Top 10 Movies That Could Win The Outstanding Popular Film Oscar This Year

One of the factors that we imagine will come into play when considering which films will be eligible for this category is the box office revenue. “Ready Player One”, the dystopian film that was based on a popular novel by Ernest Cline, definitely won big with audiences, bringing in $582 million globally. The movie didn’t make huge money in the US, and did moderately well with critics, holding a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 73%. We don’t think this is the most likely candidate to actually take home the award, because there was little about it that was challenging and it was far from a critical favorite. Still, the Academy loves Steven Spielberg, so who knows?

Many have speculated that the idea behind the new Oscar category is to be more inclusive of the types of genres that don’t typically win big come awards season. Both musicals and romantic comedies are typically underrepresented, especially at shows like the Academy Awards where drama and comedy are lumped together. The sequel to “Mama Mia” did pretty well in theatres when it was released this year and surprised critics, with one writer calling it, “"weirdly irresistible". Do we think this will win? No. Do we think it will be nominated? It’s definitely possible!

The “Star Wars” franchise has never won big at the Oscars, typically being relegated to nominations in categories like Best Sound Editing, Best Costume Design or Best Production Design. With this new category though, a door could be open to “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and other films in the series getting Oscar recognition in a more high profile way. This entry into the Star Wars universe performed relatively well at the box office, but high production costs meant they didn’t break even. Critics were pretty lukewarm about it, making us think it probably won’t take home the prize, but it’s definitely fun enough to deserve a nod.

Alright, hear us out on this one. If you haven’t seen “Paddington 2” (or the original “Paddington” movie for that matter) you should give it a chance before passing judgement. These films are almost shockingly charming, and have been a hit with children and adults alike, with the latest entry holding a coveted 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Family films almost never get recognized by the Academy, but this new category would definitely facilitate it happening more frequently. We’re going to go out on a limb and say this one will very likely receive a nomination.

We’ve got to assume that “Deadpool 2” is exactly the type of movie that this category was made for. It was a huge draw for movie audiences, bringing in a global revenue of $733 million. Critics liked it too, and Richard Roeper even called it “the best sequel since “The Godfather Part II”. But “Deadpool 2” is the type of movie that would not typically be nominated in any of the major Oscars categories. First off, it’s a superhero action movie and second, it’s a dark comedy. Things are changing with the introduction of "Outstanding Popular Film" however, and we’d be surprised if this didn’t get a nod.

One of the biggest question marks about this new category is whether animated films will be eligible, considering the Best Animated Feature Oscar has been around since the early aughts. If animated movies will be considered though, then this one will undoubtedly make the cut. “Incredibles 2” has made a whopping $1.1 billion at the time of writing, making it the third highest grossing animated film of all time. It also did exceedingly well with critics, with a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Those two things together are what we’re guessing the Academy is looking for in this category.

Another genre of film that doesn’t typically pique the Academy’s attention is horror. To be fair, it seems that the tides are turning in that regard because 2017’s “Get Out” was nominated in four major categories (including Best Picture) and took home the award for Best Original Screenplay. That film was a little harder to categorize though, and was far from your typical horror flick. In 2018, there was probably no more talked about scary movie than “A Quiet Place”, which used its unique concept to great effect. It was beloved by critics and audiences and raked in a respectable $332.6 million worldwide, which makes it a likely contender for this category.

Conventional action movies aren’t your typical Oscars fodder, and one of the most by the book releases this year was the latest “Mission: Impossible” entry. It has proven to be immensely popular, and only a few weeks after its release it has already brought in more than half a billion dollars globally. People may not have expected it to do well with the critics, but it did, with Peter Debruge of Variety saying it was the best entry into the franchise to date. Also, you’ve got to hand it to Tom Cruise, who even into his 50s is able to helm the series and make it look effortless.

Not only was this movie the highest grossing film of 2018, it has also become the fourth highest earning film of all time box office revenue. It seems like the “Outstanding Popular Film” category was made for a movie just like this: one that everyone has been talking about since its release and one that is beloved by both critics and audiences. “Avengers: Infinity War” was a movie that was packed with stars and had to balance many things at once, and it managed to pull it off in a fun and fast paced popcorn flick. If it weren’t for one other movie, we’d guess the award would go to this one.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” (2018)

“Love, Simon” (2018)

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” (2018)

In a totally uncontroversial move, we’re ready to place our bets on “Black Panther” as the most likely winner in this new category. Not only did it make a ton of money ($1.3 billion) and win over critics (it has 97% on Rotten Tomatoes) but there was probably no other film that dominated the cultural dialogue in quite the same way this year. Yes, tons of people saw it, but it was also the subject of countless articles, think pieces, podcast episodes and yes, YouTube videos. It’s almost like this award was created just so they could hand it to “Black Panther”. Wakanda forever!