The Top 10 Internet-Buzzed Films of 2014

Defining success is a difficult thing to categorise: critically, the likes of Boyhood, Birdman, The Imitation Game, Foxcatcher and Gone Girl lead the pack; commercially, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Guardians of Galaxy, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and Maleficent thrived. A digital word of mouth is another interesting definition and Google Trend’s end of year report publishes the most searched, and perhaps most popular, releases of 2014.

1. Frozen – Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – Starring: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad
2. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Mackenzie Foy, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Michael Caine
3. Divergent – Neil Burger – Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort
4. Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris
5. Lone Survivor – Peter Berg – Mark Wahlberg, Emile Hirsch, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster
6. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Elizabeth Olsen
7. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord and Chris Miller – Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Wyatt Russell
8. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, TJ Miller, Maya Rudolph, Alan Tudyk
9. Annabelle – John R Leonetti – Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton
10. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Juno Temple, Imelda Staunton, Sharlto Copley

The most surprising entry hear is Annabelle, a low budget and universally trashed horror flick that’s beaten off the likes of The Fault in Our Stars, The Lego Movie, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Edge of Tomorrow, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Marvel’s four smash hits (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past) has conceded to a Disney triple bill (Maleficent, Big Hero 6, Frozen).

Weekend box-office – 11th to 18th of January 2014 – will The LEGO Movie de-construct Monuments Men?

Both the UK and US box offices have had films completely dominate the box office recently. However, Ride Along and The Wolf of Wall Street both have to compete with two major releases each; The Wolf must face off with RoboCop and Mr Peabody and Sherman while Ride Along tackles head on The LEGO Movie and The Monuments Men. Find last week’s predictions here.

US:

1. The Lego Movie – Director: Phil Lord, Chris Miller – $69.1 million
2. The Monument’s Men – George Clooney – $22 million
3. Ride Along – Tim Story – $9.6 million
4. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – $6.9 million
5. Lone Survivor – Peter Berg – $5.6 million

UK:

1. Mr Peabody and Sherman – Rob Minkoff – £3.9 million
2. RoboCop – Jose Padhila – £2.4 million
3. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese – £1.6 million
4. Dallas Buyers Club – Jean Marc Vallee – £1 million
5. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen – £1 million

Toy adaptation The LEGO Movie has made a brilliant entry, trumping the flat release of Clooney’s WW2 drama Monument’s Men. RoboCop’s UK opening has been pretty sluggish, losing out to sci-fi comedy animation Mr Peabody – that doesn’t fair well for its US release next week. The Oscar laden Wolf of Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club and 12 Years a Slave cap off the box-office this week. My predictions from last week score me 6/10 taking my running total to 76/150.

US:

1. RoboCop – Jose Padhila
2. The LEGO Movie – Chris Miller, Phil Lord
3. Endless Love – Shana Feste
4. Winter’s Tale – Akiva Goldsman
5. The Monument’s Men – George Clooney

UK:

1. The LEGO Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller
2. Mr Peabody and Sherman – Rob Minkoff
3. The Monument’s Men – George Clooney
4. Her – Spike Jonze
5. RoboCop – Jose Padhila

Mr Peabody and Sherman (voiced by Ty Burrell and Max Charles), this week’s UK box-office number one.

Emmet (Chris Pratt) and Batman (Will Arnett) in The LEGO Movie, this week’s US box office number one.

Tune in tomorrow at nine o’clock for our live BAFTA’s special. See you then.

Weekend box-office – 4th to 11th of January 2014 – will Ride Along and Wolf of Wall Street have That Awkward Moment?

Two films have have dominated the box office recently and their wrath as continued today. New entries such as Jack Ryan, I Frankenstein and That Awkward Moment haven’t been able to knock off The Wolf of Wall Street and Ride Along for a third week running, despite my predictions from last week.

