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Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey opens as the film to beat in the 2027 Oscar race, leading early predictions for Best Picture and Director while placing Matt Damon at the front of Best Actor. Its broad path runs through acting, cinematography, production design, score and sound. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three remains the principal threat, with Project Hail Mary positioned as an emotionally driven science-fiction alternative.

Details

• Best Picture: The Odyssey ranks ahead of Dune: Part Three, Project Hail Mary, The Debut and Fjord. Anne Thompson identified Nolan’s film as the contender to beat, while early responses praised its production design, action and large-format IMAX photography. Reservations focused on pacing, uneven narrative structure and some female characters, making support beyond spectacle important to its campaign.
• Director race: Nolan leads after Oppenheimer showed that a large-scale, intellectually ambitious studio film could win both Picture and Director. Villeneuve could close the gap if Dune: Part Three delivers a strong emotional conclusion. Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine offers a character-led alternative, while Palme d’Or winner Cristian Mungiu brings international prestige with Fjord.
• Acting races: Damon leads for Odysseus, a literary role combining epic scale with intimate drama; Thompson also named him a potential winner. His challengers include Tom Cruise in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger, Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary and John Malkovich in Wild Horse Nine. Best Actress is less settled, led by Zendaya for The Drama and Renate Reinsve for Fjord, with Emily Blunt, Olivia Wilde and Julianne Moore also in contention.
• Supporting contenders: Anne Hathaway leads Supporting Actress as Penelope, the emotional counterweight to Odysseus, although her campaign could place her in lead. Jeremy Strong heads Supporting Actor as Mark Zuckerberg in Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning, centred on Facebook disclosures linked to whistleblower Frances Haugen and the platform’s broader political and social consequences.
• Technical contest: The Odyssey fields Oppenheimer Oscar winner Hoyte van Hoytema in cinematography. Project Hail Mary has Greig Fraser, while Dune: Part Three carries the visual legacy of Villeneuve’s first two films. Cinematography, sound, visual effects and production design should indicate which blockbuster commands the broadest Academy backing.

Between the lines

The Odyssey’s advantage is cumulative: Nolan’s directing stature, Damon’s central performance, Hathaway’s acting-branch appeal and van Hoytema’s craft credentials create routes across the ballot. Dune: Part Three has the clearest chance to reverse the order if voters treat it as the culmination of Villeneuve’s series rather than another chapter.

What’s next

Autumn and winter festival screenings, followed by critics’ prizes and the first industry nominations, will test the unseen contenders against The Odyssey’s momentum and show whether Nolan retains the lead before final Oscar voting.