By Lauren LaMagna 

The multiverse is in right now. Three major films have already, or will be, featuring the concept: "Spider-Man: No Way Home," "Everything Everywhere All At Once," and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." We can also include the first season of "Loki" and 2018's "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" in this discussion. Basically, everyone cannot get enough of the multiverse. Why is that?

By Robert Dougherty 

​No matter how one values or doesn't value the critics' section of awards season, their results were pretty clear this year. Their overwhelming choices included "The Power of the Dog" for Best Picture, Jane Campion for Best Director, Benedict Cumberbatch for Best Actor, Kristen Stewart for Best Actress, Kodi Smit-McPhee for Best Supporting Actor, Ariana DeBose for Best Supporting Actress, "Licorice Pizza" for Best Original Screenplay and "The Power of the Dog" again for Best Adapted Screenplay. But on Oscar night, every single one of those critical winners except for Campion and DeBose lost in the biggest divide we've seen between Academy voters and critics of this era.

By Hunter Friesen 

Just as the 2021 awards season concludes, it's time to get excited and speculate about another film festival. Often considered the most prestigious festival in the world, the Cannes Film Festival is where many renowned international auteurs show off their work. Last year's edition was the first one since the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the 2020 edition, with Spike Lee's jury awarding the coveted first place Palme d'Or to Julia Ducournau's "Titane," making the French director only the second woman to direct a Palme d'Or winning film (Jane Campion did it first in 1993 for "The Piano"). Even though it often contains a small selection of American titles, Cannes still plays a sizable role in the Oscar race. Along with "Titane," last year's festival saw the launches of players such as "The Worst Person in the World" and "Drive My Car." In prior years, "Parasite," "Amour," "The Tree of Life," and even "Pulp Fiction" began their awards season journeys on the Croisette.

By Amy Smith 

It seems like most people are still fixated on a particular incident that occurred at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday night, and it is understandable why. However, there is something to be said about how the Academy handled the ceremony itself. Even before the event occurred, I found myself extremely disappointed in how the night was being presented. There are many things from the telecast that ABC and the Academy should be looking at and changing for the 95th ceremony next year, and some of them are easier to fix than expected. Breaking down each aspect, I am here to give suggestions as to how to fix the Oscars.

By Will Mavity 

​Winning an Oscar can be a career or even a life-changing event for some. But for most of this year's winners, the day after Oscar night also means just going back to work the next day. Nearly every Oscar winner is already booked for an upcoming project.

Here is what this year's Oscar winners are up to next...

By Daniel Howat 

As one Oscar season ends, another begins. We're three months into 2022, so it's time for our way-too-early Oscar predictions for 2022. It's never too soon to dive into the potential contenders for the year and analyze how they might factor into the race. Of course, being nearly a full year until the Oscars, think of this more as a guide of films to keep an eye on rather than legitimate predictions. Still, it's always fun to see how close we could get this far out. Check out our early 2021 predictions here.

Before listing my official predictions, please take a look at the dozens of contenders we're keeping an eye on as we journey toward the 95th Academy Awards. Remember that plenty of films are not yet on our radar this far out. For instance, I anticipate at least one non-English language film in the eventual Best Picture lineup, but it's more challenging to know what those contenders are at this point. The same goes for smaller independent films from newer filmmakers that will hopefully break out at the fall festivals. Still, there are several films from established filmmakers competing for awards this year, and these are just some of the films we'll anticipate along the way.

​By Robert Dougherty 

​Countless words will be written about how "CODA" pulled off its heartwarming Best Picture victory and about how it is the most unprecedented winner of our lifetime. Almost every statistic that had held over the last 80 or so years would back that up, as movies that only get three overall nominations, no below-the-line nominations, and no DGA nomination could never even come close to winning Best Picture until this moment. But in another context, a win for a film like "CODA" over a film like "The Power of the Dog" is somewhat right on schedule.

By Tom O'Brien 

Much has already been written about the remarkable journey "CODA" has taken from its January 2021 premiere at the Sundance Film Festival to its Best Picture win at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday night. With "CODA's" victory, the book of Oscar statistics that many of us prognosticators cling to every year when making our predictions has been thoroughly stomped on and thrown out the car window. For example, it's the first film in nearly 90 years to win Best Picture with no nominations in below-the-line categories. With the exception of "Birdman," "CODA" is the first film in over 40 years to win without a Best Film Editing nomination and its first in over 30 years to win without its director not receiving a nomination from the Directors Guild of America. Just amazing.

But that's all about "CODA's" past. Looking forward, what of "CODA's" future? Here are five significant takeaways that I think we can draw from "CODA's" Best Picture win.

