Awards season is officially upon us – and it couldn’t have come at a better time. As we start our winter hibernation, we can use this downtime as an excuse to watch all the movies that are expected to win big.
While nominees for the Critics Choice Awards (set to be held January 14) and the Golden Globes (January 7) have already been announced, we’ll be waiting with bated breath to see if Margot Robbie gets her much-deserved Best Actress nomination when the Oscar nominees are revealed on January 23.
There’s tough competition this year, with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer expected to be the frontrunners, but these could easily be ousted by critic favourites like Poor Things or even Past Lives. It’s anyone’s game.
To help you choose your picks, we’ve listed all the films expected to go home with a trophy in 2024 – and where you can watch them right now.
Barbie
By far 2023’s most-anticipated film, Barbie is nominated for a slew of awards this season, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Margot Robbie), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ryan Gosling) at both the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes.
The film follows Barbie (Robbie) and Ken (Gosling) as Barbie suffers an existential crisis and travels to the human world to find answers.
Where to watch: Barbie is currently only available to rent on Prime for £4.99, or buy for £13.99 from Sky Cinema, Prime Video, Microsoft Store, Apple TV+ and other digital retailers.
Oppenheimer
Tipped to be the most prolific winner this awards season, Oppenheimer was one of 2023’s biggest releases, with many opting to do a double screening of both Barbie and Oppenheimer - a phenomenon that was dubbed ‘Barbieheimer’.
The film follows theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) as he leads a team to develop the world's first nuclear weapons.
Where to watch: Oppenheimer is currently available to buy for £13.99 from Prime Video, Apple TV+, and the Microsoft Store.
Past Lives
This year’s sleeper hit, Past Lives is a beautiful story of childhood sweethearts Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Tee Yo) who reconnect as adults after Nora’s family moved her from South Korea to the US as a child.
Past Lives has been nominated for Best Picture and Lee has received a nod for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Critics Choice Awards, and the Golden Globes.
Where to watch: Past Lives is currently available to buy for £9.99 from Sky Cinema, Prime Video, and Apple TV+, and to rent from Prime for £5.49.
Maestro
Maestro stars Bradley Cooper (who also produced, wrote, and directed the film) and Carey Mulligan as conductor Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre Bernstein respectively, charting their early relationship and his rise to fame.
The film has been nominated for eight Critics Choice Awards and four Golden Globes, so far.
Where to watch: Maestro is available to watch on Netflix from December 20.
Poor Things
Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo star in this quirky film that has already been getting Oscar buzz after its cinema release — especially because everyone has been talking about that sex scene.
Stone has already been nominated for Best Actress at both the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, and Ruffalo has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor at both awards respectively, while the film itself has nods for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Where to watch: Poor Things is currently showing at cinemas across the UK.
All of Us Strangers
If we could give out awards for cast alone we’d want to give All of Us Strangers as many as we could. The film combines stars from two of our favourite universes (Normal People and Fleabag, duh) with its two lead roles, Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott. The pair meet by chance and form a relationship, which is about all we know of the plot so far.
We’re quietly rooting for Scott, who has been nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama at the Golden Globes, and the film has been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Critics Choice Awards.
Where to watch: All of Us Strangers will open in cinemas across the UK from January 26, 2024.
Killers of the Flower Moon
With its mega 3hr 26min runtime, Killers of the Flower Moon was inspired by a true story and is set in 1920s Oklahoma when oil is discovered under Osage Nation land. The FBI is forced to step in when Osage people start getting murdered one by one.
The film, which is set to be a strong contender this awards season, is nominated for seven Golden Globes and 12 Critics Choice Awards.
Where to watch: If you missed its cinema run, you can currently rent Killers of the Flower Moon for £15.99 on Prime Video.
Saltburn
Emerald Fennell’s follow-up to her scorching 2020 film Promising Young Woman (if you haven’t already seen it, we highly recommend it), Saltburn is another dark comedy described as an “eat the rich romp”.
It’s the dark horse of this year’s awards season, but with a Best Picture nomination at the Critics Choice Awards, it could very well cause an upset.
Where to watch: Saltburn is still being shown in cinemas but it will be available to watch on Prime Video from December 22. Although maybe don’t include it as part of your festive picks …
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
If there’s one film we wish had been released when we were tweens, it’s this. Based on Judy Blume’s YA book of the same name, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret sees 11-year-old Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) navigate first crushes and her first period as her family (including her mum played by Rachel McAdams, feel old yet?) move from 1970’s New York City to suburban New Jersey.
The film has been nominated for both Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Young Actor/Actress at the Critics Choice Awards, but we wouldn’t be surprised if McAdams gets a nomination in a supporting role at the Oscars.
Where to watch: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is available to stream on Prime Video.
American Fiction
With nominations for Best Picture at both the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, along with Best Actor nominations for lead Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction is a strong contender in this year’s awards circuit.
Based on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett, American Fiction sees a novelist (Wright), who is frustrated with an establishment that profits from “Black entertainment”, pen an outlandish book that soon becomes a hit.
Where to watch: American Fiction will be available to watch in cinemas across the UK from February 4, 2024.
Anatomy of a Fall
Anatomy of a Fall is nominated for three Critics Choice Awards and four Golden Globes, including Best Foreign Language at both award shows (although the French film already won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival).
In this psychological thriller, a writer faces a trial after her husband falls to his death from a secluded chalet.
Where to watch: Anatomy of a Fall is currently being shown at cinemas across the UK, or you can pre-order it for £13.99 from Prime Video.
