Warner Bros Bets Big on Two Films Before Oscar Announcements
Studio executives are making a bold move by bringing back their biggest contenders to theaters just as Academy Award nominations get revealed, signaling serious confidence in their awards season strategy.
Warner Bros is making a calculated gamble this weekend, bringing both One Battle After Another and Sinners back to movie theaters nationwide. The timing isn't coincidental. Studio executives clearly believe these two films will dominate today's Oscar nomination announcements.
Industry watchers expect both movies to land Best Picture nominations. Directors Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler are also strong contenders for Best Director recognition when the Academy reveals its picks later today.
Golden Globes Success Points to Oscar Potential
The Golden Globes already provided a preview of what might happen. One Battle After Another swept the ceremony with nine nominations and four victories, including Best Motion Picture for Musical or Comedy, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and a win for Teyana Taylor's performance.
Sinners performed strongly too, earning six Globe nominations and taking home two awards for Best Original Score and Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. While Oscar voters sometimes surprise everyone, the Globes typically offer reliable hints about Academy preferences.
Two Very Different Stories
The films couldn't be more different in their storytelling approaches. One Battle After Another stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob, a former revolutionary whose quiet life gets shattered when enemies from his past track down his teenage daughter Willa, played by Chase Infiniti.
Sinners takes audiences to 1930s Mississippi, where Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers confronting supernatural forces in their hometown. The characters return after nearly ten years in Chicago's criminal underworld, only to face an evil that defies explanation.
Both films return to theaters January 23. The studio's confidence in re-releasing them suggests Warner Bros sees major Oscar potential in these very different but equally compelling stories.