US

1. Ride Along – Director: Tim Story – $12 million
2. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – $8.9 million
3. That Awkward Moment – Tom Gormican – $8.7 million
4. The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis – $7.3 million
5. Lone Survivor – Peter Berg – $7.1 million

UK

1. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese – £2.7 million
2. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen – £1.4 million
3. That Awkward Moment – Tom Gormican – £1 million
4. I, Frankenstein – Stuart Beattie – £0.8 million
5. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – £0.8 million

New comedy That Awkward Moment has had a vastly disappointing start, making just two thirds of its $12 million budget, even though its only rivals were films that were kicking around in box-office for weeks, nearly two months in Frozen’s case. Jason Reitman’s Labor Day didn’t make a major impact either, entering seventh place with $7 million. Lone Survivor dropped three places but, seeing as it’s already made a brilliant $114 million, the studios won’t be fussed at this point. Sadly, these surprisingly low new entries mean that this week’s total is 2/10 taking my running score to 70/140.

US

1. The LEGO Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller
2. The Monument’s Men – George Clooney
3. Ride Along – Tim Story
4. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
5. That Awkward Moment – Tom Gormican

UK

1. RoboCop – Jose Padhila
2. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
3. Mr Peabody and Sherman – Rob Minkoff
4. Dallas Buyers Club – Jean Marc Vallee
5. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen

Leonardo Di Caprio in The Wolf of Wall Street, this week’s UK box-office number one.

Ice Cube and Kevin Hart in Ride Along, this week’s US box-office number one.

Neeson in talks for Scorsese’s Silence and Her and Captain Phillips triumph at Writer’s Guild Awards

In loving memory of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, an Oscar winning legend and star of The Master, Capote, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Mission: Impossible 3, who died today aged 46. July 23rd 1967 – January 2nd 2014

Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) picked up the Director’s Guild; American Hustle, Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Matthew MacConaughey and Jared Leto (both Dallas Buyers Club) swept up at the Screen Actor’s Guild; Gravity and 12 Years a Slave tied and Producer’s Guild. The Guild Awards now conclude with the Writer’s Guild Awards.

Best Original Screenplay:

Her – Spike Jonze

American Hustle – Eric Warren Singer, David O’Russell

Blue Jasmine – Woody Allen

Dallas Buyers Club – Craig Borten, Melissa Wallack

Nebraska – Bob Nelson

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Captain Phillips – Billy Ray

August: Osage County – Tracy Letts

Before Midnight – Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

Lone Survivor – Peter Berg

The Wolf of Wall Street – Terence Winter

Best Documentary Screenplay:

Stories We Tell – Sarah Polley

Dirty Wars – Jeremy Scahill, David Riker

Herblock: The Black and the White – Sara Lukinson, Michael Stevens

No Place on Earth – Janet Tobais, Paul Laikin

We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks – Alex Gibney

In TV, Breaking Bad, Veep, Days of Our Lives, House of Lies and The Colbert Report won one award each.

Just a quick snippet of news to say that two Oscar nominated legends will be teaming up for an upcoming project. Director Martin Scrosese (The Departed, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Shutter Island, Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Aviator, Casino, Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, The Last Temptation of Christ, After Hours, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy and Mean Streets) has just added Liam Neeson (Taken, Schindler’s List, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia) to the cast of the upcoming drama Silence alongside Andrew Garfield, Ken Watanabe and Adam Driver. The pair will be reuniting for the first time twelve years, the last being when the acclaimed Gangs of New York was released.

Silence – 2015

Weekend box-office – 28th of January to 3rd February 2014 – Can I, Frankenstein cause a scare for Ride Along?

It’s fair to say that Stuart Beattie’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel and Jevin Grevioux’s comic book has received an appalling reception from all. However, the film, which stars Aaron Eckhart, Miranda Otto and Bill Nighy, could have redeemed itself with a box office surpassing its $65 million budget but, to do that, I’d have to reach around the top three. Last week, we predicted it’d come first but what really counts is the results themselves. Find out how I, Frankenstein did at the box-office:

US:

1. Ride Along – Director:  Tim Story – $21.2 million
2. Lone Survivor – Peter Berg – $12.6 million
3. The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis – $12.3 million
4. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – $9 million
5. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh – $8.8 million

UK:

1. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese – £3.6 million
2. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen – £2.3 million
3. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh – £1.3 million
4. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – £1.1 million
5. American Hustle – David O’Russell – £1 million

