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). This is it. The Oscars are less than a week away and all of the guilds have had their say. There are two precursor groups yet to announce. The Spirit Awards are given out the day before the Oscars and the Satellite Awards, which have been inexplicably set for a week after the Oscars. Then there are the Golden Raspberry Awards for the worst of the year, but those are generally just for fun. (NOTE: I mistakenly listed the Spirit Awards as being on Sun. Feb. 23. I had incorrectly put down the wrong date in my personal spreadsheet, so it came up at the wrong time. I apologize for any confusion. Better to believe it’s earlier, rather than later, right?)

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

Week 14

Tue., Feb. 25 – Academy Awards Voting Ends
Sat., Mar. 1 – Spirit Awarads
Sat., Mar. 1 – Razzie Awards
Sun., Mar. 2 – Academy Awards
Sun., Mar. 9 – Satellite Awards

Big Winners

12 Years a Slave surprised many by trumping Catherine Martin’s lavish work for The Great Gatsby by taking the Costume Designers Guild award. While the award itself doesn’t necessarily convey that it will win the Oscar for Costume Design, it does indicate that the film has broad support in the creative fields, which might help it take up residence as Best Picture of the year even if Gravity seems to be dominating the precursors otherwise.
Gravity didn’t really win big since it was an as-expected night at the Cinema Audio Society, but every victory in a race that has been given some measure of scrutiny, can certainly help. The film is sure to be a strong competitor in many categories, including the sound categories, but some doubt had been cast by the late surge of Captain Phillips.

Big Losers

The Great Gatsby needed the Costume Designers Guild award to remain the frontrunner for the Oscar. While many Academy voters have already cast their ballots, late filers might see this loss at the CDG as a hint that they should vote elsewhere. Martin has her own Oscars already, so a loss anywhere, even the buddy-buddy guilds, should be an omen. Of course, it could be an outlier.
Captain Phillips had come on strong in recent weeks, winning an unexpected prize from the American Cinema Editors and then turning that into a shock Best Supporting Actor win at the BAFTA’s. While a loss at the Cinema Audio Society isn’t necessarily a routing defeat, it does suggest that too many surges by the film on Oscar night should not be expected.