AwardsWatch’s 50 Favourite Performances of 2018

The battle for the favourite performance of 2018 turned out to be a real battle of The Favourite(s). Co-stars Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz took the top 2 spots on the AwardsWatch annual list of favourite performances of the year.

It was the second time that the top two spots were LGBTQ characters and lovers to boot (Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett were #1 and #2, respectively, for 2015’s Carol).

Now in its 12th year, the members of AwardsWatch’s forums have voted on what they think were the best film performances of 2018. Voting began with a shortlist in Phase I and then final voting in Phase II where members ranked their top 15 to create the point-based final list.

Previous winners have included: Timothée Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name – 2017), Isabelle Huppert (Elle – 2016) and Rooney Mara (Carol – 2015).

This year, 114 ballots were received (up from 111 in 2017) with 20 male + 30 female performances making it to the final list (the same as 2017).

Of the 20 acting Oscar nominees for 2018, seven performances did not make the cut. Only Best Actress had all five nominees find a place on AW’s list. See full list below to see who made it and who fell short.

Four films earned three spots apiece on the list.

Huge thanks and praise to AW forum members alilou for compiling the results and olivivien for the gorgeous graphics.

Here are AwardsWatch’s 50 Favourite Performances of 2018 as voted on by AW forum members.

As a teaser, here are the five performances that ranked just outside the top 50 list:

51. Nicole Kidman | Boy Erased (84 points)
52. Olivia | Widows (82 points)
53. Rachel Weisz | Disobedience (82 points)
54. Kathryn Hahn | Private Life (81 points)
55. Nicholas Hoult | The Favourite (80 points)

THE LIST

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The Top 25

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THE TOP 10

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THE TOP 5

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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