Don’t Forget, Oscar Watchers: ‘The Odyssey,’ ‘Project Hail Mary,’ and Other Big Guns Are Coming Back

The studios are ramping up their blockbusters for Oscar consideration as "Disclosure Day" star Emily Blunt hits the promo trail and "The Odyssey" Best Actor front-runner Matt Damon takes on "Project Hail Mary" charmer Ryan Gosling.

The fall festivals have come and gone, leaving specialty sugarplums dancing in Oscar pundits’ heads, from Netflix’s Spanish favorite “La Bola Negra” to Searchlight’s hilarious “Wild Horse Nine,” which just boasted a raucous Academy screening reception.

But don’t forget the big guns, movies of scale and scope that wowed audiences earlier in the year. Some will fill the craft categories (see “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”) or dominate Best Animated Feature (see Pixar’s “Toy Story 5,” which might land Taylor Swift an Oscar for Best Song). Others will wow not only cinephiles but the mainstream voters in the Academy. Their campaigners must push them back into voters’ consciousness, remind them of what they liked so much, all those months ago.

“Disclosure Day” (Universal, June 12)
Metascore: 74
Box Office: $248 million worldwide

On November 11, “Disclosure Day” Best Actress contender Emily Blunt will launch her award season push for an “Oppenheimer” follow-up Oscar nomination with a SAG Q&A in New York, followed by November 13 in LA. On November 15, she’s conducting press conferences for the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes. She’ll also do rounds of press interviews. And on December 10, she’ll accept the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

In other words, Blunt is in it to win it.

Best Shots: Truth is, Universal is pragmatically putting Blunt front and center for “Disclosure Day” for her remarkable turn as a foreign-language-spouting weatherwoman inhabited by aliens, as opposed to filmmaker Steven Spielberg or costar Josh O’Connor. Craft contenders will include five-time Oscar-winning composer John Williams, possibly up for his 55th and last Oscar nomination, two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, Editing, Sound, and VFX.

“Project Hail Mary” (Amazon/MGM, March 20)
Metascore: 77
Box Office: $684 million worldwide

The well-reviewed March blockbuster has come roaring back, with filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller doing most of the promo duties so far. The heart-tugging sci-fi epic produced by Amy Pascal is competing at the Golden Globes for comedy as “The Martian” did before it. The DVD released in May. “PHM” will re-release in IMAX and IMAX 70 theaters starting December 11.

Best Shots: Ryan Gosling is a Best Actor contender as scientist Ryland Grace — not a trained astronaut — who is in way over his head on a space mission to save the Earth but uses science to figure out the many problems that come his way. Gosling carries the movie but also interacts beautifully with not only his commanding mission director Sandra Hüller (who is competing with herself in Supporting Actress for “PHM” and “Fatherland”) but James Ortiz, who was on set as puppeteer and voice for another solo space traveler, a crablike alien named Rocky. He’s contending for Supporting Actor. (Whether the actors branch will accept him is a big question.)

Lord & Miller are in the mix for Best Director, and “The Martian” Oscar nominee Drew Goddard could be in the running again for Adapted Screenplay. The movie could land several craft categories as well, including VFX, Sound, Cinematography, Editing and Daniel Pemberton‘s Original Score, which supports the different tones of the movie, through action, comedy, and pathos.

“The Odyssey” (Universal, July 17)
Metascore: 88
Box Office: $1.81 billion worldwide

Universal just released their robust screening and panel schedule for “The Odyssey,” with Christopher Nolan and his cast and key crew to be grilled by the likes of Guillermo del Toro and Robert Downey, Jr. as they step in front of Guild and Academy voters. Not coincidentally, the movie hits DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD on November 17.

Best Shots: “The Odyssey” is in front-runner position for Best Actor. Matt Damon has wisely leaned into the degree of difficulty required to play the peripatetic wily warrior Odysseus in harsh locations that helped Leonardo DiCaprio win for “The Revenant.” Damon is a wily and charming campaigner who is well-liked not only in Hollywood — he has worked with everyone — but around the world. (Check out his Criterion Closet Picks.) He won a Screenplay Oscar with Ben Affleck (“Good Will Hunting”) but has never won an Acting Oscar.

The ubiquitous Anne Hathaway (who won for “Les Mis”) is leading the Supporting Actress field for her performance as the patient Penelope. Constantly promoting a slew of movies this year as she became more and more pregnant did not hurt her cause. She’s competing with two-time nominee Samantha Morton, a Brit, as the witch Circe. Veteran American John Leguizamo, never nominated, leads the British “Odyssey” Supporting Actor contenders Rob Pattinson and Tom Holland.

Of this group, “The Odyssey” and “Project Hail Mary” will dominate the Oscar nominations, likely scoring from 10-15 each. “Sinners,” a period movie with original music, holds the record with 16.