Oscars 2017: 15 Movies Most Likely To Get Nominated For Best Picture

What Is It? Close Encounters of the verbal kind. Aliens arrive on Earth, hovering over our cities potentially threatening our destruction, and Amy Adams' language expert is the only one who can find out what they want. The cast is stellar (Jeremy Renner excels when not in blockbusters and Forest Whitaker is always awesome) and with Prisoners, Enemy and Sicario behind him Denis Villeneuve is on a f*cking roll.

Why Could It Be A Contender? All eyes are on Arrival for what it could mean for Villeneuve's Blade Runner sequel, but does it have Oscar hopes? Well it stars Amy Adams for one, who will likely become the inheritor of Leo's "How have they not won yet?" crown, and Villeneuve is one of the most talented current filmmakers yet to get proper notice from the Academy. It's introverted themes of the importance of language also provide an ace.

What Might Stop It? It's exactly the same situation as with Passengers; this is sci-fi and Oscar does not like sci-fi. However, because we're presumably dealing with a much more heady film, it may be able to make a break for it; a nomination is likely if this one's a hit comparable to The Martian or Gravity, but any gold will probably come from the technicals.