IT'S THE (real!) most wonderful time of year for film fans, with the BAFTAs and Oscars right around the corner. Trying to win your office sweepstake but worried you need to have seen them all to make the best predictions? Don't worry, The Lexi has got you covered. We'll be bringing back six of the biggest contenders, racking up a whopping 44 nominations between them! You'll have a chance to catch Conclave, Anora, Wicked, Emilia Pérez, The Substance and Nickel Boys over the coming weeks.
We're also looking into playing a couple of fallen contenders who we think should have been up for the Best Picture prize, watch this space...
And of course not forgetting our general release screenings of three other Best Picture nominees playing here too: A Complete Unknown, The Brutalist & I'm Still Here.
Catch CONCLAVE on the 4th and 6th of February
🏆 Nominated for EIGHT Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Ralph Fiennes) and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Our first returning contender of the Award Season is the precise popular picture portraying politicking Popes (a real tongue twister!). Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in this beloved Vatican based thriller. The presumed frontrunner for adapted screenplay, could it follow a similar trajectory to 2021's CODA or 2018's GREEN BOOK and win Best Picture despite a director snub?
Catch ANORA on the 8th, 11th and 14th of February
🏆 Nominated for SIX Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress (Mikey Madison).
Could the original screenplay frontrunner be a sleeper pick for Best Picture? Winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes last year, the film portrays a woman who gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Pitched as Sean Baker's PRETTY WOMAN, we're especially excited to be screening the film as alternative Valentine's Day programming on the 14th.
Catch WICKED on the 15th, 17th and 20th of February
🏆 Nominated for TEN Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress (Cynthia Erivo) and Best Supporting Actress (Ariana Grande).
Are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them? The beloved Broadway musical is brought to cinematic life in this acclaimed origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West. It has just overtaken DUNE: PART TWO as the highest grossing Best Picture nominee this year. The Oscars don't typically align with box office, but could this crowd-pleasing tonic be the exception to the rule?
Catch EMILIA PÉREZ on the 21st and 26th of February
🏆 Nominated for THIRTEEN Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldana).
A fearsome cartel leader enlists an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that she can finally live authentically as her true self in this musical odyssey following the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico. The nomination leader as well as Golden Globe winner for Best Picture Comedy/Musical, is this our Oscars Best Picture winner?
Catch THE SUBSTANCE on the 22nd and 24th of February
🏆 Nominated for FIVE Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress (Demi Moore).
It’s the film everyone’s talking about - a rollercoaster ride of thrills as an actress goes to extreme lengths to swerve Hollywood’s in-built over-50s obsolescence. A rare awards success for the horror genre from the mind of Coralie Fargaet, this year's only female Best Director nominee. Anchored by Demi Moore's Golden Globe winning performance, she's now the frontrunner for the Best Actress prize.
Catch NICKEL BOYS on the 1st and 2nd of March
🏆 Nominated for TWO Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Bearing the brunt of an innocent misstep, young Elwood Curtis is sentenced to the netherworld of Nickel Academy, a brutal reformatory sunk deep in the Jim Crow South. Despite a modest two nominations, this devasting and ambitious cinematic milestone is perhaps the most deserving of all the Best Picture nominees. Though an unlikely winner, we're rooting for it on the big night!
