The Oscar Race is Extremely Loud, and Incredibly Too Close to Call

variety.com:

Clayton Davis This past weekend proved to be a wild ride on the awards circuit.The Producers Guild of America Awards bestowed their top honors upon Apple Original Film’s “CODA” on Saturday night while the Cinema Audio Society went with Warner Bros’ “Dune.”At the Writers Guild of America Awards, several of the Oscar nominees for screenplay – “Belfast” (Kenneth Branagh), “Drive My Car” (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe), “The Lost Daughter” (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and “The Power of the Dog” (Jane Campion) – were not eligible for recognition.

So instead, the group went with “Don’t Look Up” from Adam McKay and David Sirota in original, with “CODA” tacking another trophy for adapted following BAFTA.And the final shoe to drop was the American Society of Cinematographers delivering Greig Fraser (“Dune”) the statuette, his second win following “Lion” (2016).

With Oscar voting still underway, a legitimate three-horse race is underway – Apple’s “CODA,” Netflix’s “The Power of the Dog” and Focus Features’ “Belfast.” Multiple possibilities, including the falling of numerous Oscar statistics, are sending awards pundits and studio strategists into a frenzy.Read more: Variety’s Awards Circuit Predictions HubBelow are some highlights and challenges for the top three films heading into the final two days of voting.The family drama from writer and director Siân Heder has been the Cinderella story of awards season, overcoming insurmountable odds to remain in the conversation and build an organic support system that could bring the title of “first streamer to win best picture” to Apple.

Walking into the Dolby Theatre doors with the winning combination of SAG and PGA are huge benefactors for any film.Since the existence of SAG, 10 movies have won.