The Weinstein Company may be out of the Best Picture race this year at the Academy Awards.
Harvey Weinstein is known as the Oscar guru but this year it seems like he is having a hard time in the Best Picture category; the company failed to land a spot on the Best Picture category in the Critics' Choice awards on Monday. While these awards are not the Oscars themselves, the Critics Choice awards are crucial as they are known for predicting the Best Picture candidates. They have been wrong several times as they failed to nominate "District 9," "The Blind Side," "The Kids are All Right" and "Amour" in their respective years. However, the organization was the only one to predict "Extremely Loud and Incredible Close" and "Beasts of the Southern Wild" in recent contests.
The Weinstein's latest entries include "Philomena," which is seen as the strongest candidate. The film was nominated for the Best Picture at the Golden Globes and Satellite awards and that could help its chances. However, it is important to note that the film was also nominated for the British Independent awards but failed to pick up a single award even though it was the front-runner. If the Brits were not willing to award the movie it is unlikely an American organization will be more willing to.
The company's second strongest film is "Fruitvale Station," which has picked up numerous Breakthrough awards. However, it failed to get nominated for Best Picture at the Gothams and Independent Spirit Awards. It was also ousted from the Golden Globes and SAG nominations. The Critics Choice also failed to recognize it. "Fruitvale Station" is unlikely to repeat the same success as recent Sundance winners "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and "Winter's Bone" as these films were nominated for most critics groups and most awards organizations. If "Fruitvale" is to be nominated it will be the sleeper in the race.
"August: Osage County" is also one of the company's contenders but the film has scored mixed reviews with critics and has yet to score a single Best Film mention. The film will get nominated for Best Actress for Meryl Streep and Best Supporting Actress for Julia Roberts, but is unlikely to get a Best Picture nomination.
Meanwhile, "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" is also unlikely to receive nominations as the movie scored mixed reviews and lacks buzz. While it scored Golden Globe nominations, neither Idris Elba nor Naomi Harris is expected to get acting mentions. Additionally, with mixed reviews and so many civil rights movies, "Mandela" is likely to be ignored.
The film that has lost the most momentum during the precursor season is "Lee Daniel's The Butler." The movie was once thought of a Best Picture contender. However, it has been absent from every Best Picture list and was even ignored by the star driven Golden Globes. The SAG awards embraced it but that organization sometimes picks films that ultimately land zero Oscar nods. Recent examples include "Bobby," "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and "Hairspray."
The final contender for the company is "One Chance." Interestingly enough, this film comes out in February but will still count for the 2013 race. However, mixed reviews, no audience anticipation and the lack of buzz will hurt the film.
The Weinstein Company has been thriving in the Oscar race since 2008 when "The Reader" was nominated. In 2009, the company had "Inglorious Basterds" in the race and in 2010 "The King's Speech" won the Best Picture. In 2011, the studio experienced its second consecutive win for "The Artist." Last year, both "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Django Unchained" were nominated for Best Picture.