Seven blockbusters could fuel Hollywood’s awards season as Oscar 2027 front-runners

Christopher Nolan is back swinging for the rafters, and this time he’s dragging ancient myth onto a giant screen. His take on The Odyssey is being positioned as a full-throttle theatrical event, the kind the Academy has a history of rewarding. The cast is stacked: Matt Damon as Odysseus, with Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, John Leguizamo and Samantha Morton circling major roles. Beyond performances, it ’s built to run the table in crafts — directing, cinematography, production design and visual effects all look very much in play.

Matt Damon leads as Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

Coming at the race from a different angle is Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic anchored by the late icon’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson. His full-body transformation will be under a microscope all season, and Colman Domingo ’s involvement adds heft voters recognize. Expect conversation in makeup and hairstyling, editing and sound — with the usual biopic skepticism hovering over whether the spectacle lands as real drama.

Seven films to watch

• The Odyssey — Christopher Nolan’s mythic epic led by Matt Damon; co-stars Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, John Leguizamo and Samantha Morton; primed for a broad craft push.
• Michael — Jaafar Jackson portrays his uncle Michael Jackson; with Colman Domingo; a likely player in makeup/hairstyling, editing and sound.
• Project Hail Mary — Ryan Gosling heads a large-scale sci‑fi adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel; directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller in a live-action sci‑fi turn for Amazon MGM.
• The Invite — Olivia Wilde ’s ensemble drama starring Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, Penélope Cruz and Wilde; written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, with a clear path into the writing races.
• Obsession — Focus Features’ horror bet with Inde Navarrette; a performance-forward play riding the genre’s recent Oscar momentum.
• I Swear — Robert Aramayo’s demanding turn positioned as a potential late-season discovery.
• Toy Story 5 — Pixar ’s juggernaut returns, with Randy Newman in the mix and Taylor Swift on an original song, “I Knew It, I Knew You.”

Project Hail Mary is a particularly intriguing lane for Ryan Gosling, who’s racked up three nominations but is still chasing his first win. The film puts him in the kind of sci‑fi showcase that can marry technical muscle with character work rather than leaning purely on spectacle. With Phil Lord and Christopher Miller steering their highest-profile live-action sci‑fi yet, the adaptation has both pop and prestige potential.

On the quieter end of the spectrum, The Invite looks like an actors- and-writers play. Wilde’s cast — Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, Penélope Cruz and Wilde herself — is built to light up scene work, and the Rashida Jones/Will McCormack script gives it a clean shot at adapted or original screenplay attention, depending on its final classification.

Horror is no longer a side room at the Oscars, and Obsession aims to keep the door open. Focus Features has Inde Navarrette delivering a transformation-heavy performance that could become catnip for critics’ groups, with the genre’s recent Oscar history (from Get Out to The Substance) offering a clear roadmap.

I Swear centers on Robert Aramayo in the kind of demanding role that can build heat almost by word of mouth. If the performance becomes the conversation, the film can ride that wave into major categories even without a heavyweight campaign apparatus.

And then there’s Toy Story 5. The franchise has a track record with the Academy’s music branch — every previous film has been recognized for original song — and this chapter arrives with Randy Newman back in the orbit and Taylor Swift joining the party. The new track is titled “I Knew It, I Knew You,” co-written with Jack Antonoff.