Oscars 2018: 10 Movies That Could Win Best Picture Next Year
7. The Greatest Showman
The Film
An original musical, The Greatest Showman will tell the story of P.T. Barnum, the man who founded the travelling circus Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, billed as The Greatest Show on Earth.
Hugh Jackman is on to play Barnum, in a project he's producing and has been developing for some time. He'll be joined in the cast by Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, and Rebecca Ferguson. Newcomer Michael Gracey is directing, with a script from Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine), Jenny Bicks (Sex and the City) and Bill Condon (Chicago).
Why It Could Win
La La Land equalled the record of most nominations, which signals a resurgence in the musical genre, something The Greatest Showman is very well-placed to capitalise on. It's music even comes from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who wrote the lyrics to La La Land's Oscar-winning soundtrack.
Gracey is an obvious question mark, without much to really go on it's hard to tell what he'll bring to the movie. But the three writers all have proven quality and awards form, and Condon even has an Oscar for writing a musical.
Jackman, who hosted the Oscars back in 2009, seems a great fit for playing the showman, while Efron is an underrated actor and proven musical performer, and Williams fantastic in everything she appears in (if underused). The ingredients are all there for this to be another musical hit, and it could even go one better than La La Land by getting on stage and staying there as Best Picture winner.