5. The Competition
Since being released so early in September, The Master has neatly been pushed aside by a slew of other worthy Oscar contenders. Acclaimed films like Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall, Life Of Pi, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty and the current front-runner Argo were all released in The Master's wake. This has caused audiences, critics and Academy voters to move The Master down on their list, and while some still maintain it high on those lists, others have almost forgotten about Anderson's opus. Since the Academy has 10 spots on their coveted Best Picture ballot available, The Master - given its initial acclaim and pedigree of talent - will probably land a Best Picture nomination. The sometimes experimental and overly sombre film (usually a repellant Oscar theme) will be a dark horse nomination and a extremely long shot to win. If the Academy decides to go old-school and keep the nominations to the traditional 5 this year, The Master will not be on that list thanks to the competition.