the favourite c fox searchlight

Source: Fox Searchlight

‘The Favourite’

Saturday night’s (September 8) Venice Golden Lion win for ROMA and a pair of prizes for The Favourite have steered awards talk towards a handful of strong contenders as several hot prospects line up for their Toronto bow.

Read more: ‘ROMA’ wins Venice Golden Lion

Alfonso Cuaron’s first Venice win for his autobiographical Spanish-language film consolidates its position as one of Netflix’s big best-picture pushes alongside 22 July from Paul Greengrass and the Coen brothers’ The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs.

Screendaily understands the streaming giant is still mulling over the minutiae of theatrical qualifying runs for all three, while Fox Searchlight will now be planning a getting-to-know-you US tour for its lead actress contender Olivia Colman following her Coppa Volpi-winning turn as Queen Anne in Yorgos Lanthimos’s Silver Lion winner The Favourite.

Potential rivals for the UK veteran at this stage include Lady Gaga for Warner Bros’ A Star Is Born, Julianne Moore for Gloria Bell, Nicole Kidman in Destroyer, newcomer Thomasin McKenzie for Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace, Keira Knightley for Colette and possibly Rachel Weisz for Disobedience. Bleecker Street distributes the last three in the US.

Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie star in Focus Features’ December release Mary Queen Of Scots. Other notable late arrivals appear to be Annapurna Pictures’ Backseat from Adam McKay starring Christian Bale as Dick Cheney, and Fox’s Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody with Rami Malek.

Willem Dafoe is in line for a second consecutive Oscar nomination after his Coppa Volpi triumph as Vincent van Gogh in At Eternity’s Gate. The leading man category has thrown Hugh Jackman into the ring with Sony’s The Front Runner, Ryan Gosling from Universal’s First Man, Bradley Cooper from Warner Bros’ A Star Is Born and possibly Steve Coogan from Sony Pictures Classics’ BFI London Film Festival closing night selection Stan & Ollie.

Anticipated upcoming Toronto premieres include Moonlight director Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk, Claire Denis’ English-language debut High Life and Steve McQueen’s Widows featuring Viola Davis.