as Baltasar Kormakur‘s Everest, Antoine Fuqua‘s Southpaw starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Straight Outta Compton.
As for the rest of the field, you can find them all and their first-of-the-season rankings right here. So dig in and share your thoughts in the comments below. Go wild with your predictions, save the link to your comment and who knows, next year you may have a little something to brag about.
