Cram this year’s best pictures before the Oscars. Here’s how

It’s nearly March, which means the Academy Awards are just around the corner. The time we have to catch up on our Oscars watch list is growing worryingly short. Ten films have been nominated for best picture this year, meaning you have about a week to watch those you’ve missed before the ceremony on March 3 (AEDT). On the couch or in the cinema, here’s where you’ll find them.

From Dune: Part Two to The Brutalist, here’s where you can watch the Oscars best picture nominees.Credit: AP

Anora

In cinemas, premium video-on-demand

Described by some as a “Brooklyn Cinderella story”, Anora has been generating hype since winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes last year. Directed by Sean Baker (Tangerine), it sees a young exotic dancer fall into a whirlwind fling with the son of a Russian oligarch, eventually marrying him and adopting his life of luxury. However, once her husband’s parents learn of their union, they travel to the US to tear them apart.

In Sean Baker’s “Anora”, Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) and Anora (Mikey Madison) are a mismatch made in heaven.Credit:

Equally chaotic and heart-wrenching, the film picked up best picture at the Critics Choice Awards, and earned lead actress Mikey Madison a BAFTA. It’s now in cinemas, but you can also rent or buy it on digital platforms such as Google TV.

A Complete Unknown

In cinemas

If you haven’t seen the film yet, you may have had a taste of it when Timothée Chalamet sang a Bob Dylan number on SNL last month. As convincing as his voice was on the sketch show, it’s doubly convincing in James Mangold’s bold music biopic. It tracks the Nobel Prize winner’s early music career in the 1960s, as well as the most notable relationships he formed along the way. You’ll be able to sing along to this film in cinemas.

The Brutalist

In cinemas, coming soon to premium video-on-demand

The Brutalist, a 3½-hour long epic shot in VistaVision – a film format not used in a full American feature for more than six decades – might not be everybody’s cup of tea. But the three Golden Globes it picked up in January – for best drama, best director and best male actor in a drama – put it on the radar of a more mainstream audience.

To watch the dramatic story of Jewish Hungarian architect László Tóth (Adrien Brody), who fled to America amid the fallout of World War II, head to your nearest cinema. If you’re not comfortable sitting in a theatre for more than three hours (fair enough), it’s available to pre-order on Apple TV for $24.99.

Adrien Brody plays a tormented architect creating his masterwork in “The Brutalist”.Credit: AP

Conclave

In cinemas, premium video-on-demand

In Conclave, Ralph Fiennes plays a grieving cardinal given the task of shepherding a group of secretive and ambitious Catholics through the process to elect a new pope. It won four BAFTAs recently, including best film.

The religious drama is still being shown in select cinemas, but it’s also available to buy or rent on digital platforms such as Google TV and Apple TV.

Dune: Part Two

Binge, Netflix

Following the success of Denis Villeneuve’s momentous sci-fi epic Dune in 2021, the sequel was bound to turn heads. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is out for revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family, all while grappling with whether he actually wants to assume the messiah role prophesied to him. If sandworm surfing and battles to the death are your thing, you can stream Dune: Part Two on Binge or Netflix.

Emilia Perez

In cinemas

This wacky noir-musical about a transgender woman who fakes her own death to start a new life was a best picture frontrunner; however, it has been mired in controversy since problematic past tweets from its lead actress, Karla Sofía Gascón, re-emerged in January. For those interested in seeing the film behind this real-life drama, head to your nearest cinema.

I’m Still Here

In cinemas

Brazilian actor Fernanda Torres beat out Hollywood royalty – including Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie and Kate Winslet – for the Golden Globe for best female actor in a drama in January. Will she be as successful at the Oscars?

I’m Still Here tells the story of a wife fighting for the return of her husband under a military dictatorship. It will hit Australian cinemas on February 27, but preview sessions are already available at select cinemas.

Nickel Boys

Coming soon to Prime Video

Unlike any other best picture nomination this year, Nickel Boys experiments with perspective, presenting a film shot in first-person POV. An adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel, it follows two boys at an abusive “reform” school in Florida who are confronted with the racism typical of the Jim Crow era.

Its director, RaMell Ross, told the BBC the camerawork was “designed to reflect how every human being is the centre of their own world, but also how they experience the world in a way that they haven’t yet processed”. If this sounds up your alley, you will be able to stream it on Prime Video from February 27.

Nickel Boys presents an abusive “reform” school from a first-person viewpoint.Credit:

The Substance

Stan*

For anyone moved by Demi Moore’s Globes speech to see the “magical, bold, courageous, out-of-the-box, absolutely bonkers script” that finally earned her the flowers after 45 years in the industry, The Substance is available to stream on Stan.

Moore has been raking in the awards this season for her performance as Elizabeth Sparkle, an ageing Hollywood star who injects herself with a mysterious substance that creates a younger, better version of herself.

Wicked

In cinemas, premium video-on-demand

Though it may not have received the acclaim some might have expected throughout the awards season so far, Wicked remains a firm fan favourite. There’s still time to catch the star-studded musical spectacle as it should be seen: in the cinema. It’s also available to rent or buy on digital platforms.

*Stan is owned by Nine, which also owns this masthead.

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