Stars from throughout the filmmaking world are gathering this weekend within the United States for the 95th annual Academy Awards ceremony, one of the prestigious occasions within the cinema world.

But the excessive level will seemingly come on the finish of Sunday night, when this yr’s best picture is topped. Ten nominees need to stroll away with the coveted Oscar for high movie — and the sphere of contenders this yr is a assorted bunch, starting from quiet interval dramas to punchy summer season blockbusters and quirky indie favourites.

Where does every of the movies stand within the race for one of the best image trophy? Al Jazeera breaks down the strengths and weaknesses that would resolve who wins Oscar glory.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

A genre-defying absurdist masterpiece, the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once was the darkish horse that grew to become a frontrunner in one of the best image race.

The movie tells the story of Evelyn, an immigrant mom and laundromat proprietor whose life is falling aside. Not solely has she alienated her husband and daughter, however her enterprise threatens to crumble below the scrutiny of the Internal Revenue Service.

But that is no extraordinary household drama. As Evelyn’s life begins to fracture, so does the universe, drawing her right into a multi-dimensional motion comedy that’s half martial arts saga, half cinematic homage.

Why it might win: Who doesn’t love an underdog? This indie triumph was almost universally acclaimed — and gained a cult following regardless of an low season launch in March 2022.

Why it might lose: Academy voters are inclined to lean conservative and this movie, with its off-kilter comedy, might fall brief in contrast with extra conventional choices.

The Banshees of Inisherin

A darkish comedy about friendship, ambition and spiralling hatred, The Banshees of Inisherin reunites filmmaker Martin McDonagh with the odd couple from one in all his earlier hits, In Bruges: Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.

Once once more, their on-screen relationship turns murderous. Farrell performs Pádraic, a farmer whose bland persona begins to grate on Gleeson’s brooding musician Colm.

So Colm makes a drastic pronouncement: Their friendship is over. And if Pádraic makes an attempt to strategy him ever once more, Colm will minimize off his personal fingers. Set towards the backdrop of the Irish Civil War, McDonagh paints a stark portrait of how even the closest mates can flip into bitter enemies.

Why it might win: The Academy has proven a style for McDonagh’s mordant humour, together with his earlier outing — 2017’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri — choosing up seven nominations and two wins.

Why it might lose: A quaint allegory set in rural Ireland, this movie lacks the pizzazz of a few of its rivals and has confronted backlash for perpetuating Irish stereotypes.

Elvis

A maestro of grand spectacle, director Baz Luhrmann has lengthy been drawn to the touchstones of Western tradition, adapting movies based mostly on Shakespeare, opera and the writings of F Scott Fitzgerald.

But for his newest outing, Luhrmann summons one of many greatest hitmakers of the twentieth century: the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley.

Blending fashionable influences with mid-century nostalgia, the biopic Elvis is an unconventional have a look at the connection Presley had together with his supervisor Colonel Tom Parker, performed by Oscar winner Tom Hanks. But it’s newcomer Austin Butler as Elvis who steals the present, with a hip-swinging tour de drive.

Why it might win: Biopics are catnip for Oscar voters and pairing a retro soundtrack with Luhrmann’s trademark visible fireworks may very well be a recipe for fulfillment.

Why it might lose: Luhrmann’s adrenaline-infused visible type can learn as shallow, and his portrait of Elvis boasts a number of rhythm and blues — however not a lot soul.

Tár

She is a conductor on the high of her craft, a veritable celeb on this planet of classical music, with talking engagements, a e book launch and a significant recording within the works.

But one thing is haunting the eponymous musician on the coronary heart of the movie Tár. And simply when her profession has reached its heights, a intercourse scandal will rob her of the factor she craves most: energy.

Cate Blanchett delivers a towering efficiency as Lydia Tár, a girl who has risen in a male-dominated area, solely to develop into an abusive drive in her personal proper. Writer-director Todd Field plumbs the depths of Tár’s psyche, delivering a portrait tinged with dread.

Why it might win: Blanchett is ferocious because the title character and Field’s incisive psychological dramas have netted 14 Oscar nominations to this point. A win might lastly be within the offing.

Why it might lose: Tár is a movie bathed in shadows, brimming with unanswered questions — not your typical crowd-pleaser, in brief.

All Quiet on the Western Front

The World War I epic All Quiet on the Western Front heads to the Oscars on a triumphant be aware: It swept the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) with 5 wins, together with the trophy for greatest image.

But the movie itself chronicles not triumph however defeat, seen from the mud-caked trenches of 1918 France. That’s the place 17-year-old Paul finds himself after enlisting within the German military together with his mates.

Paul’s patriotism, nevertheless, is quickly dampened by the cruel realities of battle, in director Edward Berger’s gritty, claustrophobic adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel.

Why it might win: From Platoon to The Hurt Locker to The Bridge on the River Kwai, battle motion pictures have a historical past of successful one of the best image class — and this one boasts a literary pedigree.

