Forum Oscar Poll Results: March 2015 – Joy to the World, Let the Carol-ing Begin

No, it’s not Christmas but two female-led films are jingling all the way up to the top of the Awardswatch Forum Oscar Polls. Joy, starring Jennifer Lawrence, and Carol, starring Cate Blanchett burst onto the first charts of the year in fine form. Both films performed well in Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and, for Joy, not one but three in Best Supporting Actor as well. Not to be outdone, this year’s Best Actor winner Eddie Redmayne returns with a hope for back-to-back Oscars in The Danish Girl. That film is top 5 ranked by the Awardswatch forums and Redmayne himself is at #2. His co-star Alicia Vikander is currently splitting her votes between Lead and Supporting, making a strong showing in both but not landing in the top 5 in either category. I expect her to be a very strong player once her category is decided on. We’re probably looking at another co-lead nomination, a la Felicity Jones in The Theory of Everything. Director Tom Hooper is at #6, hoping to return to Oscar glory.

Speaking of returns to Oscar glory, Steven Spielberg’s first new film since 2012’s Oscar-winning Lincoln, Bridge of Spies, finds him in the very comfortable and familiar position of being top ranked. But then there’s also this year’s Best Director (and Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay) winner Alejandro González Iñárritu with The Revenant. In the first month of the Forum Oscar Polls the film sits at #3 for Best Picture, #1 for Best Director, #1 for Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and #1 for Best Supporting Actor (Tom Hardy). High praise, and high expectations, indeed. But what of the rumors of on-set fights and turmoil? Will that affect the film’s chances down the road? Will Hardy and Iñárritu patch things up enough by the end of the year to stand being near each other? It could make for a very awkward (but exciting) awards season if they don’t.

One thing you’ll notice about this year’s tabulation totals is that some go over 100. That’s because we’re switching things up a bit. Instead of using percentages of total votes like in previous seasons I’m using total votes per film/actor per category. You won’t be too surprised to see that Best Actress is where most AWers have concentrated their voting but I thought it would be a better representation of each film and/or performance to see how many people vote and how wide the margins can be. And, as you faithful followers know, the Forum Oscar Polls are always previous month’s voting results. So, without further ado, the first Forum Oscar Poll for the 2016 Oscars begins now.

BEST PICTURE

01. Carol – 71
02. Joy – 68
03. The Revenant – 66
04. Bridge of Spies – 63
05. The Danish Girl – 58
06. The Hateful Eight – 57
07. Beasts of No Nation – 32
08. Brooklyn – 27
09. Steve Jobs – 21
10. Inside Out – 20

BEST DIRECTOR

01. Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant – 55
02. Steven Spielberg, Bridge of Spies – 54
03. David O. Russell, Joy – 52
04. Todd Haynes, Carol – 43
05. Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight – 31
06. Tom Hooper, The Danish Girl – 20
07. Cary Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation – 19
08. Danny Boyle, Steve Jobs – 15
09. Jean-Marc Vallée, Demolition – 14
10. Gus Van Sant, The Sea of Trees – 4

BEST ACTOR

01. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant – 99
02. Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl – 94
03. Jake Gyllenhaal, Demolition – 77
04. Tom Hanks, Bridge of Spies – 55
05. Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs – 46
06. Bradley Cooper, Adam Jones – 45
07. Bryan Cranston, Trumbo – 43
08. Ben Foster, Icon – 14
09. Matthew McConaughey, The Sea of Trees – 12
10. Joaquin Phoenix, Irrational Man – 12

BEST ACTRESS

01. Cate Blanchett, Carol – 140
02. Jennifer Lawrence, Joy – 126
03. Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn – 78
04. Meryl Streep, Ricki and the Flash – 75
05. Julianne Moore, Freeheld – 71
06. Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl – 59
07. Carey Mulligan, Suffragette – 46
08. Sandra Bullock, Our Brand is Crisis – 29
09. Maggie Smith, The Lady in the Van – 17
10. Lily Tomlin, Grandma – 17

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

01. Tom Hardy, The Revenant – 69
02. Samuel L. Jackson, The Hateful Eight – 57
03. Robert De Niro, Joy – 45
04. Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation – 44
05. Jude Law, Genius – 27
06. Ken Watanabe, The Sea of Trees – 25
07. Seth Rogan, Steve Jobs – 19
08. Bradley Cooper, Joy – 16
09. Édgar Ramirez, Joy – 15
10. Michael Keaton, Spotlight – 12

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

01. Rooney Mara, Carol – 85
02. Naomi Watts, Demolition – 69
03. Diane Ladd, Joy – 59
04. Ellen Page, Freeheld – 48
05. Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight – 45
06. Marion Cotillard, Macbeth – 27
07. Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl – 22
08. Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs – 21
09. Nicole Kidman, Genius – 18
10. Helen Mirren, Trumbo – 15