New footage of Emily Blunt in MARY POPPINS RETURNS

The good news is that Blunt is absolutely superb and her performance puts her smack dab in the middle of the Best Actress race. Could she win? There is a ton of competition from “A Star is Born’s” Lady Gaga and “The Favourite’s” Olivia Coleman, but she could be the surprise late arrival. Despite the crowded field, Blunt could easily win both SAG and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes. That might make her too formidable for any BAFTA win for local favorite Coleman to slow down. Needless to say, the Actress race just became considerably more interesting.

“Mary Poppins Returns” could also send a familiar face back to the Dolby Theater, none other than Meryl Streep. The legendary actress doesn’t have a huge role but she toplines one major musical number and it also just happens to be one of the most memorable of the picture. And, of course, she’s Meryl so she’s great in it. The Best Supporting Actress race is a minefield where three to four incredible performances will miss the cut for Oscar, but no one should discount Streep sneaking in. Her singing and dancing are just too impressive to discount because she already has 21 nominations and three wins.

And that leaves us with Picture and Director. As someone who hasn’t always been a Rob Marshall fan, he deserves huge kudos for having the guts to tackle a sequel to such a beloved classic. Moreover, the musical numbers in “Returns” are arguably much more impressive and creative than what he fashioned in the too-stagey “Into the Woods” (although “Trip the Light” has its moments). Marshall likely won’t crack the Best Director five with such tremendous competition, but will no doubt earn a ton of respect from his peers for pulling it off.

As for Best Picture, we’re going to be completely frank. We have not heard such divergent thoughts on a film’s Best Picture chances in forever. Based on seeing the film and the rest of the field we personally think there is just an outside chance for a nomination. There is a path where it could certainly land one and it’s not easy. On the other hand, we know of two well-regarded Academy members (who know a little about winning Best Picture) who attended the AMPAS screening on Sunday morning and not only do they think it will get nominated, but they think it will win.

The movie musical landed in the race this week with guild and Academy screenings, tastemakers and more, hoping for what would rightly be considered the impossible: an embrace. But Marshall and company can breathe a sigh of relief because it’s going over like gangbusters. There was applause throughout a Producers Guild screening on Wednesday. A lengthy standing ovation greeted the film’s director and cast at an all-guild screening on Saturday. On Sunday, members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences got a look and erupted when 91-year-old Dick Van Dyke hit the screen. They also met the film’s talent with a standing ovation.

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Indeed, the craft on the whole is stunning. Costume designer Sandy Powell may well win her fourth Oscar for this film rather than “The Favourite,” another contender she has in the hunt. The production design and photography, courtesy of Marshall regulars John Myhre and Dion Beebe, respectively, really grows the whole enterprise on the screen, and naturally the film editing is crucial on a musical like this. Wyatt Smith’s work within the various numbers and in pushing the entire story forward is wonderful. Marc Shaiman’s original score soars, and Disney will be submitting two songs to the Academy for consideration: the lively “Trip a Little Light Fantastic” and the lower-key “The Place Where Lost Things Go.”

And in the marketplace? Movie-goers are obviously flocking to films like “La La Land” and “A Star Is Born.” Musical storytelling is part of the fabric of modern cinema, which Marshall can take credit for in part due to his Oscar-winning “Chicago” 16 years ago, which helped kick in the door along with Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge!” Expect them to flock to this one as well. “Mary Poppins Returns” will be a massive hit, which will drive the point home all the more: Audiences want a movie like this right now. Critics, even the most cynical of them (whether they admit it or not), want a movie like this right now. Surely, Oscar voters want a movie like this right now.

Well, they’re going to get it.

Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns” had its first public screening for SAG members Saturday night at Fox, and Emily Blunt portrays the iconic nanny with such confidence and charm that she could land a Best Actress Oscar nomination. No easy feat since Julie Andrews won the Oscar with the role in 1965 and charmed the world with a performance that was “practically perfect in every way.”

The Rob Marshall-directed musical should also be very competitive in several craft races, including John Myhre’s production design, Sandy Powell’s costume design, Marc Shaiman’s score, Best Song, VFX, and sound editing and mixing.