Yep, Frankenstein hasn’t scratched the Top 5 with a dismal $8.3 million opening. The Wolf of Wall Street seems to be a huge hit in the UK, despite some of the gross-out features – take note of it thrashing Oscar favourite 12 Years for a second week running. Jack Ryan’s UK opening was less than stellar and it isn’t really hanging on at all in the US. Sadly, last weeks predictions were terrible, scoring me 1/5 in both US and UK and taking my running total to 68/130. Here’s my predictions for next week:

US:

1. That Awkward Moment – Tom Gormican
2. Ride Along – Tim Story
3. Lone Survivor – Peter Berg
4. The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis
5. Labor Day – Jason Reitman

UK:

1. That Awkward Moment – Tom Gormican
2. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
3. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen
4. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh
5. I, Frankenstein – Stuart Beattie

Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street, this week’s UK box-office number one.

Kevin Hart in Ride Along, this week’s US box-office number one.

Weekend box-office – 20th to 27th of January 2014 – will Ride Along speed past Jack Ryan?

Lots of bug budget, action movies aim their releases for Oscar season, hoping to bring in the mainstream market who don’t won’t to see the year’s more critically appealing hits, such as The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle or 12 Years a Slave. This year’s January/February action hopefuls included The Legend of Hercules, a huge flop which doesn’t bode well for the upcoming I Frankenstein, RoboCop and this week’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Ride Along. Last week’s predictions aren’t as accurate as we’d hoped, however.

US

1. Ride Along – Director: Tim Story – $41.2 million
2. Lone Survivor – Peter Berg – $23.2 million
3. The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis – $20.6 million
4. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh – $17.2 million
5. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – $12 million

UK

1. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese – £4.7 million
2. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen – £3.1 million
3. American Hustle – David O’Russell – £1.5 million
4. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – £1.2 million
5. Devil’s Due – Matt Bettinelli-Oplin, Tyler Gillet – £1 million

Well, Ride Along and The Nut Job’s takings from this week have led to the confirmation of sequels for the both of them. Jack Ryan has a different story however. It’s low takings aren’t as shocking as say The Legend of Hercules but fans and studios alike would’ve hoped for better. The film may yet make back its $60 million budget but a sequel may be out of reach. Comparatively, Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street has been a huge success in the UK, topping the chart despite the 18 certificate and multiple controversial topics. A 4/10 this week takes the running total to 64/120.

US

1. I, Frankenstein – Stuart Beattie
2. The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis
3. Ride Along – Tim Story
4. Lone Survivor – Peter Berg
5. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh

UK

1. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh
2. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
3. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen
4. August: Osage County – John Wells
5. American Hustle – David O’Russell

Leonardo Di Caprio in The Wolf of Wall Street, this week’s UK box-office number one.

Ice Cube and Kevin Hart in Ride Along, this week’s US box-office number one.

Weekend box office – 12th to 19th of January 2014 – will 12 Years be the Lone Survivor or will it get (American) Hustled?

Oscar season is in full swing and that’s had an effect on the box office. Some of the blockbuster action movies try to launch this time of year, hoping to lure the more mainstream watchers to the cinema, but they usually get swamped. New star lacking but $70 million adventure Hercules: The Legend Begins is no different with Oscar tipped 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle plus harrowing action film Lone Survivor dominating.

US

1. Lone Survivor – Director: Peter Berg – $37.8 million
2. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – $14.7 million
3. The Legend of Hercules – Renny Harlin – $8.9 million
4. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese – $8.8 million
5. American Hustle – David O’Russell – $8.3 million

UK

1. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen – £2.5 million
2. American Hustle – David O’Russell – £1.9 million
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Peter Jackson – £1.5 million
4. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – £1.3 million
5. Last Vegas – Jon Turteltaub – £1.3 million

A disappointing 2/5 in both US and UK takes my running total to 60/110. Delivery Man made a very underwhelming seventh place entry in the UK while brand new The Railway Man debuted at sixth. The Hobbit 2 has definitely proved it’s got more legs, and perhaps more of a fanbase, in the UK than in the US as it’s stayed at three while, in America, it sank to sixth.

US

1. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh
2. Lone Survivor – Peter Berg
3. The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis
4. Ride Along – Tim Story
5. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese

UK

1. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
2. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Peter Jackson
4. American Hustle – David O’Russell
5. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee

The UK seems to be a bit more award season giddy than the US at the moment so I bet Scorsese’s star studded Wolf of Wall Street will enter at the top. Branagh’s new Jack Ryan should hopefully prove to be a better success than the flop of Hercules.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave, this week’s UK box office number one.

