The People's Choice Award at TIFF 2024 will be the major prize of the festival in Toronto. This year votes will be made by the public at a website versus previous modes were selections were dropped into a box.

Predicting the winner is made all the more challenging in that you don't really have to have seen the film to cast a vote, only to have an email, so it's extremely tough to nail down exactly what's going to take the top prize.

Still, there are a number of factors that often come to bear – was the film a true TIFF premiere (great for the organization)? Did it receive rapturous praise during its screening? And has the film already been awarded elsewhere, as this often relegates a given title to runner-up status.

People's Choice winners at TIFF have a strong tradition of gaining future traction, including Oscar-winning titles from last year and many previous iterations of the festival.

Here are some of the top contenders for the People's Choice Award at TIFF 2024.

The Life of Chuck

Look, I may be ridiculous for thinking so, and found many of my critic colleagues cold on this title, but I was certainly not alone in absolutely adoring Mike Flanagan's latest Stephen King adaptation, resulting in a smart, joyful, beautiful film that the audience absolutely ate up.

Anora

Sean Baker's Palme d'Or winner is fantastic, indisputably, and the fact that local audiences finally got a chance after its Cannes debut shouldn't penalize the film for previous praise. Absolutely one of the top films of 2024, there's so much to love about this film that it's a worthy contender.

Emilia Pérez

This is another treat from this year's Cannes slate. I had sincerely hoped that Audiard's latest film, a cartel story that's also a musical with a provocative LGBTQ+ storyline, would connect even better in Toronto than on the shores of the Mediterranean. A long shot, perhaps, but another worthy win.

The Wild Robot

Could an animated film soon to be released in theatres take the top prize? The ecstatic reception sure makes a good case for this, and with voicework by the likes of Lupita Nyong'o, beloved in this town since her breakthrough in People's Choice and Oscar winner 12 Years A Slave, the film just may have a chance to soar.

Saturday Night

TIFF is housed in a building that sits on land his family donated, yet no amount of nepo-baby snark can take away from the fact that this tale of Lorne Michaels and his band of Not Ready for Primetime players is sublime, the birth of SNL so intrinsically tied to Toronto that it would make for a fitting award to celebrate this fact.

The Last Showgirl

Reaction was mixed, but don't count out a veritable army of fans for Canada's own Pam Anderson in this Vegas-set story of an aging dancer who must confront the changing landscape of her career after decades donning costumes and bringing some risqué elegance to the Sin City crowds.

Nightbitch

Some absolutely were floored by this tale of the trails of motherhood, others were left cold, but Marielle Heller's adaptation of Rachel Yoder's novel garnered plenty of praise from some, and there are certainly worse things than having this as excuse to heap all the love in the world on the sublime Amy Adams.

Unstoppable

Another long shot, this story of a college wrestler overcoming adversity stars Jharrel Jerome from Moonlight (TIFF 2016) along with fest faves Don Cheadle and Jennifer Lopez.

Babygirl

Nicole Kidman is another performer absolutely beloved by TIFF audiences, and her most recent project, a stark, sexually provocative tale that sees her carnally engaged with her intern, generated plenty of heat here after its Venice bow.

The Brutalist

Running over three hours and projected on celluloid, those most vocal of fans for this analogue film are unlikley to take the time to cast digital votes. Still, the film has been rapturously praised after its Venice debut, and don't count out the A24 hive for helping make this happen.

The Substance

Midnight Madness has its own People's Choice award, and it's almost impossible to think of another title that will garner as much praise as this one.

I was skeptical about it playing to a late-night crowd (for me it screams for a return of Vanguard, as Heretic's perfect 9:30 p.m. slot showed), but I was proven wrong, and people ate up this tasty Cronenburger served up by Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley.