Speculation arose hours before the Oscars , which will be held on Sunday, regarding the possibility that the very strange and unconventional comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once” will win the most prominent awards, after the odds made it the favorite.

The academy that organizes the Oscars aspires for its ninety-fifth evening to succeed in attracting a large number of viewers, to follow perhaps the possible victory of this film, which was described as somewhat “crazy” and nominated for eleven awards, after achieving unparalleled success in cinemas. Its revenues amounted to one hundred million dollars.

The organizers also hope that the upcoming concert will contribute to turning the page on Will Smith's famous slap that disturbed the evening of last year, stole its lights, and captured the attention of the public and the media.

Combining action, comedy and sci-fi elements, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” tells the story of a laundromat owner (Michelle Yeo), exhausted by her administrative problems with the tax authorities, and suddenly drawn into a group of parallel worlds.

This Chinese immigrant, played by Michelle Yu, becomes humanity's last hope as she confronts a supervillain who threatens the entire "multiverse" and who turns out to be the alter ego of her depressed daughter.

In order to do this, she must use the powers of her various alternate lives, through strange worlds, in which some people, for example, have hot dogs instead of fingers.

The film won most of the cinematic awards that were distributed before the Oscars, thanks to its plot, which is based on poignant thoughts about family love, which was translated on the screen by a brilliant cast of mostly Asian members.

Hollywood Reporter writer Scott Feinberg noted, "Behind the film is a group of incredibly likable people."

However, the voting system for choosing the best film may be an obstacle to the film's expected dominance at the Oscars for weeks, as this system tends to punish highly polarized works, according to Feinberg.


And one of the Oscar voters revealed to AFP in this regard that some members of the Academy, especially the elderly, have reservations about the success of the film.

The voter said, asking not to be named, "It was a very bold and unique film, but it was not a traditional film (...) and therefore some may place it much further in the ranking."

This matter may be in the interest of the movie “Al Quiet on the Western Front”, which is based on a German novel in favor of the principle of peace, or open the door to victory for Tom Cruise’s popular movie “Top Gun: Maverick”, which finally contributed to reviving cinemas and returning viewers to the halls after pandemic crisis.

As for the competition between the actors, it seems much stronger. "I don't remember a year (...) when the competition was 'this fierce' in three of the four acting categories," Feinberg said.

The competition for the Best Actress award centers between Cate Blanchett, who is nominated for her role as an orchestra conductor in "Tar", and Michelle Yu, the heroine of "Everything Everywhere at Once", who may become the first Asian to win the title in this category.

In the Best Actor category, the battle is fierce between Brendan Fraser for "The Whale", Colin Farrell for "The Banshees of Enchantment" and Austin Butler for "Elvis".

So too is the Best Supporting Actress category, with Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Anarchy”) running close to winning.

Only Ki Ho Kwan, who was featured as a child in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and remained forgotten by Hollywood for more than 20 years, seems almost confident of winning the Academy Award after anticipating the event by winning a number of other awards for his supporting role as a loving husband in “ Everything Everywhere All at Once".

Also hanging over the Oscars evening is the specter of Will Smith's famous slap to last year's party host Chris Rock, after he made a joke about his wife's baldness.

There will likely be some joking comments about the slap, but Oscars executive producer Molly McNearney is clearly trying to turn the page. "We will acknowledge the event (...) and move on to something else," she told reporters.

The Academy came under fire last year for allowing Smith to accept the award for Best Actor on Stage after slapping Chris Rock. After that, a decision was issued banning him from attending the party for ten years. Last year's incident prompted the Academy to form a "crisis team" that works behind the scenes as a precaution for all possibilities.

This year, the organizers are counting on the presence of the popular "Top Gun" and "Avatar" sequels in the competition to raise the viewership, and stop the decline that has been recorded in recent years.

Although viewership numbers have rebounded over the past year, interest in the Oscars has waned dramatically from its peak in the 1990s. In 1998, the number of viewers set a record, as 57 million watched the movie "Titanic" win eleven awards.

"This world is gone (...) but if the audience does not increase compared to last year, the academy will face a big problem," Weinberg said.