Megan McLachlan looks at what this year’s winners could mean for the 2027 Oscars and Rachel McAdams.
Okay, okay. So the engraving has barely dried on the 2026 Oscars (if that’s what engraving does?), and I’m already thinking about how it will impact next year’s ceremony.
Let’s face it: The 98th Academy Awards were a gamechanger. Sinners, a historical vampire box office champ, took home four Oscars, including Best Actor and Original Screenplay. Amy Madigan won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing a witch with 13 minutes of screentime. Frankenstein, the ultimate in gothic science fiction, took home three little golden men, despite mixed reviews and a Netflix release.
Horror is clearly — and finally — having its Oscar moment in the spotlight.
But so is the American blockbuster. Twenty years ago, it would feel absurd to predict Sinners and Weapons to be nominated for an Oscar let alone win, but times have changed. The 2026 Oscars proved that the Academy might not be as pretentious with its selections as it used to be.
That is good news for one 2027 Oscar contender I’d like to put up for early consideration: Rachel McAdams.
Why Rachel McAdams is a 2027 Oscar Contender
Her turn as Linda Liddle in January’s Send Help has all of the qualities of a modern-day Oscar nomination and/or win, especially after this year.
Could she take it all the way to Oscars 2027? Here’s what she has going for her.
Send Help killed at the box office.
It only dropped 1% in its second weekend and has made over $93 million worldwide. Ryan Scott at Fangoria described why this is remarkable:
“Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which became one of Hollywood’s biggest original hits in years, dropped just 4% in its second weekend last year, going from an opening weekend of $48 million down to $45.7 million. Let me put it this way; it’s not that a drop this low never happens but it’s rare air. What it suggests is that word of mouth for Raimi’s latest is quite good, at least in North America.”
The Academy loves to celebrate box office wins and support movie theaters.
Sam Raimi’s film was released early enough in the year to be remembered — not forgotten.
Not to compare it again, but one of the most amazing things about Sinners is that it came out in April of 2025 and clearly had legs. It was able to ebb and flow with the Oscar talk. Gone are the days when your movie needs to come out in the fall to be considered for awards.
Plus, since the box office is mostly topped with sequels and superheroes, the Academy remembered Sinners for its originality. Something Send Help also has (in addition to a well-respected but underrated director!).
McAdam’s performance really elevates the film in the same way Amy Madigan did Weapons.
You leave the theater thinking about her performance and the complicated relationship we all have with Linda by the end of it. McAdams is physical, emotional, and at times, hilarious. It’s pretty much an actor’s dream role.
Maybe her appearance at the Oscars this year is an omen for what’s to come. We’ll have a year to wait.
But if there’s anyone you should never count out, it’s Linda Liddle.
