Tom Cruise, Timothée Chalamet, Anne Hathaway, and Inde Navarrette’s breakout “Obsession” performance are potential awards contenders.

Super early 2027 Oscars contenders, from The Odyssey to Obsession

Tom Cruise, Timothée Chalamet, Anne Hathaway, and Inde Navarrette’s breakout “Obsession” performance are potential awards contenders.

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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on September 4, 2026 12:25 p.m. ET

Inde Navarrette in ‘Obsession’. Credit:

Focus Features /Courtesy Everett Collection

- Early 2027 Oscars contenders have already popped up on the awards trail.

- Timothée Chalamet, Tom Cruise, Anne Hathaway, and more have high-profile projects in the works.

- Returning Oscar-favorite filmmakers are also in the mix, including Alejandro González Iñárritu, Christopher Nolan, Martin McDonagh, and more.

Like Barbra Streisand surprise-singing the legacy of Robert Redford into the annals of the past, the 2026 Oscars season is now but a sweet memory. So, it’s time to reignite the flames of contention as ** rounds up a list of super early 2027 Oscars contenders.

Perhaps more than last year at this point, a wealth of likely contenders (at least on paper) have captured early interest. From Tom Cruise‘s possible nod and Christopher Nolan‘s Best Picture follow-up, to the film that could finally win Anne Hathaway her second Oscar, likely contenders for the 2027 Academy Awards include Hollywood heavyweights from all corners of the industry.

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But, we’re not just singling out the most obvious, top-line players in the race ahead. EW has you covered for projections in the technical categories, too, as uniquely crafted works like *Undertone* and *Obsession* could stun in unexpected ways for their standout approaches to the medium — including potential capitalization on a well-deserved campaign for breakout star Inde Navarrette.

Though we’re still months away from next year’s Academy Awards, see EW’s roundup of *very* early 2027 Oscars contenders below.

Project Hail Mary

Ryan Gosling in ‘Project Hail Mary’.

Ryan Gosling’s sci-fi-drama looks to continue the recent trend of early-year releases hitting big at the box office and sustaining all the way through to Oscar season (*Barbie*, *Oppenheimer*, etc.) With nearly $700 million in global ticket sales and a widely heralded leading turn from Gosling, the film could finally land the actor in serious contention to take the Best Actor prize, after his prior nods (*Barbie*, *La La Land*, *Half Nelson*) ultimately didn’t connect enough with Academy voters.

Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve in ‘Fjord’.

A two-and-a-half-hour, internationally produced, major Cannes Film Festival hit? If *Anatomy of a Fall*, *Elle*, *Cold War*, (and, frankly, many more) are any indication, Oscar attention is imminent for *Fjord. *Critics and audiences alike on the festival circuit have heaped praise on the Palme d’Or-winning, Cristian Mungiu-directed drama starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve. Both stars are hot off praise for various projects over the years, with particular critical adoration for their leading turns in the Romania-backed film.

Cannes has proven to be a breeding ground for Oscar fodder in recent years, and Fjord is primed to set sail in the same direction.

Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore.

Lyvans Boolaky/Getty Images

Far from Oscar winner Julianne Moore’s debut on the awards circuit, *The Debut*, however, does signal a new chapter in the storied actress’ career. It’s widely speculated that the Jesse Eisenberg-helmed film could lead to the star’s long-overdue second Academy Award (she was totally robbed for *May December*, let’s be real). Centering on a reserved woman’s unexpected casting in a local musical, the film feels squarely in line with what industry voters typically go for — especially for stars of Moore’s acting caliber. Telluride audiences will chart the course for this one, however, as the film is set to debut at the Oscar-positioning festival in the days ahead.

Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston in ‘Obsession’.

Earning more than $500 million on a reported $750,000 budget is no laughing matter — and neither is the subject matter of Curry Barker’s nightmarishly good horror hit *Obsession*. While the film flexed financial might in terms of ticket sales, it also turned lead actress Inde Navarrette into a breakout rising star, as the 25-year-old’s work quickly led to her landing the role of Rogue in an upcoming *X-Men* film series installment.

Now, with fantastic goodwill behind her performance in the industry and beyond (coupled with recent news that she’ll officially campaign for a Best Actress nomination), it’s looking like the Academy might show repeat affection for a horror-centric performance after anointing Amy Madigan’s work in *Weapons*.

*The Odyssey *

On paper, it was the most obvious Oscar contender of the year even before it steamrolled the global box office. Christopher Nolan as director? Major studio energy? Oscar success is all but guaranteed. High-profile stars in a huge ensemble (Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson) led the charge, with particular praise heralding Hathaway as the standout performance among a crowded cast.

*The Odyssey* is big, it’s buzzy, it’s got a wealth of industry-favorite stars lending their image to what will surely be a star-studded awards campaign, and it’s primed for an epic takeover of awards season.

Wild Horse Nine

Martin McDonagh‘s name doesn’t often come to mind when considering the best auteurs of the era, but his Oscars track record suggests that it certainly should. From *In Bruges*‘ lone nomination to *Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri *and* The Banshees of Inisherin *earning seven and nine nominations apiece (including in the Best Picture category), it’s clear that affection for McDonagh’s work is only growing among insider circles.

