Favorite tipped The Power of the Dog and CODA are fighting for the Oscars' heaviest prize

The 94th Oscars take place at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles during the night until Monday Swedish time.

This year the hosts are Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes.  

Jane Campion's western drama The Power of the Dog has the most nominations, closely followed by Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi drama Dune.

Critics believe that The Power of the Dog takes home the award for best film, but CODA has emerged as a challenger.

The film has only three nominations but received an award for best film at the Producers Guild of America Awards, a clear indication that it can also win at the Oscars.

Here are the films vying for the prize for best film:

The Power of the Dog

is New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion's acclaimed western drama.

Campion is also a big favorite in the category best director, by the way.

The film has received the most nominations - as many as 12, and is a low bidder in the category best film.

The plot takes place in Montana in 1925 and revolves around the dominant ranch owner Phil Burbanks, played by Benedict Cumberbatch (nominated for best male lead).

BBC film critic Caryn James thinks the film is beautifully executed and thoughtful about the consequences of social and sexual expectations.

According to her, the film is "really the best of the year".

The cultural news critic Fredrik Sahlin rated the film 4 out of 5 and described the film as an epic, beautiful and ingenious story about male norms and loneliness.

The film won the award for best film of the year at the British equivalent of the Oscars, the Bafta Gala.

CODA,

directed by Sian Heder, is the film that won several awards at the Sundance Festival and according to critics can challenge The Power of the Dog.

It's about seventeen-year-old Ruby, the only hearing member of a deaf family.

When Ruby applies to a prestigious music school, she is torn between her obligations to her family and her own dreams.

The film has only received three nominations but is described as heartwarming and more accessible than The power of the dog.

The cultural news's film critic Caroline Hainer was of a different opinion and wrote in her review that CODA is ordinary and that the feelings in the film feel genuine.

Belfast

is the acclaimed actor and director Sir Kenneth Branagh's upbringing.

The film follows the young boy Buddy in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s, at a time when unrest is rising and the family is torn between fleeing or staying.

The film received rave reviews and has already won a Golden Globe.

It is nominated for an Oscar in seven categories and a winning candidate in the category of best film.

Fredrik Sahlin writes that the film is characterized by dry humor and a bloody conflict that is told from the child's perspective.

The film is also nominated for best original screenplay.

Don't Look Up

is Ada McKay's apocalyptic climate satire, about two astronomers who must embark on a media tour to warn humanity of a comet that will destroy the earth.

The film is nominated in four categories, including best film and original script.

Fredrik Sahlin writes that the tech companies and Trumphögern get a real boot in the film.

He thinks that the jokes are resourceful but that they are overly clear and exaggerated.

Drive My Car

is the acclaimed road movie by Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

The low-key story is based on the novel of the same name by Haruki Murakami and follows an artist couple who brainstorm ideas when they have sex and during car journeys in their Saab 900. Under the harmonious surface, however, there are tensions.

The film has already won an award at the Golden Globe Gala and a Palme d'Or for Best Screenplay (written by Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Takamasa Oe).

Dune

, Denis Villeneuve's epic sfi-fi drama, has the second most nominations, 10 pieces.

The film won five awards at the Bafta Gala, including for Greig Fraser's photo, best special effects and best original music by Hans Zimmer.

For the Oscars, the film is nominated in high-prestige categories such as best film and photo.

The film is based on Frank Herbert's, according to many non-cinematic epics.

David Lynch made an attempt in 1984 but has since said that the film is "a great sorrow" for him because he was not allowed to cut the final version.

Fredrik Sahlin thinks that the plot in the new Dune is banal but that the aesthetic is impressive.

The masks Love Larson and Eva von Bahr are nominated for best makeup for Dune.

King Richard

is about the tennis players Serena and Venus Williams' father Richard, played by Will Smith.

Richard is a fearless father who is driven by a clear vision for his daughters and who by unconventional methods struggles to write them into history.

The cultural news's film critic Kristoffer Viita thinks that the film is clichéd but good-looking and that Will Smith is convincing in his role.

The film is nominated in six categories, in addition to best film also best male lead, female supporting role and original script.

Licorice Pizza

, Paul Thomas Anderson's new coming of age film, follows Alana and Gary when they grow up and fall in love in the San Fernando Valley in 1973. The film won a Bafta for best original screenplay and has a chance to win that category at the Oscars as well.

Fredrik Sahlin gave the film a four and describes it as a stylish and well-formulated but thin film, in comparison with the masterpieces PTA has previously made such as There Will Be Blood and Magnolia.  

Nightmare Alley

is Guillermo del Toro's star-studded action drama, starring actors such as Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett and Willem Dafoe.

A carnival employee with manipulative qualities begins a relationship with a female psychiatrist who has even more dangerous sides.

The film has received good reviews but is not a big favorite at the best film award.

Fredrik Sahlin thinks that the master director del Toro has created suggestive film nostalgia, but that the end is too planned.

The musical

from 1957, with lyrics and music by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, gets a new twist in Steven Spielberg's new interpretation.

The film is nominated in several heavy categories, such as best film, direction and photography.

In total, the film has seven nominations.

The story, inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, is about rival gangs, racism and impossible love.

Caroline Hainer calls the film "a wonderful cinematic adventure" and gives the film five out of five.  

The Oscars are broadcast on TV4 and on TV4 Play.