Widescreen: Four Oscar contenders you can watch at home right now
The consensus front-runner for Best Picture at March's Academy Awards - according to online awards authority goldderby.com - is streaming on Netflix right now, and it's not the only movie destined for gold that you can already watch at home.
• "The Power of the Dog" is the top dog in the race, an adaptation of the Thomas Savage novel written and directed by Jane Campion. She's no stranger to Oscar, having won Best Screenplay for 1993's "The Piano," which was nominated for Best Picture and netted acting awards for Holly Hunter and then-11-year-old Anna Paquin. This Western family tragedy stars Benedict Cumberbatch and real-life couple Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons and is streaming now on Netflix.
• Olivia Colman is in the hunt for Oscar again in "The Lost Daughter," written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal from an Elena Ferrante novel. Colman plays a vacationer who encounters a woman (Dakota Johnson) and her daughter who dredge up memories from her past, with Jessie Buckley playing the younger version of Colman's character in flashbacks. It's on Netflix now.
• "King Richard," a biopic in which Will Smith plays the mercurial father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, is playing on HBO Max through Dec. 19.
• Recently departed Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim looms large over "Tick, Tick ... Boom," Lin-Manuel Miranda's film adaptation of the biographical stage musical by "Rent" author Jonathan Larson. Playing Larson is Andrew Garfield, who may soon be donning the Spider-Man suit once again. He's surrounded by Broadway talents such as Joshua Henry, Judith Light, Laura Benanti, Danielle Ferland and Judy Kuhn. Stream it now on Netflix.
And two you can watch very soon:
• "Being the Ricardos," an Aaron Sorkin film starring Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, premieres Dec. 21 on Amazon Prime.
• An all-star cast deals with an approaching comet in "Don't Look Up," which isn't a Michael Bay action smash - it's an Adam McKay ("The Big Short," "Anchorman") satire starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep and ... Ariana Grande? It premieres Dec. 24 on Netflix.
• Sean Stangland is an Assistant News Editor and avid movie watcher.