As the precursor awards continue unabated until Oscar night, I’m going to be providing a weekly update highlighting the films that have won and lost momentum through the precursor awards (and in some cases other outside influences).

We’re getting so close everyone should feel it. These are the final weeks of the pre-Oscars awards gauntlet.

But, before we get into this week’s winners and losers, let’s take a look at what’s coming up this week:

Week 16 (TUE-MON)

Thursday, Mar. 17 – GALECA (Awards) (Official)
Thursday, Mar. 17 – Casting Society (Awards) (Official)
Thursday, Mar. 17 – Academy Awards Voting Begins (Official)
Friday, Mar. 18 – AARP (Awards) (Official)
Friday, Mar. 18 – Satellites (Awards) (Official)
Saturday, Mar. 19 – Audio Society (Awards) (Official)
Saturday, Mar. 19 – Producers Guild (Awards) (Official)
Sunday, Mar. 20 – Cinematographers (Awards) (Official)
Sunday, Mar. 20 – Writers Guild (Awards) (Official)

Big Winners

The Power of the Dog had seemed on the ropes in the last week or so after fallout from the SAG awards, but BAFTA and the Critics Choice awards managed to right the ship, earning Director and Picture prizes from both organizations.
Will Smith followed up his SAG win with victories at BAFTA and CCA over the weekend, which pretty much locks him into the Best Actor award at the Oscars.
Troy Kotsur also benefited from the ratification of his SAG win by BAFTA and CCA with the added boost of the less important Spirit Awards.
Ariana DeBose has been largely dominant all season and SAG confirmed that, but BAFTA and CCA both replicated it, pushing the third acting category towards an inevitable conclusion.
Jessica Chastain wasn’t nominated at BAFTA, but after SAG and CCA, it’s difficult to argue with her new trajectory, but she isn’t out of the woods yet. This weekend did give her a boost, however.
Dune performed strongly in the craft categories at BAFTA and CCA. The latter was less impressive for Denis Villeneuve’s film as it managed to lose out on an expected prize in Cinematography, but picked up Production Design, which had seemed to slip from its grip in recent weeks.

Big Losers

CODA can’t be happy that its sole victory at CCA was Kotsur’s win, especially since BAFTA had suggested the film was about to sweep to an Adapted Screenplay win at the Oscars. CCA went with Jane Campion’s script for The Power of the Dog instead.
The cast of The Power of the Dog seemed like they were cruising towards Oscar victories with both Benedict Cumberbatch and Kodi Smit-McPhee on the right path. However, SAG and now BAFTA and CCA have all dismissed the cast and both seem headed towards defeat, a rare case of the precursor leaders losing out at the Oscars. It’s not a done deal until the envelopes are opened, but this weekend pretty much nailed the coffin shut.