Talk about polar opposites. The Oscar contest between Anora and Conclave is a face-off between arguably the most dissimilar Best Picture nominees in history.

Whether the top prize will go to either the film about a sex worker in Brooklyn or the one about a papal debate at the Vatican is a showdown for the ages. Sure, the 1967 Oscars saw In the Heat of the Night and Bonnie and Clyde go up against Doctor Dolittle, yet the chat-with-the-animals musical was never a serious contender. The same goes for the 1977 Oscars, when Star Wars had a dogfight with more Earth-bound flicks, and the 1992 Oscars, when The Silence of the Lambs chomped Beauty and the Beast — all diverse matchups, except no one honestly thought C3PO or Lumière the candelabra had a shot.

The last time such different Best Picture frontrunners each had an actual chance was perhaps the 2000 Oscars when Gladiator fought Crouching Tiger,...