Taylor Kitsch, Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster and Emile Hirsch in Lone Survivor, this week’s US box office number one.

12 Years triumphs at People’s Choice Awards and new Amazing Spider-Man 2 posters

After director Steve McQueen and star Michael Fassbender were snubbed for both Hunger and Shame, they’re finally getting award recognition for 12 Years a Slave, which won Best Film at the Golden Globes and People’s Choice and shone out at the Academy Award nominations. Here’s the full list

Best Picture

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Saving Mr Banks

Best Actor

Matthew MacConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

Christian Bale – American Hustle

Bruce Dern – Nebraska

Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave

Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips

Robert Redford – All is Lost

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock – Gravity

Judi Dench – Philomena

Brie Larson – Short Term 12

Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

Emma Thompson – Saving Mr Banks

Best Supporting Actor

Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Barkhad Abdi – Captain Philllips

Daniel Bruhl – Rush

Bradley Cooper – American Hustle

Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave

James Gandolfini – Enough Said

Best Supporting Actress

Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

Scarlett Johansson – Her

Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle

Julia Roberts – August: Osage County

June Squibb – Blue Jasmine

Oprah Winfrey – The Butler

Best Young Actor/Actress

Adele Exarchopoulos – Blue is the Warmest Colour

Asa Butterfield – Ender’s Game

Liam James – The Way Way Back

Sophie Nelisse – The Book Thief

Tye Sheridan – Mud

Best Acting Ensemble

American Hustle

August: Osage County

The Butler

Nebraska

12 Years a Slave

The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

Paul Greengrass – Captain Phillips

Spike Jonze – Her

Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave

David O’Russell – American Hustle

Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Original Screenplay

Spike Jonze – Her

Eric Warren Singer, David O’Russell – American Hustle

Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine

Joel and Ethan Coen – Inside Llewyn Davis

Bob Nelson – Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay

John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave

Tracy Letts – August: Osage County

Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke – Before Midnight

Billy Ray – Captain Phillips

Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope – Philomena

Terence Winter – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Cinematography

Emmannuel Lubezki – Gravity

Bruno Delbonnel – Inside Llewyn Davis

Phedon Papamichael – Nebraska

Roger Deakins – Prisoners

Sean Bobbit – 12 Years a Slave

Best Art Direction

The Great Gatsby

Gravity

Her

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

12 Years a Slave

Best Editing

Gravity

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Rush

12 Years a Slave

The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Costume Design

The Great Gatsby

American Hustle

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Saving Mr Banks

12 Years a Slave

Best Hair and Make-up

American Hustle

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Butler

Rush

12 Years a Slave

Best Visual Effects

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Iron Man 3

Pacific Rim

Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Animated Feature

Frozen

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Monsters University

The Wind Rises

Best Action Movie

Lone Survivor

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Iron Man 3

Rush

Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Actor in an Action Movie

Mark Wahlberg – Lone Survivor

Henry Cavill – Man of Steel

Robert Downey Jr – Iron Man 3

Brad Pitt – World War Z

Best Comedy

American Hustle

Enough Said

The Heat

This is the End

The Way Way Back

The World’s End

Best Actor in a Comedy

Leonardo Di Caprio – The Wolf of Wall Street

Christian Bale – American Hustle

James Gandolfini – Enough Said

Simon Pegg – The World’s End

Sam Rockwell – The Way Way Back

Best Actress in a Comedy

Amy Adams – American Hustle

Sandra Bullock – The Heat

Greta Gerwig – Frances Ha

Julia Louis Dreyfus – Enough Said

Melissa McCarthy – The Heat

Best Sci-fi Horror Movie

Gravity

The Conjuring

Star Trek Into Darkness

Iron Man 3

Best Foreign Language Film

Blue is the Warmest Colour

The Great Beauty

The Hunt

The Past

Best Documentary Feature

20 Feet From Stardom

The Act of Killing

Blackfish

Stories We Tell

Tim’s Vermeer

Best Song

Let it Go – Frozen

Atlas – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Happy – Despicable Me 2

