Over the last week, we have gotten so many trailers for upcoming releases that could be in our Oscar Race! To help visualize the race, I’ll break down each film’s trailer and possible Oscar prospects.

Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022) Dir. Cooper Raiff
Cha Cha Real Smooth follows a 22-year-old Andrew (Cooper Raiff), without a clear life path going forward stuck back at home with his family in New Jersey. But if there’s one thing that belongs to his nonexistent résumé, it’s how to get a party started, which gives him the perfect job of motivational dancing at the bar and bat mitzvahs. When Andrew befriends a local mom, Domino (Dakota Johnson), and her daughter, Lola (Vanessa Burghardt), he finally discovers a future he wants—even if it might not be his own.

Cha Cha Real Smooth Oscar Prospects: Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress

Don’t Worry Darling (2022) Dir. Olivia Wilde
Worried darlings, let’s go! Tonally, Olivia Wilde’s follow-up to Booksmart is going to be very different. Don’t Worry Darling appears to be a psychological thriller about a ‘50s housewife, played by Florence Pugh, living with her husband, played by Harry Styles, in an experimental community. The plot is still being kept under wraps, but there is definitely something sinister going on in this suburbia.

Don’t Worry Darling Oscar Prospects: Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design

Crimes of the Future (2022) Dir. David Cronenberg
Surgery is the new sex! While this may not be the biggest (or at all) Oscar contender, we can’t not discuss a new film from David Cronenberg. The film is set to premiere soon at the Cannes Film Festival and stars Academy Award Nominee Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux and Academy Award Nominee Kristen Stewart. The film follows Mortensen’s Saul as an avant-garde performer in a future where humans freely alter their bodies without feeling pain. 

Crimes of the Future Oscar Prospects: Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Visual Effects

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) Dir. James Cameron
In the much anticipated sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, Jake Sully lives with his newfound family formed on the planet of Pandora. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the army of the Na’vi race to protect their planet.

Avatar: The Way of Water Oscar Prospects: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects

Decision to Leave (2022) Dir. Park Chan-Wook
Park Chan-wook’s follow up to The Handmaiden is finally coming! Get ready! A detective investigating a man’s death in the mountains meets the victim’s mysterious wife in the course of his sleuthing.

Decision to Leave Oscar Prospects: Best International Feature, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography