2018 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Feature-Length Documentary
February 7, 2019
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we look at Best Feature-Length Documentary. Logic and evidence suggests the favorite film is Won’t You Be My Neighbor? with Three Identical Strangers coming in a close second. However, neither of them were nominated.
Best Feature-Length Documentary of the Year
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
RBG
Conclusion: I think RBG has a small edge on Free Solo for the Best Feature-Length Documentary award. I wouldn’t be too surprised if this category turned into an upset, on the other hand.
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Tomatometer Score: 98% Positive
Previous Major Nominations: BAFTA, DGA, and PGA
Previous Major Wins: None (One Pending)
Notes: This mountain-climbing documentary was a huge hit at the box office compared to the average documentary, which means many more Oscar voters will have seen it. It also earned 98% positive reviews and earned three previous major nominations. It hasn’t won any major awards yet, but then again, none of the films on this list have won any major awards.
Tomatometer Score: 97% Positive
Previous Major Nominations: DGA and Independent Spirit Awards
Previous Major Wins: None (One Pending)
Notes: Two of the five documentaries on this list did extremely well at the box office, but this was not one of them. It also only earned two prior major nominations compared to three for the two front-runners. There’s not suggesting it could be the front-runner, so it is probably among the longest of the long shots.
Tomatometer Score: 100% Positive
Previous Major Nominations: Independent Spirit Awards
Previous Major Wins: None (One Pending)
Notes: This film earned the best reviews of the five films on this list, but, despite that, it only managed one previous major nomination. The reviews suggest it has a chance, so I don’t think it is the longest of the long shots, but it is also not one of the favorites.
Tomatometer Score: 94% Positive
Previous Major Nominations: Independent Spirit Awards
Previous Major Wins: None (One Pending)
Notes: Of the five films on this list, this one has the weakest box office numbers, close to the weakest reviews, and is tied for the lowest number previous nominations. It’s a long shot, possibly the longest of the long shots.
Tomatometer Score: 94% Positive
Previous Major Nominations: BAFTA, DGA, and PGA
Previous Major Wins: None (One Pending)
Notes: Oddly, this film’s reviews are the worst of the five films on this list. In fact, its average score is just 7.5 out of 10, which is simply not Oscar-worthy. However, it has earned the most nominations and is considered by most to be the front-runner.
Filed under: Awards Season, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, RBG, Three Identical Strangers, Kinder des Kalifats, Minding the Gap, Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Free Solo