Oscars 2017: Predicting The Winners

24. Best Picture

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Moonlight Surprise Win: Moonlight

The unstoppable La La Land has earned a record 14 nominations and it's hard to imagine an outcome where it doesn't win Best Picture. Hollywood has always looked kindly on love letters to its past, and the sheer joy of this big-hearted musical love story is hard to resist. It's the feel-good movie of the moment, at a time when audiences are in dire need of that sort of experience.

Despite all the buzz of La La Land, don't forget that Moonlight is the year's most awarded film. Two factors that cannot be underestimated are the shock win of Spotlight last year when its buzz had died down and The Revenant was widely expected to get it. And of course, the current political climate can't be underestimated as a factor that could influence the result.

Putting politics aside, Moonlight is an intimate love story and every bit as uplifting as La La land in a very different way. The two films have more in common than you might think, but La La Land is the less challenging, more appealing option this year.