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

What Is It? What if being single really was deadly? The Lobster pitches a world where recent dumpees are sent to a hotel and, if in 45 days they haven't found a suitable new partner, they're turned into an animal and cast out into the surrounding forest. Colin Farrell flirts with this idea, before going on the run, then going a little bit Pi at the end.

Why Could It Be A Contender? The Lobster was the indie hit of Summer 2016 domestically, earning glowing reviews across the board and netting a sly $8 million. Financially that puts it on the outside of contention, but the reaction to Yorgos Lanthimos' welcomingly cynical approach to love has been so positive it's right there in the centre of the Oscar buzz. It's an out there choice, but one that's hard to ignore the hype for, something that could transfer into success.

What Might Stop It? To be honest it feels weird writing about The Lobster now - I first saw it over a year ago in Cannes 2015, so to think its Oscars are those in February 2017 is a bit mental. Realistically, this means that it's got a hard task to sustain hype despite that strong summer. Although what I think could really hurt it is its overbearing weirdness, especially in the second half; if the Academy wants something pretentious to break everything up, there's plenty of better choices.