It’s that time of year again, as Hollywood’s finest find themselves, with alarming regularity, donning outfits that cost more than your house and jewellery worth more than you will earn in a lifetime. But awards season is all building to one supreme event, the Empire Awards Oscars on February 26. Ahead of that milestone, we assess the chances of each nominee in the major categories, and see who’s looking good ahead of the big night…
Why He Will Win
](http://empireonline.media/jpg/50/0/0/640/480/aspectfit/0/0/0/0/0/0/l/uploaded/oscarwin.jpg) If the Academy dishes out Oscars as a kind of ‘lifetime achievement’ award %28and it kinda does%29, Christopher Plummer has done more than most to deserve one. Unbelievably, he had to wait until The Last Station for his first nomination. The odds suggest he’ll be one from two with Beginners. ![]%28http://empireonline.media/jpg/50/0/0/640/480/aspectfit/0/0/0/0/0/0/l/uploaded/oscarwin.jpg%29 He’s a hot favourite with wins at the SAG awards. In a category that’s been relatively easy to call in recent years %28Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Christoph Waltz et al%29, that’s reason enough not to bet against him. 
](http://empireonline.media/jpg/50/0/0/640/480/aspectfit/0/0/0/0/0/0/l/uploaded/oscarloss.jpg) Beginners came out way back in June 2011. Good as Plummer’s performance is, it won’t be as fresh in voters’ minds as his main rivals. ![]%28http://empireonline.media/jpg/50/0/0/640/480/aspectfit/0/0/0/0/0/0/l/uploaded/oscarloss.jpg%29 Quirky Sundance fare like this rarely scores with the Academy, and the film’s lack of box office won’t work in his favour either.  Branagh is a long-time Academy favourite, with nominations in four – now five – different categories. That should guarantee more than a little love from his fellow directors, screenwriters and actors. ![]%28http://empireonline.media/jpg/50/0/0/640/480/aspectfit/0/0/0/0/0/0/l/uploaded/oscarwin.jpg%29 My Week With Marilyn is one of the weaker films at this year’s Oscars, but Branagh’s scene-stealing turn, together with Michelle Williams’s Monroe, help rescue it from the biopic bargain bin.  It’s Michelle Williams’ movie - if anyone’s going to win, it’ll be her eye-catching Marilyn Monroe rather than Branagh’s Larry Olivier. ![]%28http://empireonline.media/jpg/50/0/0/640/480/aspectfit/0/0/0/0/0/0/l/uploaded/oscarloss.jpg%29 Has the Thor directing gig diluted Branagh’s Oscar-worthiness with its blockbuster sensibilities? Don’t bet against the Academy putting the, ahem, hammer down. ![
Why He Will Win