For his next project, he teams with a familiar face: Sam Rockwell (who previously won an Oscar for *Three Billboards*) returns to work with the filmmaker. It’s likely that, pending any disasters on the critical front, Oscar voters will, too.

The Social Reckoning

Mikey Madison in ‘The Social Reckoning’.

Sony Pictures Entertainment/Youtube

Aaron Sorkin just kind of feels *above* sequels, right? Well, not if it’s a continuation (of sorts) of a modern David Fincher masterpiece that Sorkin also wrote, apparently! *The Social Network 2 *doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, so *The Social Reckoning** *will do; and so will Sorkin’s sensibilities, as he jumps into the director’s chair to helm the second part of the story he and Fincher established in 2010.

*Reckoning* is also 2025 Best Actress winner Mikey Madison‘s first major release since taking the prize at last year’s ceremony, and afterglow nominations are a real phenomenon. There’s additionally a strong ensemble rounding out the cast (2026 nominee Wunmi Mosaku, 2025 nominee Jeremy Strong, Emmy favorite Jeremy Allen White, etc.), meaning *Reckoning* could sail through the season as both a strong writing *and* acting favorite.

Tom Cruise in ‘Digger’.

Warner Bros. Pictures

We saw the overdue narrative work (overwhelmingly) in Paul Thomas Anderson’s favor this year, as *One Battle After Another* took the longtime nominee into the champions’ circle three times over. Tom Cruise’s work as an actor (including, funnily enough, in Anderson’s *Magnolia*) has similarly long been nominated by the Academy. He finally got his flowers (sort of) when he received an honorary statuette last year, though his acting abilities haven’t captured voters’ attention in decades.

In his later career, Cruise has pigeonholed himself as a sort of action-legacy star, with his most recent successes combining established franchise familiarity (*Top Gun*, *Mission: Impossible*) with his inherent audience recognition. Now is Cruise’s perfect chance to shock the industry with a stellar performance in *Digger*, the latest film by Alejandro González Iñárritu, an Oscar favorite whose past work includes *21 Grams*, *Babel*, *Biutiful*, *Birdman*, and *The Revenant* — all of which received at least one acting nomination.

Cruise’s overdue narrative, coupled with baked-in goodwill for Iñárritu, could lead to awards season gold for the Hollywood staple.

Dune: Part Three

No, we’re not done with Timothée Chalamet yet. Despite weathering late-season controversy at the end of the 2025-26 awards season, the *Marty Supreme* nominee is gearing up to traverse the circuit once again for *Dune: Part Three*, the epic cinematic conclusion to filmmaker Denis Villeneuve‘s beloved adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novels. The first two films in the series laid the foundation for a trio of successful awards entries, as both scored Best Picture nominations, with the first entry winning six Oscars at the 2022 ceremony.

This could go one of two ways, however: We could be looking at a* Lord of the Rings: The* *Return of the King*-style victory lap for Villeneuve’s final installment in the cinema series, or industry fatigue might smash this one’s chances down to spice-sized parcels as other epics rise in its place (see: *The Odyssey*).

Given the “new,” diversified Academy’s penchant for horror (*Sinners*, *Weapons*, and *Frankenstein* all won big across the board at the 2026 ceremony), it’s time to look at 2025 Fantasia Fest breakout *Undertone* as a potential technical player.

Lauded as an instant genre milestone for its ingenious, engrossing sound design, the film’s narrative and scares incorporate intense orchestration of immersive sounds in a plot that follows a podcast host plagued by horrifying audio recordings.

While it might not contend above the line, *Undertone *is* *shaping up to be a major Best Sound contender in the race ahead.* ***

Toy Story 5

Buzz Lightyear and Woody in ‘Toy Story 5’.

Courtesy of Disney/Pixar

Every entry in Disney‘s* Toy Story *franchise to date has received at least one Oscar nomination and/or win — including the original and its sequel, *Toy Story 2,* both of which were released before the Best Animated Feature category was implemented in 2001. *Toy Story 3* even earned a Best Picture nomination, a rare feat for animated films. With improved animation technology, a returning voice cast (Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and more), and a timely story about toys fighting back against digital devices invading the minds of the world’s youth, *Toy Story 5* is a shoo-in (or, perhaps, boot-in, in Woody’s case) for at least a nod in the animation-specific bracket. And don’t count out Taylor Swift’s sentimental original song, the chart-topping hit “I Knew It, I Knew You.”

Sundance proves time and time again to be a powerful launching pad for awards-bound projects. This year’s Gemma Chan/Channing Tatum drama, *Josephine*, earned rave reviews and the festival’s Grand Jury Prize for dramatic features — a healthy sign for how it will play with audiences and critics once it (likely) rolls out wider later this year.

If there’s one thing that has the Academy in a hold tighter than Michael Jackson dangling a child over a railing, it’s music-oriented biographical dramas. Starring Jafaar Jackson as his famous uncle, the enduring popularity of the film’s central subject alone is strong enough to at least put this one at the forefront of the industry’s mind at this early stage.

Other early 2027 Oscars contenders on the radar:

- *All of a Sudden*

- *La Bola Negra*

- *Paper Tiger*

- *Prima Facie*

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