Boston Society of Film Critics Establishes Frontrunners for Awards Season

Photo by Claire Folger via Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

The Boston Society of Film Critics announced their award winners for the 2012 season last, just before the Oscar nominations come out on January 10, 2013. If these awards give any indication of how well these films will do during awards season, there will be no surprises in store for audiences this year. (And, fingers crossed, not on the red carpets, either. That means you, Sacha Baron Cohen).

Zero Dark Thirty is the Best Picture frontrunner, according to the society, in spite of all the positive talk surrounding Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), as well as the Les Misérables remake, starring Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, and Russell Crowe. Directed by Academy Award-winner Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Zero Dark Thirty chronicles the 10-year manhunt for Osama Bin Laden, and is supposed to be as gut-wrenching and realistic as they come. The film stars Jessica Chastain (The Help), Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), and Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation).

Also stealing nods from several acclaimed critics—including Entertainment Weekly, Fandango, and L.A. Times—is Argo, a film produced by, directed by, and starring Ben Affleck. The plot is centered around a CIA operative during the Iran hostage crisis, “a story about outwitting rather than killing the enemy, making it a homage to actual intelligence and an example of the same,” says a New York Times review. Affleck himself is likely to grab an Oscar nomination next year for Acting in a Leading Role, in spite of Boston Film Critics handing that award to Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln.

As for other major nominations, critics are favoring both Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper for lead acting in Silver Linings Playbook, Ang Lee for directing Life of Pi, and Moonrise Kingdom for adapted screenplay.

Academy Award nominations will be announced on January 10, 2013, 5:30 a.m. PST.