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).

While there wasn’t a lot on the precursor front in the last week, enough emerged to give us an idea of where films stand going into Oscar voting. That said, some films clearly did better than others and while the big losers aren’t really losers, they just weren’t that successful this past week.

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

Week 6

Friday, Dec. 27 – Austin Critics (Nominations) (Unconfirmed)
Friday, Dec. 27 – North Carolina Critics (Nominations) (Official)
Sunday, Dec. 29 – Chicago Independent Critics (Nominations) (Unconfirmed)
Sunday, Dec. 29 – Columbus Critics (Nominations) (Official)
Monday, Dec. 30 – Oklahoma Critics (Awards) (Unconfirmed)

Big Winners

Marriage Story picked up a bit of steam in the last week, taking Best Picture prizes that it wasn’t getting previously. It’s now solidly locked into five categories, with a handful of others possible.
1917 also earned more attention this week in terms of top award wins and it hasn’t even released wide yet.
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood has continued to chug along in the awards derby picking up countless trophies while other once-prominent films have flagged a bit.
Uncut Gems is the little film that could. It has secured several prizes and nominations and is now a dark horse contender in several categories and a much more solid prospect for Best Actor and Adam Sandler.

Big Losers

The Irishman is still getting plenty of attention, but it just isn’t sparkling the way it did at the beginning of the season. The film might just have peaked too early.
Joker got excellent reviews and has been an ever-present force in the precursors, but other than star Joaquin Phoenix, the film has been having mediocre successes in the last week, slightly dimming its potential.