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).

A couple of big name organizations announced winners this past week. The British Academy and the Directors Guild of America were the best known, but selections from the Art Directors Guild as well as the Houston and Vancouver critics. Next weekend is another batch of prominent organizations including the PGA, SAG, and Annies.

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

Week 13 (TUE-MON)

Tuesday, Feb. 21 – ASCAP (Nominations) (Unconfirmed)
Thursday, Feb. 23 – Film Music Critics (Awards) (Official)
Thursday, Feb. 23 – GALECA (Awards) (Official)
Friday, Feb. 24 – Hollywood Critics (Awards) (Official)
Saturday, Feb. 25 – Annie Awards (Awards) (Official)
Saturday, Feb. 25 – Producers Guild (Awards) (Official)
Saturday, Feb. 25 – Cesar Awards (Awards) (Unconfirmed)
Saturday, Feb. 25 – NAACP Image Awards (Awards) (Official)
Sunday, Feb. 26 – Screen Actors (Awards) (Official)
Sunday, Feb. 26 – Sound Editors (Awards) (Official)
Monday, Feb. 27 – Costume Designers (Awards) (Official)
Monday, Feb. 27 – Bodil Awards (Awards) (Unconfirmed)

Big Winners

All Quiet on the Western Front has moved itself into a strong position for the Oscars by dominating the BAFTA film awards. Winning Best Picture and Best Director against expectations, the film is turning into one of the strongest competitors this year to have come from nowhere to seize victory.
Austin Butler got great news from BAFTA, beating out hometown nominee Colin Farrell for Best Actor. It was uncertain if the actor would win, but BAFTA boosts his credentials and if he can win SAG next, he might become a behemoth. It sure helps to have a juice role.
Babylon (except Original Score) won the Production Design awards at both the Art Directors Guild and BAFTA, which pushes the film into the leading position for the Oscar.
The Banshees of Inisherin (except Colin Farrell) pulled in awards for Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon at BAFTA and also won for screenwriting and Best British Film. It’s possible that some voters chose to give Banshees one of the two awards and felt free to vote a different direction for Best Picture, but it was a strong showing for the film at BAFTA and the critics organizations.
The Daniels won at the DGA and that’s enough to propel them into the lead position at the Oscars for Best Directing. Whether or not that’s a positive sign for the film for Best Picture remains to be seen. Only the PGA and SAG next weekend could give it a bigger boost.

Big Losers

Everything Everywhere All at Once may have done well at the Houston critics awards and at the Art Directors Guild, but it stumbled minorly in Vancouver (no Ke Huy Quan) and took a bath at the BAFTAs where it won a single award for Best Film Editing. Losing all those high profile awards can’t bolster the film’s fortunes.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Fraser needed a BAFTA win to propel them towards Oscar glory, but lost out to neophyte Butler. Their fates are now tied to how well they do at the Screen Actors Guild awards this weekend.
Top Gun: Maverick was thought to be a decent contender for Sound, but lost to All Quiet. Tom Cruise’s film has managed to lose steam in the last few weeks, which is a bad sign for its future Oscar prospects. Its failure to win Cinematography, which it wasn’t nominated for at the Oscars, was another nail in its coffin.