Joey Magidson
Tomorrow, the Toronto International Film Festival will announce the winner of the coveted Audience Award for 2023. In recent years, the TIFF Audience Award has often gone to a Best Picture nominee, so getting the honor is very good for your Oscar chances. Now, as I remarked on the most recent episode of the podcast (here), a case could be made that voters have selected Academy Award players, as opposed to the winners becoming contenders because of the honor. So, you can’t read too too much into it. That being said, for this week’s Awards Radar Community Question, we’ll put a bit of a prediction forth to you all. What do you think will win the Audience Award this year?
Some of the more popular picks being thrown out there in the past few days include The Holdovers and Origin. Both wold be films with definite Oscar potential. So too would be something like Nyad or Rustin, both of which could be slight surprises. If you’re looking for a movie that could shock but also make sense, look to The Boy and the Heron. These are just some of the flicks that have gotten Audience Award buzz.
It could also be something no one is expecting, like The Burial, Flora and Son, Hit Man, or any number of other contenders, including more populist possibilities like Dumb Money and Next Goal Wins. If enough people took in a screening, American Fiction has an excellent shot as well. Perhaps more so than any other year, the Audience Award is truly up in the air.
Now, the choice is yours. Which movie do you think is about to take the Audience Award as TIFF comes to a close. Will it be an awards player or some kind of a curveball? Whatever you think, don’t be shy to chime in…
Which film do you think will win the TIFF Audience Award? Let us know!
I’m gonna be bold and predict that Hayao Miyazaki‘s The Boy and the Heron will make history as the first animated winner of the Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award.
I’ve toyed with that pick, too. I think if I had to guess, I’ll say it’s either American Fiction, The Holdovers, Nyad, or Origin, but I’d love for it to be Hit Man.