By Will Mavity 

​When Jane Campion's "The Power of the Dog" was nominated for twelve Academy Awards on Oscar nomination morning, it exceeded most pundits' wildest expectations. Not only did it secure nominations in obvious categories like Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography, it also landed surprise nominations in categories like Best Production Design and surprise double Best Supporting Actor nominations. Meanwhile, "Belfast," the film many had pegged as the "The Power of the Dog's" most significant threat, underperformed missing nominations for Caitriona Balfe in Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing. Nothing else overperformed. "King Richard" did not manage surprise nominations like Best Original Score or Best Supporting Actor for Jon Bernthal. "Licorice Pizza," "Dune," "Don't Look Up," and "West Side Story" got as many nominations as expected or fewer nominations than expected. "CODA" barely registered, only receiving nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor. Surely, these were not the signs of a threat to win Best Picture.

By Zoe Rose Bryant 

Every year, as Oscar obsessives push back against the implementation of preposterous adjustments or additions to the ceremony, express their concern about populist pictures potentially crowding out underseen but more artistically audacious indies, or simply profess their passion for their personal picks and predictions in contentious categories, they're often met with the same condescending question from casual onlookers: "Why do you care so much?" In truth, to someone outside the Oscar blogger sphere - and the entire cinephile community - it's easy to see why the Oscars might not be a top priority. With the world currently engulfed in war and prejudiced politicians launching more attacks on the LGBTQ+ community with every passing day, it may seem that there are more important topics to exert energy into.

By Matt Neglia

​The 94th Academy Awards are this Sunday. After reading and listening to our predictions, all that's left now is for you to tell us what you think is going to win this Sunday. Click below to enter into our contest to predict the 2022 Oscars. All categories must be predicted with the submission deadline being the day of the awards right before the ceremony begins. The winner will receive one of the Best Picture nominees of their choosing on 4K UHD, Blu-Ray or DVD (Sorry, but this only applies to U.S. entries only).

Click below to enter in your picks for the contest and to see the Next Best Picture team's final Oscar winner predictions. 

​Best of luck and enjoy the show!

By Matt Neglia

​It's finally here. The 94th Academy Awards will be held this Sunday on ABC. I'm sorry my series of Predicting The Winners Of The 94th Academy Awards articles could not go up in time this year. I've been busier than I've ever been in my entire life, both with the site and my personal life, and writing such in-depth analysis is such a time commitment. For my full thoughts on all 23 categories, I highly urge you to listen to our over 4-hour-long podcast we released on Sunday discussing our final predictions with my brilliant team. For now, this will be a general summary of my final predictions. So let's dive in!

By Matt Neglia 

We've seen your picks for this year's Oscars, and now, it's time for the Next Best Picture team to reveal or own! We may not be actual voters, but we take the nominees seriously, as we make sure to see all of the nominees every year. Each member of the NBP team filled out their "If I voted for the Oscars" fantasy ballot, and the results can be found below. For a true blast from the past, check out our choices for the 2018, 2019, and 2020 Academy Awards. The votes were tabulated in the same manner as the actual Academy Awards - Best Picture was decided using a ranked preferential ballot, and all other categories went to the nominee with the most votes.

And the (imaginary) Oscar goes to...

By Will Mavity & Matt Neglia 

Oscar voting is officially over for the 94th Academy Awards, and now we are just waiting for the awards to be handed out this Sunday. Matt and I spoke to several Academy voters about what they are voting for and why.
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Here is what 8 of them have to say...

By Ryan O'Toole 

​​Ariana Debose has won the Golden Globe, Critics Choice, BAFTA, and SAG awards for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg's 2021 adaptation of "West Side Story." She is now the odds-on favorite to win the Oscar, and if she were to win, she would be the second person to win for playing the character of Anita after Rita Moreno won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for playing the same role sixty years ago in the 1961 Best Picture-winning "West Side Story."

Anita would join the hallowed halls of movie characters who have won multiple Oscars. Obviously, actors get nominated and win multiple Oscars all the time, but the characters they play sometimes get that same honor and receive multiple nominations. It is a feat that has happened sporadically across the ninety-four years of the Academy. Here is a comprehensive history of all the times a character has been nominated multiple times at the Oscars.

By Robert Dougherty 

​With one fell swoop cast by the Producers Guild of America, "The Power of the Dog" lost its Best Picture lead that it had built since September 2021 all in one night. Now with just days to recover before the Oscars on March 27th, all the momentum and all the storybook Cinderella narratives are in "CODA's" favor, despite its historic disadvantages elsewhere. Yet despite having just three Oscar nominations, no DGA nomination, and almost no Best Picture wins of any kind until this final stretch, "CODA" has now turned "The Power of the Dog" into the last-minute underdog of this race. However, if "CODA" could really win Best Picture in a way that nothing else has in modern history, then "The Power of the Dog" winning after a PGA loss on a preferential ballot doesn't seem so unbelievable. In fact, there is much more recent precedent for a Best Picture winner to rebound from a PGA loss, even if it hasn't happened that often in this era.

By Mitchell Horwood 

​The phrase "Licorice Pizza" refers to the name of a defunct record store chain that existed in the 70s era of Southern California. But it's also the title of Paul Thomas Anderson's newest offbeat, witty, and vaguely seductive movie, nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Like the chain, this retro time capsule is a valentine to an era frequently remembered by the "corrupt" values of sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, and the restlessness of youth looking for life in all the wrong places. In this regard, it's both a love letter to Paul Thomas Anderson's past and his most personal film yet.

