The 51st Toronto International Film Festival wrapped on Sunday, offering a clearer picture of the developing Academy Awards race with Netflix’s Spanish-language epic La Bola Negra securing the top audience prize, according to reports from The Hollywood Reporter.
La Bola Negra Gains Major Oscar Momentum
Netflix’s La Bola Negra cemented its status as a formidable contender for best picture after winning the TIFF audience award, marking the first time a Netflix film has taken the festival’s highest honor. The film secured a massive standing ovation at its Canadian premiere and was selected by Spain as its official entry for the best international feature Oscar. While the audience award comes with historical caveats—such as the fact that the last non-English-language winner did not land an Oscar nomination—every other TIFF audience award winner of the past decade went on to secure at least a best picture nomination. The film enters the race as a stark contrast to Universal’s high-budget epic The Odyssey, operating on a production budget of less than $15 million compared to its competitor’s $250 million price tag.
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I Play Rocky Emerges as a Crowdsourced Crowd-Pleaser
Amazon and MGM’s I Play Rocky emerged as the highest-profile world premiere crowd-pleaser of the festival, capturing second place for the audience award. Directed by Peter Farrelly, the biographical drama stars Anthony Ippolito as a young Sylvester Stallone. The feature earned enthusiastic applause throughout its screening despite festival scheduling policies that kept films previously screened at Venice or Telluride out of marquee opening-weekend slots. The film currently holds an 82 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, outpacing the approval rating of Farrelly’s Green Book.
Actor-Driven Contenders Strengthen Their Cases
Focus’ Elsinore also left Toronto with significant accolades, capturing the international audience award after La Bola Negra shifted to the overall category. Anchored by Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman, the film draws critical praise primarily for Scott’s demanding performance, which places him in virtually every scene.
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