The Oscars 2023 Best Picture nominees

AJ on March 9, 2023

The Oscars 2023 are close! There are a bunch of awesome films that have been nominated for Best Picture. If you’re keen to check them out, we’ve got you covered with our breakdowns on all the nominees’ ratings and content warnings, so you know what to look out for before pressing play.

You can find the full list of the nominations here: https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2023

All Quiet on the Western Front

Rating: R16 | Graphic violence and content may disturb

Director: Edward Berger (Deutschland 83, Jack)

Producer: Malte Grunert

Runtime: 147 minutes

Im Westen Nichts Neues (All Quiet on the Western Front) is a German film that follows the trials of Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) and his friends, as the young men sign up to Germany’s effort in World War I. Despite their eagerness to be heroes, they are soon introduced to the grim brutality of trench warfare. Read the full breakdown here.

Avatar: The Way of Water

Rating: M | Violence

Director: James Cameron (Avatar, Titanic, The Terminator)

Producers: James Cameron and John Landau

Runtime: 192 minutes

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family are threatened by a familiar enemy who seeks to kill them and gain control of Pandora. Forced to move away from their people, Jake, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and their children find refuge with a new tribe but eventually have to decide whether to keep running or stay and fight. Read the full breakdown here.

The Banshees of Inisherin

M | Offensive language, nudity and content that may disturb

Director: Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)

Producers: Martin McDonagh, Pete Czernin and Graham Broadbent

Runtime: 114 minutes

A friendship abruptly ends after Colm (Brendan Gleeson) starts ignoring his lifelong pal and drinking buddy, Pádraic (Colin Farrell), without really explaining why. Heartbroken and confused, Pádraic desperately tries to resolve the breakdown of their relationship as things take a dramatic turn for them both. Read the full breakdown here.

Elvis

M | Drug use

Director: Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!, The Great Gatsby)

Producers: Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss

Runtime: 159 minutes

Music icon Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) navigates the ups and downs of sensational rock and movie stardom accompanied by his manager Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). Read the full breakdown here.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

R13 | Violence, offensive language, sexual references and content that may disturb

Directors: Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Swiss Army Man, Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia)

Producers: Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang

Runtime: 139 minutes

This sci-fi action comedy follows Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh), an exhausted Chinese-American mother, wife, daughter and businesswoman. All she wants is to finish her taxes, until she discovers she's the only person who can save the multiverse. Read the full breakdown here.

The Fabelmans

M | Offensive language

Director: Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Jurassic Park)

Producers: Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger and Tony Kushner

Runtime: 150 minutes

A coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery of a shattering family secret, and an exploration of the power that movies have to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves. Read the full breakdown here.

Tár

M | Offensive language and nudity

Director: Todd Field (Little Children)

Producers: Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert

Runtime: 158 minutes

Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) is widely considered one of the greatest living composer-conductors and is the very first female director of a major German orchestra. The film follows the downfall of her career after misconduct allegations are made. Read the full breakdown here.

Top Gun: Maverick

M | Violence and offensive language

Director: Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, Only the Brave)

Producers: Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer

Runtime: 130 minutes

Tom Cruise returns as Pete Mitchell AKA Maverick, one of the Navy’s top pilots going on 30 years of service. He is forced to confront the ghosts of his past whilst training graduates for a special assignment. Read the full breakdown here.

Triangle of Sadness

M | Sex scenes, offensive language, animal cruelty, and content that may disturb

Director: Ruben Östlund (Force Majeure, The Square)

Producers: Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober

Runtime: 147 minutes

Yaya (Charlbi Dean) and Carl (Harris Dickinson) are beautiful yet superficial models, who appear to be together to boost their Instagram followers. When they’re gifted a trip on a superyacht things turn ugly in this satire on wealth, influencers, capitalism and class structure. Read the full breakdown here.

Women Talking

RP13 | Sexual violence and domestic abuse

Director: Sarah Polley (Stories We Tell, Away from Her)

Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Frances McDormand

Runtime: 104 minutes

The women of an insular Canadian Mennonite community gather to discuss what to do after it is revealed that the men in their community have been drugging and sexually assaulting the girls and women for many years. A majority of the film is set in a hayloft, where the women debate the pros and cons of forgiving, staying and fighting, or leaving the only world they have ever known. Read the full breakdown here.