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The 2027 Academy Awards race is gathering momentum following a series of international film festivals, theatrical releases of major awards hopefuls and high-profile events bringing filmmakers and performers face-to-face with Oscar voters.
Scott Feinberg, executive editor of awards at The Hollywood Reporter, said in his latest assessment published on October 19 that Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s documentary You Can See Everything and Netflix’s Spanish-language film La Bola Negra have emerged as significant contenders in this year’s awards season.
You Can See Everything, a documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, has received an enthusiastic response from critics and audiences since its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival. The film has earned a 99 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and a record 4.71 rating on Letterboxd, according to Feinberg.
The documentary also made an impressive commercial debut, earning $15 million during its opening weekend. Its opening was the biggest for a film released in fewer than 1,000 locations since Borat in 2006 and the strongest debut for a documentary since Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004.
Oscar voters have also shown considerable interest in the film. An early screening at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles on October 6 drew enthusiastic reactions from Academy members, including documentary branch members Ryan White and AJ Schnack.
A subsequent official Academy screening on October 18 reportedly attracted more members than any previous documentary screening, strengthening expectations that the film could compete beyond the best documentary feature category.
Meanwhile, La Bola Negra began its theatrical release amid organisational changes at Netflix, which has experienced layoffs affecting around 6 percent of its workforce, including senior executives responsible for content and film.
Despite the upheaval, Netflix’s awards team is pressing ahead with the Spanish-language film, regarded by Feinberg as the company’s strongest awards contender of the season.
The film opened in four theatres in Los Angeles and New York, recording an average of $69,375 per screen. That was reportedly the second-highest per-screen average ever achieved by a non-English-language film, behind the 2019 South Korean hit Parasite.
The awards race has also gained momentum through festivals in Toronto, Zurich and Newport Beach, where industry figures have assessed the reception of potential contenders among international Academy members.
Feinberg noted that voters based outside the United States are becoming increasingly important because of the growing number of international members in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
A series of screenings, discussions and receptions has further intensified campaigning. Directors and actors have participated in question-and-answer sessions following screenings, while the Academy has organised events for new members in Toronto, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and London.
The Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on October 17 provided another major gathering for awards hopefuls and voters. The event raised $14 million for the institution and honoured Colman Domingo and Charlize Theron. Singer Taylor Swift performed four songs, including material connected to her Oscar-contending original song, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” co-written with Jack Antonoff for Toy Story 5.
Other films attracting attention include Artificial, Mr. Irrelevant, Wildwood, NAZA, 14th and The Social Reckoning. Feinberg said several major releases, including Dune: Part Three, Madden and Werwulf, remained outside his latest assessment.
With theatrical releases, festival screenings and awards campaigning continuing, the competition for nominations is expected to become clearer in the coming weeks.
