Sneak Peak to Summer Blockbuster and Oscars 2016 Predictions

Aug 22, 2015 02:35 AM EDT

The Oscars season is still six months away but movie fans are wondering how the Academy is looking at possible contenders come awards night in February next year.

Here is a sneak preview of some of the upcoming blockbuster movies this fall as well as movies that are early favorites for the awards.

Sicario - Emily Blunt takes the lead role in Sicario as FBI agent Kate Macer who is recruited to be a part of a shady anti-drug-cartel task force run by a cagey cowboy of an elite government agent (Josh Brolin) and a Mexican national (Benicio Del Toro). The two characters have questionable allegiances and intentions who will destroy Kate's idealism who thought she knows enough about the system, her government and her life.

Everest - This is Baltasar Kormákur's take about the 1996 Mount Everest Disaster that killed eight climbers. The film is a disaster thriller which will be showing in Venice next month. This give Everest an edge in the awards giving body as previous films that were selected to kick off the Venice film festival have been nominated in the Oscars, including Birdman and Gravity, reported The Independent. Everest is a star-studded movie featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, Robin Wright, Josh Brolin and Sam Worthington.

Kormákur and his team of actors braved treacherous altitudes, avalanche warnings, and a five-week soundstage shoot while filming the movie. They also have to contend with 100-mile-per-hour blowers pelted salt at the actors. "I decided, okay, I'm going to do everything I can-put the actors in the most difficult environment anyone will allow me to," he says.

Black Mass - is a story about infamous Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger and stars multi-talented actor Johnny Depp.  "A lot of our crew were from South Boston and many of them knew Whitey," says director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart), describing Depp's resemblance with Bulger. "They said it was like a ghost coming back."

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials - is a follow up to the Maze Runner. The Scorch Trials takes

Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) leading his group of survivors through a sandy wasteland called the Scorch while trying to escape new life-threatening challenges. The sequel still involves plenty of running but has taken a more adult route.  "Thomas is more mature and a little unsure of himself," director Wes Ball says. "I think Dylan really ate it up."

The Revenant - Well it stars Leonardo diCaprio, need we say more? DiCaprio has been nominated for the Oscars six times but has never took home a golden man. Many industry insiders are saying The Reverent could earn diCaprio his seventh nomination and hopefully, an award. The Reverent is a story of a 19th century fur trapper who vows revenge.

Joy - Another Jennifer Lawrence starrer. Joy is the true-story adaptation of the life of Joy Mangano, inventor of the Miracle Mop. It shows her struggles and challenges and how she overcame these obstacles to lead one of the biggest business conglomerates in the U.S.