Producers Guild of America Awards Winner Now Oscar Best Picture Frontrunner; Find out Why!

There's a new Oscar frontrunner in town, and many people did not see it coming. Following a huge win at the Producers Guild of America Awards Saturday evening, The Big Short came out on top as the film currently most likely to go on to win Best Picture at this year's Oscars, hosted by Chris Rock.

Given the fact that The Revenant took home best director and best drama at the Golden Globes, and Spotlight took home best picture at the Critics' Choice Awards, The Big Short's major win at the PGAs is quite the surprise. The Big Short, which stars Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Steve Carell, and Ryan Gosling (to name a few), follows the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 and the men who predicted it.

So why is a PGA win so important? Esteemed Oscarologist Scott Feinberg puts it this way:

"Because in 19 of the last 26 years - 73 percent - and each of the last eight, the best picture Oscar winner collected the PGA's Zanuck Award en route to the Dolby. (Few other precursor awards have a better track record.)"

It's also important to note that both the Golden Globes and the Critics' Choice Awards are voted on by journalists, not moviemakers themselves. The PGAs mark the first big Oscar prognosticator that features voting by a body of filmmakers. Naturally all of these stats don't guarantee a Best Picture statuette for the film, but the next few weeks should be very telling.

Next weekend features the next big guild awards: the SAG Awards. Should The Big Short take home the award for best ensemble, it will bode even better for its chances at the Oscar. Only two films ever have won both the PGA and the SAG best ensemble award and NOT gone on to win Best Picture (Apollo 13 and Little Miss Sunshine).

Following that, big Oscar precursors such as the DGA Awards and the BAFTAs will provide further insight. For now, though, The Big Short is the new film to beat.