Ordinary Love – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Please Mr Kennedy – Inside Llewyn Davis

Young and Beautiful – The Great Gatsby

Best Score

Stephen Price – Gravity

William Butler, Owen Pallett – Her

Thomas Newman – Saving Mr Banks

Hans Zimmer – 12 Years a Slave

Gravity has won the most awards with an impressive six wins but it’s 12 Years a Slave’s day as it picked up Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. American Hustle gained four wins while Frozen, The Great Gatsby, Blue is the Warmest Colour and Lone Survivor got two. I’m not going to do in depth analysis but I’m stilled surprised Her is being praised as an “original” and “fresh” premise as it has exactly the same plot as a Big Bang Theory episode where a lonely Raj (Kunal Nayyar) falls in love with his I-Phone’s Siri. I’m probably not the first to say it but I haven’t heard anyone else pick up on it.

The only other major piece of news is the stunning new poster for Marvel and Sony’s superhero sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Marc Webb directs and Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Dane DeHaan and Chris Cooper star but today’s focus is the hopefully terrifying new villain Electro, played by Ray, Collateral and Django Unchained’s Jamie Foxx.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – April 18th

The 2014 Academy Awards nominations are in!

After the tense but unfocused Argo triumphed over the brilliant Les Miserables, Lincoln and Beasts of the Southern Wild at the last Oscars, I’m not sure that the Academy Award Best Picture is the best judge of what really is the best film of the year but it’s certainly the most prestigious honour any movie can receive. This year features plenty of strong contenders but some stars have seen some shocking snubs.

Best Picture

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

Her

Nebraska

Philomena

The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Director

Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave

David O’Russell – American Hustle

Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

Alexander Payne – Nebraska

Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Original Screenplay

Eric Warren Singer, David O’Russell – American Hustle

Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine

Bob Nelson – Nebraska

Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack – Dallas Buyers Club

Spike Jonze – Her

Best Adapted Screenplay

John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave

Billy Ray – Captain Phillips

Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope – Philomena

Terence Winter – The Wolf of Wall Street

Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater – Before Midnight

Best Actor

Bruce Dern – Nebraska

Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave

Christian Bale – American Hustle

Leonardo Di Caprio – The Wolf of Wall Street

Matthew MacConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress

Amy Adams – American Hustle

Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

Judi Dench – Philomena

Sandra Bullock – Gravity

Best Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips

Bradley Cooper – American Hustle

Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave

Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street

Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle

Julia Roberts – August: Osage County

Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine

June Squibb – Nebraska

Best Animated Film

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Ernest & Celestine

Frozen

The Wind Rises

Best Original Score

Philomena – Alexander Desplat

The Book Thief – John Williams

Gravity – Stephen Price

Saving Mr Banks – Thomas Newman

Her – William Butler, Owen Pallett

Best Original Song

Alone Yet Not Alone – Alone Yet Not Alone

Happy – Despicable Me 2

Let it Go – Frozen

The Moon Song – Her

Ordinary Love – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Best Cinematography

