After months of expensive campaigns, the Oscars finally arrive Sunday, with all eyes on the race between "One Battle After Another" and "Sinners" for best picture, Hollywood's most coveted prize.
Ahead of the star-packed gala, pundits say the Leonardo DiCaprio-starring political thriller "One Battle" is neck-and-neck with Michael B. Jordan's bluesy vampire horror "Sinners," while several acting prizes are similarly impossible to call.
Either movie could "break multiple Oscar records," Variety awards editor Clayton Davis told AFP.
But until "the final envelope is opened for best picture, we're not going to know who's going to win."
The ceremony -- live on ABC and Hulu from 4:00 pm in Los Angeles (2300 GMT) -- will be hosted for a second year running by comedian Conan O'Brien and will feature live musical performances from "KPop Demon Hunters", as well as "Sinners."
With political tensions running high and war raging in the Middle East, Los Angeles police have tightened security in the streets of Hollywood.
Inside the theater, both the frontrunner films have a chance of breaking the all-time Oscar wins record -- shared at 11 between "Ben-Hur,Titanic" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
"Sinners," the tale of gangster twins returning home to a supernatural and segregated Deep South in the 1930s, has already made Academy Awards history with its whopping 16 nominations.
Ryan Coogler, previously best known for "Black Panther," could become the first ever Black person to win best director, in the 98 years of Oscars history.
But "Sinners" will have to surge past "One Battle," this season's frontrunner, about a washed-up, off-grid revolutionary whose teen daughter is being hunted by a white supremacist soldier in a time of immigration raids and political extremism.
Its director Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the greatest auteurs of contemporary US cinema, but has never won any of his 11 previous nominations for films including "There Will Be Blood" and "Boogie Nights."
One Oscars voter, who asked to remain anonymous as Academy members cannot disclose their ballots, told AFP they voted for Anderson "because of his body of work" but admitted the choice was "very tough."
"It is time. I think the Academy will honor" Anderson, they said.
"But that's not to say that Ryan Coogler is not equally deserving."
- Tight races -
While suspense about best picture doesn't happen every year, what is truly unusual this time is the amount of uncertainty surrounding the acting prizes.
Timothee Chalamet had long appeared a lock for his pushy 1950s ping-pong player in "Marty Supreme."
But a series of ill-advised comments, most recently dismissing ballet and opera as art forms that "no one cares about," have seen the 30-year-old golden boy's chances plummet.
The anonymous voter said they try to tune out controversy because "we honor the work and not the personality," but predicted Michael B. Jordan would win the "tight race."
The "Sinners" star plays two roles as twin brothers, and won the important Screen Actors Guild's Actor Award this month, just before Oscars voting closed.
"This is a movie star performance that we don't get very often," said Davis, who also does not rule out DiCaprio or Ethan Hawke ("Blue Moon").
The supporting acting prizes are also up for grabs.
Sean Penn could win a third acting Oscar for his comic yet terrifying soldier in "One Battle."
But he is up against international arthouse favorite Stellan Skarsgard ("Sentimental Value") and veteran Delroy Lindo, who earned his first Oscar nod at 73 for "Sinners."
Supporting actress could see a rare horror villain role rewarded for Amy Madigan in "Weapons," or go to "One Battle" revolutionary Teyana Taylor or "Sinners" Hoodoo healer Wunmi Mosaku.
The only sure thing appears to be best actress nominee Jessie Buckley, who plays William Shakespeare's wife in "Hamnet."
"It's been the steamroller all season. That's the one thing you could take to the bank," said Davis.
- KPop, Redford tributes -
For best international film, Norwegian family drama "Sentimental Value" will vie with Brazil's surreal political thriller "The Secret Agent."
The annual in memoriam segment for recently passed icons will honor Robert Redford, who died in September, and Rob Reiner, who was murdered in December.
Oscars producers declined to comment on reports that Barbra Streisand will sing a tribute to her "The Way We Were" co-star.
Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the singing voices behind "KPop Demon Hunters" fictional girl group HUNTR/X, will perform the Netflix smash film's Oscar-nominated song "Golden."
