\n<\/p>\n
What a difference a few days makes. Coming into the most pivotal week of Oscar season so far, neither strategists nor pundits nor, really, anyone else in the industry had a clue as to what was about to reveal itself as the frontrunner. Presumptive leader Emilia P\u00e9rez<\/em> had, barring a campaign miracle, been effectively taken out of contention for the top award after a damaging scandal<\/a> that only got worse<\/a>. The rest of the top tier all seemed to be missing some key ingredient on the road to the top Oscar: The Brutalist<\/em>\u2019s cast was snubbed by SAG, Conclave<\/em>\u2019s director was snubbed by the Academy, Wicked<\/em>\u2019s director and<\/em> writers were snubbed by the Academy, and A Complete Unknown<\/em> still lacked in passionate critical support.<\/p>\n Well, and then there was Anora<\/em>\u2014the film that had emerged by this point as the complete package, but hadn\u2019t won<\/em> anything major outside the critics\u2019 circuit since taking the top prize at Cannes, where it premiered in May. The Golden Globes blanked Sean Baker<\/strong>\u2019s movie entirely. Clearly, though, our frontrunner had just been hiding in plain sight. Anora<\/em> swept this weekend\u2019s top awards\u2014Critics Choice, DGA, and PGA\u2014in a tremendous show of strength. It is exceedingly rare for a film to pull off this trifecta and then lose the Oscar. These are large bodies that demonstrate consensus, a mix of industry voting groups with significant Academy overlap and an organization with no direct ties to the Oscars at all. That their choices all pointed in the same direction speaks volumes, and provides essential clarity for voters wading through the messiest best-picture race in recent memory.<\/p>\n