Oscars Odds 2018: Dunkirk Leads Best Picture Race

As we near the final stretch of 2017, let’s take a look at some of the frontrunners for the Oscars next year. We’re still waiting on a few Best Picture hopefuls to hit wide release, but we’ve already seen the bulk of what the year has to offer. Given how early it still is in the Oscar calendar, let’s just stick to the marquee award: Best Picture.

The nominations will be announced in January and the ceremony will take place on March 4th, with Jimmy Kimmel returning to host on ABC. While we wait for the academy to make its picks, here are the early favorites for the industry’s most coveted statuette.

ACADEMY AWARDS 2018: BEST PICTURE ODDS

DUNKIRK: 9/2

Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk is the clear frontrunner at the moment. Not only is the film beloved by critics, it also cleaned up at the box office. Raking in $523.5 million worldwide, Nolan’s latest is now the highest-grossing World War II film of all time. It’s a cinematic masterpiece and widely considered to be one of Nolan’s best to date.

It would be shocking to see Dunkirk snubbed for a nomination, and as it stands, it’s the favorite to win outright. World War II movies have an Oscar history, after all.

THE SHAPE OF WATER: 6/1

Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water screened at the Venice International Film Festival and was met with rave reviews, but the rest of us will have to wait until December before deciding for ourselves.

With a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, we can be sure it will at least be considered for the award. The Shape of Water is considered to be del Toro’s best work since Pan’s Labyrinth, which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film.

THE POST: 9/1

Spotlight, a worthy Best Picture-winner in 2015, told the story of The Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” team, which uncovered widespread child-abuse within the Catholic Church. Now, Steven Spielberg tells us the story of The Washington Post and its quest to publish the Pentagon Papers.

Like The Shape of Water, we’ll have to wait until December before The Post hits theaters and there are no early reviews to base our predictions on. But still, with Spielberg at the helm and a topic matter that’s becoming increasingly important, it has all the necessary ingredients for Oscar success.

GET OUT: 13/1

Jordan Peele made an extraordinary directorial debut with Get Out and could be in contention for the most prestigious award in film. Amassing $253 million worldwide against a measly $4.5 million budget and also receiving a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Peele has shown that you really can have it all.

This isn’t a film that typically wins Best Picture, but nothing about Get Out’s performance has been typical.

THE BIG SICK: 25/1

Comedy couple Emily Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani tell a true-ish story in their indie flick, The Big Sick. Like Get Out, the film was both a ratings and commercial success. It raked in $52.3 million with just a $5 million budget, and has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Also like Get Out, it isn’t the type of film that typically wins Best Picture, but we definitely shouldn’t rule it out.