By Cody Dericks 

Just when people started to complain about this year's Oscar race being boring, the Producers Guild Awards decided to shake things up this past weekend. After dominating the season by winning Best Picture at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and Critics Choice Awards, Oscar nomination leader "The Power Of The Dog" hit a major stumbling block by losing the PGA to the indie sensation "CODA." The PGAs have historically been one of the more accurate predictors of Oscar success, so surely this means "CODA" has Best Picture in the bag, right? Not so fast.

By Lauren LaMagna 

​The time has come: Oscar voting for the 94th Academy Awards is in full swing. As we speak, members of the Academy are filling in their ballots and ultimately deciding who will be taking home the golden statue on March 27th. At this point in the race, there are frontrunners, underdogs, and tight races. There are even some locks. But, nothing is 100% certain until the final envelope is read. This year, there are loads of fantastic films nominated for an array of awards. One of those films is "The Worst Person In The World," which is nominated in two categories – Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film.

By Tom O'Brien 

When it comes to Oscar prognostications, I'm basically a stats guy. I rely heavily on the endless parade of pre-Oscar precursor awards that usually point in the direction of the eventual Oscar winner. But there's one category this year where the statistics and the favorite don't quite add up for me: Best Animated Feature.

By Amy Smith 

Last year, the Best Picture lineup and eventual winner "Nomadland" highlighted the strengths of filmmaking during the pandemic era. Not only did the themes of films such as "Nomadland" relate to the isolation and loneliness that people went through during that year, but the films that were nominated mainly were independent films filled with personal stories. In a standard Oscar year, you would not see the likes of "Sound of Metal" or "Minari" cracking the Best Picture lineup. However, with theaters reopening in 2021, this is the year to honor the blockbuster and celebrate the cinematic experience. While some may say that it was the return of franchise films like James Bond's "No Time to Die" and the MCU's "Spider-Man: No Way Home" that got people back to the big screen, it can be argued that it is Best Picture contender "Dune" that celebrates the art of going to the movies and spending nearly three hours immersed in intense storytelling and spectacular visuals.

By Eve O'Dea 
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Kenneth Branagh's "Belfast" has, seemingly from the moment it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September, been adorned with the epithet of "crowd-pleaser." While that might be an inherently positive description, the moniker leaves a nasty taste in the mouths of some film-snobs (sometimes even my own), especially when said crowd-pleaser dares to creep towards a potential Best Picture win. Take, for example, Sam Mendes' "1917," a feat of cinematic excellence that masterfully illustrated a touching, inspiring story of resilience which performed well at the box-office and was a critical hit, had its reputation marred by the chance of it winning Best Picture over Bong-Joon ho's groundbreaking "Parasite." Its reputation, however, quickly bounced back once it lost the Best Picture prize to the history-making South Korean film, but imagine if it had won, though? How would history view its win? Right now, there is a film that is deemed as "the chosen one" for this year's Best Picture prize by critics, and anything else that might come close to snatching the award away from it will face a high level of backlash and scrutiny (as we're seeing with the late surge for "CODA" amongst its recent industry wins). Especially if it's seen as a "crowd-pleaser," which "Belfast" unashamedly is.

By Danilo Castro 
​
Adrian Lyne is a fascinating case study. He created some of the most iconic imagery of the 1980s yet never became a household name. He rivaled Brian de Palma and Paul Verhoeven when it came to Hollywood filmmakers who stirred up controversy, yet he's not been given the same retroactive praise. He released his first film in two decades, "Deep Water," on Hulu this weekend, yet his return to the erotic thriller has been overshadowed by the personal lives of its stars.

I'd like to redirect the focus to where it belongs. Lyne is not merely a practitioner of the erotic thriller; he is the master of the erotic thriller. He's spent five decades refining his perverse eye, and the films that have resulted have almost single-handedly revolutionized the subgenre in the mainstream. His fingerprints can be seen as high up as prestige television ("Normal People" & "Euphoria") and as low down as the "50 Shades" trilogy. However, few have been able to match his combustible blend of sex and psychology. Let's discuss how this blend came to be.

By Matt Neglia 

Oscar voting officially started yesterday and will run until March 22nd. It's been another long Oscar season and we at Next Best Picture fully understand that voters might be confused as to which films to vote for with so many worthy nominees. There are a number of films, performances, screenplays and technical aspects that we've appreciated from this year, so we put together a few final FYC pleas down below just in case if any Academy members happen to read this with their empty ballots in hand looking to make a final decision on what to vote for.

By Matt Neglia 
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Oscar voting begins today and runs until March 22nd at 8 pm EST for the 94th Academy Awards. I'm sure many of you have watched the Oscars and thought, "If only I could vote for these things." Well, we can't change that, but here at Next Best Picture, we can bring you the next best thing!
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We're conducting a survey where everyone will get the chance to make their own selections based on the actual Oscar nominees! We will share the results on this Sunday's podcast before making our final Oscar winner predictions.

Click below to cast your votes, though as if you were an Oscar voter!​