With "Sinners" and "One Battle After Another" neck-and-neck for best picture and several acting races far too close to call, this Sunday's Oscars gala is shaping up to be the most unpredictable in years.
A Hollywood ceremony set to feature music from "KPop Demon Hunters" and Conan O'Brien as host will feature several nail-biting reveals, culminating in the announcement of the year's best film, which remains anyone's guess.
Until "the final envelope is opened for best picture, we're not going to know who's going to win," said Variety's awards columnist Clayton Davis.
"Both have a huge opportunity in order to break multiple Oscar records," he told AFP.
"Sinners," a smash-hit vampire period horror film from director Ryan Coogler, has already made Academy Awards history with its whopping 16 nominations.
The blues-inflected race allegory has a chance to chase down the most Oscar wins by a single movie, shared at 11 between "Ben-Hur,Titanic" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
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.
"He's only the seventh ever nominated," noted Davis, who spoke to many Oscars voters and says "the love for Coogler is undeniable."
But the frontrunner of this awards season has long been "One Battle," a zany thriller about a retired revolutionary looking for his teen daughter.
Set against a wild backdrop of radical violence, immigration raids and white supremacists, it earned 13 nods and could also break the overall wins record.
Its director Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the greatest auteurs of 21st century US cinema, but has never won any of his 11 previous nominations for films including "There Will Be Blood" and "Boogie Nights."
Though "Sinners" was the bigger commercial hit, the exciting race between two "popular movies that people will know at home" should be good for ratings, Davis predicted.
'Steamroller'
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.
A year after narrowly losing best actor honors with his uncanny Bob Dylan portrayal in "A Complete Unknown," Timothee Chalamet had long appeared a lock for his pushy ping-pong player "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.
"Sinners" star Michael B Jordan, who plays two roles as twin brothers, 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... he's really two steps away from the finish line," said Davis, who also does not rule out Leonardo DiCaprio ("One Battle") 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, earning 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 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
Best international film is arguably the hardest to call of all, with Norwegian family drama "Sentimental Value" up against Brazil's surreal political thriller "The Secret Agent."
O'Brien returns to host the Oscars for a second year running, while Barbra Streisand is rumored to be singing a tribute to her "The Way We Were" co-star Robert Redford, who died in September.
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."
The Oscars will air live on ABC and Hulu from 4:00 pm in Los Angeles (2300 GMT).