Why it might lose: Of all one of the best image nominees this yr, this one is the arguably most conventional, which could dissuade Oscar voters seeking to distance themselves from the previous.

Women Talking

Women Talking is a movie as understated as its title — however within the dialogue that unfurls lies a depth of pathos and complexity, as a gaggle of Mennonite ladies confront the horrors of rape.

Based on a 2018 novel that fictionalised real-life occasions, Women Talking chronicles a group at breaking level. The ladies have come to understand that almost all of them have been sexually assaulted within the evening, whereas being saved unconscious with cattle tranquilliser.

Now they must resolve what to do about it. Actor-turned-director Sarah Polley assembles a star-studded forged — headlined by Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley and Oscar winner Frances McDormand — to discover the fallout for the remoted spiritual group.

Why it might win: Women Talking is a poignant have a look at a well timed difficulty, and its largely feminine ensemble options among the high expertise in cinema immediately.

Why it might lose: Some cultural critics warn the momentum behind the #MeToo motion is waning, and different current movies which have explicitly grappled with sexual assault — just like the 2022 drama She Said — have been handed over on the Oscars.

The Fabelmans

An establishment in US filmmaking, director Steven Spielberg unveils his most intimate challenge but with The Fabelmans, a semi-autobiographical portrait of his childhood ardour for filmmaking — and his dad and mom’ dissolving marriage.

Gabriel LaBelle stars as Sammy Fabelman, an adolescent caught between his engineer father’s sensible ambitions and his pianist mom’s stifled artistry.

Inspired by the traditional cinema of Cecil B DeMille and John Ford, Sammy picks up a film digicam and embarks on filmmaking endeavours of his personal. But the truths he discovers by the attention of the digicam lens might fracture his household for good.

Why it might win: Spielberg’s fourth big-screen collaboration with Pulitzer-winning playwright Tony Kushner is a warm-hearted love letter to Hollywood cinema.

Why it might lose: Spielberg’s self-mythologising is gently paced and maybe a bit too neat, side-stepping among the heavier emotional stakes that accompany depictions of anti-Semitism and desires deferred.

Avatar: The Way of Water

Director James Cameron returns to the fictional moon of Pandora for Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel to his 2009 environmental fantasy.

Set greater than 10 years later, the movie reunites with Jake Sully, a former US Marine whose consciousness now resides within the physique of a Na’vi, one of many moon’s tall blue indigenous inhabitants.

But the Na’vi stay below assault as people try and colonise Pandora and strip its sources. Sully and his household escape to Pandora’s shoreline the place they embark on a seafaring journey that owes a nod to Moby Dick — solely this time, the whale is the protagonist.

Why it might win: Cameron has lengthy embraced cutting-edge expertise, and his newest Avatar employs underwater motion-capture animation that lends crisp magnificence to the movie’s aquatic scenes.

Why it might lose: Though it was the top-grossing movie worldwide, the newest Avatar suffers from signs frequent to many blockbusters: It is lengthy, bloated with motion sequences and heavy-handed in its depiction of dangerous guys versus mystical indigenous protagonists.

Triangle of Sadness

Winner of the celebrated Palme d’Or on the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Triangle of Sadness is a satire and castaway film rolled into one.

Writer-director Ruben Östlund rallies a forged of nouveau-riche characters to board the movie’s doomed yacht. Among the visitor checklist are a pair of models-turned-influencers, an arms-dealing couple, a Russian oligarch and even a tech magnate.

But their world of simple pleasures will get upended when a string of disasters strikes the ship, capsizing the hierarchy they lengthy loved.

Why it might win: Triangle of Sadness packs the identical satirical punch that made the 2019 South Korean movie Parasite a greatest image winner, sharing its affinity for sophistication commentary, darkish humour and overflowing bathrooms.

Why it might lose: Despite its massive win at Cannes, Triangle of Sadness earned combined critiques, with some critics denouncing its lack of nuance and mental posturing.

Top Gun: Maverick

An unapologetic throwback to the period of huge Nineteen Eighties motion motion pictures, Top Gun: Maverick soared into theatres in May 2022, simply in time for the summer season blockbuster season, and it got here away as the highest earner on the US field workplace final yr.

The engine, in fact, behind the high-flying movie is Tom Cruise, who at age 60 stays a silver-screen draw.

In this sequel to 1986’s Top Gun, Cruise returns as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a daredevil pilot whose disdain for authority has scuttled his navy profession. But new alternatives — and new challenges — emerge when Maverick is put in command of coaching the following technology of fighter pilots.

Why it might win: Top Gun: Maverick is the quintessential popcorn movie, a breathless, stunt-filled extravaganza that resonates with a broad American viewers.

Why it might lose: Broad, splashy blockbusters hardly ever take dwelling the Academy’s high honour, and Top Gun: Maverick won’t play effectively with audiences sceptical of its military-themed nostalgia.