I don’t know if this is a deliberate typo or not, but 1917 certainly is most picture.
In general, I go by the rule that the Academy doesn’t award Best, they award Most; this is especially apparent with the costume, editing, and special effects awards; a movie like Knives Out, where the costumes effectively (but not showily) reflect character doesn’t get recognized, but period pictures where everyone is in a full-on Costume get rewarded.
I haven’t seen 1917 yet, but it totally seems to be a Most Picture; the single-take approach is very much a bravura filmmaking move where the audience and the Academy is meant to marvel at the undertaking. I don’t mean to be too salty, but while a single-take shot can impress me (Children of Men, the priest scene in Hunger), I don’t appreciate it for its own sake. I saw a side-by-side video of how they did the big running shot (the one from the trailer where he’s running perpendicular to all the soldiers rushing out of the trench), and I get the impression we’re supposed to be impressed by what it took to make the movie more than what the movie makes us feel.
This is also why the Gerwig snub, while atrocious, isn’t surprising: the direction on Little Women is not Most. When you consider how many characters and storylines she’s juggling, I’d say the movie is a feat of directing that isn’t at all showy. So that’s why I think Mendes is also a shoo-in, as coordinating such a difficult shoot as 1917 is the Most directing.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood would be my other guess for Best Picture, as the Academy loves movies that prop up the importance of movies and Hollywood (see also: Argo and The Artist).
