The Oscars are still several months away, but it looks like many critics have already made their minds up about one major category.
Following the premiere of Darren Aronofsky's drama The Whale, many critics are calling for Brendan Fraser - who stars as 600lb recluse Charlie - to be given the Best Actor Academy Award for his performance.
The movie - which is Fraser's first big role in over a decade - marks the actor's return to the big screen after he spent years battling physical injuries and struggling with his own personal mental health.
Best known for his roles in action-adventure flicks like George of the Jungle and The Mummy, The Whale also marks a more serious dramatic turn for Fraser.
As far as critics are concerned, the 53-year-old star's return to the big screen has been a roaring success. Many have heaped praise on his performance, even going so far as to say that he deserves this year's Best Actor Oscar.
"I feel very confident in telling you that no other performance will arrive between now and December that will be moving, touching, heartbreaking, and devastating enough to unseat Brendan Fraser out of the frontrunner position for Best Actor due to his role in The Whale," critic Sean O'Connell wrote for Cinemablend.
"It’s a sympathetic, painful, and shocking performance from an actor the industry sadly forgot, and I’m telling you, it’s winning an Oscar next year" he added.
"Fraser richly deserves to be nominated for a best actor Oscar," critic Nicholas Barber agreed in his review for Culture. Barber went on to note that the star's performance was doubly likely to be successful at awards shows because of the physical transformation Fraser underwent for it.
"Fraser undergoes one of those has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed physical transformations that awards voters can't resist," he wrote.
And writing for the BBC, Nicholas Barber titles his piece: "The Whale review: 'Brendan Fraser deserves an Oscar'".
In her review, Barber adamantly writes: "Fraser richly deserves to be nominated for a best actor Oscar, and if that doesn't happen, I won't just eat my hat, I'll eat as many pizzas and cheese-and-meatball sandwiches as Charlie gets through in the film.
"The Brenaissance is here."
Fraser has already earned one award for his performance - the Best Actor Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, where The Whale premiered to critical acclaim earlier this month.
Alongside leading man Fraser, The Whale stars Stranger Things' Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, and Ty Simpkins in supporting roles. It is scheduled to hit cinemas later this year on December 9, 2022.
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