Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars from Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis. Following Academy Awards history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Oscar predictions are updated regularly with the current year's contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year long: Draft, Pre-Season, Regular Season and Post Season. Eligibility calendar and dates of awards will determine how long each phase lasts and will be displayed next to revision date.
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2021 SAG AWARDS PREDICTIONS:
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A CAST ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
UPDATED: Jan. 14, 2020
One of the strongest indicators of overall support for a film from the actors’ branch, it’s where films like “Spotlight” and “Crash” found their road to best picture success. “The Trial of the Chicago 7” has an immersive and strong cast that probably makes it the favorite in the category at the moment. If “Nomadland” is steamrolling its way to the Dolby Theatre stage, this will cement it with a nomination, much like “Slumdog Millionaire” with its unknown cast.
(Awards Circuit Winners Chart (2020-2021)
Courtesy of Nico Tavernise/Netflix
AND THE PREDICTED NOMINEES ARE:
"The Trial of the Chicago 7"(Netflix)
CAST: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, John Carroll Lynch, Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, Alex Sharp, Jeremy Strong
–PRODUCERS: Stuart M. Besser, Matt Jackson, Marc Platt, Tyler ThompsonDIRECTOR: Aaron SorkinSYNOPSIS: The story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
"Nomadland"(Searchlight Pictures)
CAST: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Swankie
–PRODUCERS: Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Chloé ZhaoDIRECTOR: Chloé ZhaoSYNOPSIS: After losing everything in the Great Recession, an old woman embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"(Netflix)
CAST: Chadwick Boseman, Dusan Brown, Jonny Coyne, Viola Davis, Colman Domingo, Taylour Paige, Michael Potts, Jeremy Shamos, Glynn Turman
–PRODUCERS: Todd Black, Denzel Washington, Dany WolfDIRECTOR: George C. WolfeSYNOPSIS: Chicago, 1927. A recording session. Tensions rise between Ma Rainey, her ambitious horn player and the white management determined to control the uncontrollable "Mother of the Blues". Based on Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's play.
"Da 5 Bloods"(Netflix)
CAST: Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Jonathan Majors, Chadwick Boseman, Isiah Witlock, Jr,, Norm Lewis
–PRODUCERS: Jon Kilik, Spike Lee, Beatriz Levin, Lloyd LevinDIRECTOR: Spike LeeSYNOPSIS: Four African American vets battle the forces of man and nature when they return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen squad leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.
"Minari"(A24)
CAST: Steven Yeun, Yeri Han, Alan S. Kim, Yuh-jung Youn, Will Patton
–PRODUCERS: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Christina OhDIRECTOR: Lee Isaac ChungSYNOPSIS: A Korean family moves to Arkansas to start a farm in the 1980s.
“One Night in Miami” from director Regina King
Courtesy of AMAZON STUDIOS
NEXT IN LINE CONTENDERS:
"One Night in Miami"(Amazon Studios)
CAST: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom, Jr.
–PRODUCERS: Jess Wu Calder, Keith Calder, Jody KleinDIRECTOR: Regina KingSYNOPSIS: A fictional account of one incredible night in 1964, where four icons of activism, sports and music – Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke – gathered, discussing their roles in the civil rights movement and cultural upheaval of the ’60s.
"Mank"(Netflix)
CAST: Tom Burke, Lily Collins, Joseph Cross, Charles Dance, Monika Gossman, Ferdinand Kingsley, Jamie McShane, Tuppence Middleton, Toby Leonard Moore, Gary Oldman, Tom Pelphrey, Amanda Seyfried, Sam Troughton
–PRODUCERS: David Fincher, Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth, Douglas UrbanskiDIRECTOR: David FincherSYNOPSIS: 1930s Hollywood is re-evaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane for Orson Welles.
"Promising Young Woman"(Focus Features)
CAST: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Laverne Cox, Molly Shannon, Clancy Brown, Jennifer Coolidge, Max Greenfield, Alison Brie, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Connie Britton, Chris Lowell, Adam Brody, Sam Richardson
–PRODUCERS: Ben Browning, Emerald Fennell, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara, Ashley FoxDIRECTOR: Emerald FennellSYNOPSIS: A young woman, traumatized by a tragic event in her past, seeks out vengeance against those who cross her path.
"Judas and the Black Messiah"(Warner Bros.)
CAST: Lakeith Stanfield, Daniel Kaluuya, Dominique Fishback, Jesse Plemons, Martin Sheen, Dominique Thorne, Algee Smith, Lil Rel Howery, Jermaine Fowler
–PRODUCERS: Charles D. King, Ryan Coogler, Shaka KingDIRECTOR: Shaka KingSYNOPSIS: The story of Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, and his fateful betrayal by FBI informant William O'Neal.
"The Prom"(Netflix)
CAST: Meryl Streep, Jo Ellen Pellman, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Ariana DeBose, Kerry Washington, Keegan-Michael Key, Andrew Rannells. Tracey Ullman
–PRODUCERS: Adam Anders, Dori Berinstein, Chad Beguelin, Bill Damaschke, Bob Martin, Ryan Murphy, Scott Robertson, Matthew Sklar, Alexis Martin WoodallDIRECTOR: Ryan MurphySYNOPSIS: A troupe of hilariously self-obsessed theater stars swarm into a small conservative Indiana town in support of a high school girl who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom.
Netflix’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
Netflix
UNRANKED AWARDS CONTENDERS:
† = no release date scheduled / could be delayed / may not be eligible
†† = could be campaigned in lead or supporting categories / original or adapted screenplay categories
The Screen Actors Guild Awards, hosted by SAG-AFTRA is an annual award show that has become one of the most important and key indicators for the Oscars. Four films have won the most SAG awards with three: 1999’s “American Beauty,” 2002’s “Chicago,” 2011’s “The Help” and 2017’s “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Three movies have been nominated for the most SAG awards with five: 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love,” “Chicago” and 2008’s “Doubt.”
The SAG Awards are scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 4, 2021