Davis is the top critics’ early pick to pick up Best Actress gold at the 2017 Academy Awards and Denzel is hotly tipped to take home another Oscar for his lead actor portrayal in the upcoming period drama, which he also directs.
Viola leads Loving’s Ruth Negga, La La Land’s Emma Stone, her Doubt co-star Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins), and Emily Blunt (The Girl on The Train) in the Best Actress odds list, while Denzel edges out Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea), Michael Keaton (The Founder), Ryan Gosling (La La Land), and Joel Edgerton (Loving) among the best actors.
Musical La La Land is the critics’ early pick for Oscars Best Film gold, closely followed on the website’s first odds list by Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Manchester By The Sea, Loving, and Fences.
Nate Parker’s acclaimed Birth of a Nation appears to have slipped down the list of Oscars favourites amid the actor/director’s 1999 rape drama, which recently hit the headlines – once a clear top choice, Parker’s performance is now sixth on the Best Actors list and the film itself has also failed to make the top five.
Meanwhile, in the supporting categories, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk star Steve Martin leads the men, ahead of Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), and Hugh Grant (Florence Foster Jenkins), and Michelle Williams leads the pick of actresses for her role in Manchester by the Sea.
Former Twilight star Kristen Stewart is also expected to land a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, and Aja Naomi King comes in third for her portrayal of Cherry in Birth of a Nation.