The Grandmaster – Phillipe Le Sourd

Gravity – Emmanuel Lubezki

Inside Llewyn Davis – Bruno Delbonnel

Nebraska – Phedon Papamichael

Prisoners – Roger Deakins

Best Editing

American Hustle

12 Years a Slave

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

Best Production Design

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Her

Gravity

The Great Gatsby

Best Costume Design

American Hustle – Michael Wilkinson

The Great Gatsby – Catherine Martin

The Invisible Woman – Michael O’Connor

The Grandmaster – William Chang Suk Ping

12 Years a Slave – Patricia Norris

Best Make-Up

Dallas Buyers Club

Jackass: Bad Grandpa

The Lone Ranger

Best Sound Editing

All is Lost

Captain Phillips

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Lone Survivor

Best Sound Mixing

Captain Phillips

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Inside Llewyn Davis

Lone Survivor

Best Visual Effects

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Iron Man 3

Star Trek Into Darkness

The Lone Ranger

Best Foreign Language Film

Broken Circle Breakdown – Belgium

The Great Beauty – Italy

The Hunt – Denmark

The Missing Picture – Cambodia

Omar – Palestine

Best Animated Short

Feral

Get a Horse

Mr Hublot

Possessions

Room on the Broom

Best Documentary

The Act of Killing

Cutie and the Boxer

Dirty Wars

The Square

20 Feet From Stardom

Best Documentary Short

Cavedigger

Facing Fear

Karama Has No Walls

The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life

Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

Best Live-Action Short

Aquel No Era Yo

Just Before Losing Everything

Helium

Do I Have to Take Care of Everything

The Voorman

The unsurprising leaders are 12 Years a Slave, eight nominations, Gravity, ten honours, and American Hustle, also ten nominations. Both Dallas Buyers Club and The Wolf of Wall Street gained five, Captain Phillips and Nebraska scored an impressive six while Her and Philomena followed up with four. Blue Jasmine got three while, with its two star actresses, August: Osage County scraped into the shortlists with two, as did animations Frozen and Despicable Me 2 and documentary The Act of Killing and martial-arts based The Grandmaster. In the more technical areas, Captain Phillips and Gravity made a big impact while The Great Gatsby, The Lone Ranger, Lone Survivor and Inside Llewyn Davis got two, The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug got three and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Jackass: Bad Grandpa, The Book Thief, All is Lost and The Invisible Woman pushed their way in with just one nomination each.

There are some shocking snubs. Blue is the Warmest Colour is the most obvious one. I thought that this Palme D’Or was bound to not only win Best Foreign Language Film but also pick up nominations for Best Leading Actress, Best Director and Best Picture but didn’t even get one honour. Captain Phillips’ Tom Hanks and Paul Greengrass were respectively left out of Best Actor and Best Director. Saving Mr Banks, All is Lost, Prisoners and Inside Llewyn Davis were left of some of the awards they were favoured for while the hugely popular The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Rush were completely bereft of recognition. Saving Mr Banks was one of the most loved efforts of the year and yet only finds itself with one nomination; Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrel and director John Lee Hancock were all snubbed. I also think that Lone Survivor and The Book Thief will be disappointed with their small hoards.

In terms of potential winners, Gravity will no doubt win the most awards but 12 Years a Slave may just beat off the main competition from Gravity and American Hustle to win Best Picture. I think the winners of the “big five” will be Alfonso Cuaron (director of Gravity), Leonardo Di Caprio (actor of The Wolf of Wall Street), Cate Blanchett (actress of Blue Jasmine), Michael Fassbender (supporting actor of 12 Years a Slave) and Jennifer Lawrence (supporting actress of American Hustle).

The show itself will be on ABC in America or Sky Movies in the UK on March 2nd and will be hosted by Ellen Degeneres.

The 86th Academy Awards – March 2nd on ABC and Sky Movies

Weekend box-office – 5th to 11th of January 2014 – will Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones spook American Hustle and Frozen?

The PA franchise has proved a frustrating one for critics but is box-office dynamite for the studios with remarkably low budgets and comparatively huge grossing. However, the new instalment, titled The Marked Ones, has proved much more popular in America than in Britain with the current box-office results rolling in.

US

1. Frozen – Director: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – $25.5 million
2. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones – Christopher Landon – $22.2 million
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Peter Jackson – $20.8 million
4. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese – $19.7 million
5. American Hustle – David O’Russell – $17.4 million

UK

1. American Hustle – David O’Russell – £3.5 million
2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – £3.2 million
3. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – £2.9 million
4. Last Vegas – Jon Turteltaub – £1.8 million
5. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones – Christopher Landon – £1.6 million

Anchorman 2 has sank to sixth place in both US and UK which slightly fluffs up my predictions from last week. I scored both 1/5 both sides of the Atlantic taking my running total to 58/100. Frozen was the big surprise of the week as it must be proving popular with repeat viewing for those who can’t get enough of Christmas, even in mid January. With its international haul coming in much later than in the US, Last Vegas has pushed itself a little further to pass the $100 million threshold.

US

1. Lone Survivor – Peter Berg
2. Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
3. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
4. The Legend of Hercules – Renny Harlin
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Peter Jackson

UK

1. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen
2. Delivery Man – Ken Scott
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Peter Jackson
4. American Hustle – David O’Russell
5. The Railway Man – Jonathan Teplitzky

Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper in American Hustle, this week’s UK box office number one.

The character of Josh Gad in Frozen, this week’s US box office number one.