NextGen Oscarwatcher: Continuing the Preview of the Fall Film Festivals

Right after I had submitted last week’s title regarding what may or may not premiere at this year’s additions of the Fall Film Festivals in question, there was finally information regarding what might be headed to each one individually. Confirmation of such titles included

• Sian Heder’s Being Heumann confirmed as opening TIFF title
• Susanna White’s Prima Facie confirmed for a TIFF premiere, as is Hur Jin-Ho’s The Assassin(s)
• Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth! seemingly confirmed this year, unclear of which festival
• Simon Stone’s Elsinore is confirmed for this year, picked up by Focus Features, and likely doing the festival route.
• And sort of a disconfirmation is Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial not going to any Fall Film Fests, though one will wait and see if this ends up being the case.

For the next couple of weeks, the Fall Film Festival Lineup will continue to be slowly unveiled, likely in weekly increments from Toronto, a major lineup announcement in about a week or so from Venice, with NYFF announcing soon after, with a spec of Telluride speculation in between.

Last week’s focus was primarily on Cannes Holdovers and Venice(though information is sketchy), so this week we can possibly look towards Telluride and TIFF.

If I had to make a guestimate on what films might be the focal point of either fests, with not much information, simply inference, it would be

• Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut and Simon Stone’s Elsinore both seem Telluride-friendly and might go to either Venice or TIFF, though if Telluride wants a world premiere, it will most likely stay clear of Venice.
• Chloe Domont’s A Place In Hell, though opening very late in the year, should screen at either Telluride or TIFF (though it feels much more of a latter film festival slot) if it wants to position itself as a player.
• There is always the off chance either Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger or Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three screening at a fest, but considering Warner Bros’s history of festivals recently, the studio might choose to forego a premiere entirely.

Of course, in addition to the first three films listed, there will be several more throughout the month that will join the lineup, and hopefully, a clearer picture will be painted of what to expect from Toronto and Telluride, which always clouds itself in mystery. In the meantime, Olivia Wilde’s The Invite and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, the former opening wide last weekend, and the latter this upcoming Friday, will surely be the major point of conversation.

Oscar Predictions for Week of 13 July 2026

I am planning on seeing The Invite this Monday, and hopefully will get a better read on just how popular this film is, and if it can really go the distance of receiving a best picture nom, but for this week I won’t slot it in yet. As it stands

• Sebastian Stan out of Best Actor for Fjord and Andrew Scott for Elsinore is in his place
• Renate Reinsve out of Best Actress for Fjord and Cynthia Erivo for Prima Facie in her place, I am considering taking out Juliette Binoche for Queen At Sea, but I am curious on how its distributor will handle it over the Fall Film Festivals
• Werwulf in Best Production Design over La Bola Negra

Best Picture

1. Wild Horse Nine
2. The Odyssey
3. Digger
4. Project Hail Mary
5. La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
6. Dune: Part Three
7. The Debut
8. Fjord
9. Obsession
10. A Place In Hell

(alts: The Invite, Elsinore, Cry to Heaven (If its releasing this year), The Social Reckoning, All of a Sudden, The Adventures of Cliff Booth, Disclosure Day, Werwulf, Behemoth!)

Best Director

1. Martin McDonagh, Wild Horse Nine
2. Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey
3. Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
4. Alejandro G. Iñarritu, Digger
5. Cristian Mungiu, Fjord 

(alts: Tom Ford, Cry to Heaven (If it’s releasing) Paweł Pawlikowski, Fatherland, Christopher Miller and Phil Lord for Project Hail Mary, Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Three Steven Spielberg, Disclosure Day)

Best Actor

1. Tom Cruise, Digger
2. John Malkovich, Wild Horse Nine
3. Matt Damon, The Odyssey
4. Andrew Scott, Elsinore
5. Ryan Gosling, Project Hail Mary

(alts: Sebastian Stan, Fjord Pedro Pascal, Behemoth!, John Turturro The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, Jaafar Jackson, Michael)

Best Actress

1. Michelle Williams, A Place In Hell
2. Julianne Moore, The Debut
3. Inde Navarrette, Obsession
4. Cynthia Erivo, Prima Facie Renate Reinsve, Fjord
5. Juliette Binoche, Queen At Sea

(alts: Renate Reinsve, Fjord Mikey Madison, The Social Reckoning, Sandra Hüller, Rose or Fatherland, Emily Blunt, Disclosure Day )

Best Supporting Actor

1. Paul Giamatti, The Debut
2. John Goodman, Digger
3. Steve Buscemi, Wild Horse Nine
4. Sam Rockwell, Wild Horse Nine
5. Jeremy Strong, The Social Reckoning

(alts: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Cry to Heaven (If it’s releasing this year),  Riz Ahmed, Digger, Willem Dafoe, Werwulf)

Best Supporting Actress

1. Mariana Di Girolamo, Wild Horse Nine
2. Anne Hathaway, The Odyssey
3. Penélope Cruz, La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
4. Daisy Edgar-Jones, A Place in Hell
5. Sandra Hüller, Digger

(alts, Olivia Colman, Elsinore  Tao Okamoto, All of a Sudden or Penélope Cruz, The Invite Sandra Hüller, Project Hail Mary)

Best Original Screenplay

1. Wild Horse Nine
2. Digger
3. Fjord
4. The Debut
5. A Place In Hell

(alts: Obsession, Queen At Sea and Club Kid)

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. Project Hail Mary
2. The Odyssey
3. La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
4. The Invite
5. The Social Reckoning

(alts: All of A Sudden, Cry to Heaven (if releasing), Dune: Part Three)

Best Casting

1. Wild Horse Nine
2. Digger
3. The Odyssey
4. La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
5. Obsession

(alts: Cry to Heaven (if releasing), The Social Reckoning and The Debut)

Best International Feature

1. La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
2. Fjord
3. All of a Sudden
4. Fatherland
5. Rose

(Alternate: Coward and Minotaur)

Best Animated Feature

1. Wildwood
2. Hoppers
3. Forgotten Island
4. Toy Story 5
5. Tangles

Best Documentary Feature

1. Once Upon a Time in Harlem
2. American Doctor
3. Nuisance Bear
4. One in a Million
5. To Hold a Mountain

Best Cinematography

1. The Odyssey
2. Digger
3. Fatherland
4. Dune: Part Three
5. Jack of Spades

Best Editing

1. Wild Horse Nine
2. The Odyssey
3. Digger
4. Project Hail Mary
5. La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)

Best Production Design

1. The Odyssey
2. Digger
3. Project Hail Mary
4. Dune: Part Three
5. Werwulf

Best Costume Design

1. The Odyseey
2. Werwulf
3. Sense and Sensibility
4. La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
5. Dune: Part Three

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

1. Digger
2. Werwulf
3. The Odyssey
4. Clayface
5. Michael

Best Visual Effects

1. Dune: Part Three
2. Project Hail Mary
3. The Odyssey
4. The End of Oak Street
5. Avengers: Doomsday

Best Sound

1. Dune: Part Three
2. Project Hail Mary
3. The Odyssey
4. La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
5. Disclosure Day

Best Score

1. The Odyssey
2. La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
3. Wild Horse Nine
4. Disclosure Day
5. Project Hail Mary

Best Song

1. I Knew It, I Knew You from Toy Story 5
2. How to Write a Song (Without You) from Power Ballad
3. TBD from La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
4. Untitled song from The Debut
5. Diane Warren Track (not sure of which film but one will present itself as it always does, perhaps Somewhere We All Belong From The Crystal Planet)

As always,

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