Oscar Squad Weighs In With Their Final Predictions

It’s almost all over.

On Sunday night, the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will have their say, and we’ll know what those roughly 9,000 people think is the best film of 2021. Chances are, it won’t be your personal favorite film of 2021. Or mine. Or anyone on the Oscar Squad. Yet, that’s what the preferential ballot gives us — a common consensus film that most people at least like. That film appears to be CODA, judging from its recent surge and its placement on many Oscar prognosticators predictions list.

But some on the Oscar Squad are going with their hearts. Still. Against all odds.

And I honestly celebrate that. Personally, I’m going against my heart and predicting with my head. None of us will get everything right, but, to me, this is the ugliest part of the season. We’re not really celebrating films anymore. We’re just celebrating being right or lamenting being wrong. We’ll be comparing prediction scores on Monday morning. Many will agonize missing this or that category, getting 18 right instead of last year’s 21. Many will gloat and lift themselves up into a position of superiority over people they barely even know save a few shared exchanges over social media.

All of this agony and ecstasy based simply on the whims of a group of about 9,000 people. People who, in a year, probably watch about a tenth of the films as the average Awards Daily reader.

Ultimately, as I close the year on Oscar Squad, what I suppose I’m saying is don’t concern yourself too much with what wins and loses. Savor the films you’ve loved over the year. Revisit them as members of the family you’ve chosen.