The film already ties Titanic and All About Eve for the most nominations ever, with 14. And it could easily equal or better the record of 11 wins for Titanic, The Return of the King and Ben-Hur. Because La La Land has two nominations for Best Song, the most awards it could win is actually 13. And it's currently the favourite to take Picture, Director, Actress (Emma Stone), Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Score, Song and even Costumes, despite stiff competition from Jackie.

Ryan and Emma in La La LandRyan and Emma in La La Land

So why is this film winning over the Academy's voters? The simple explanation is that it's a movie about show business, and these tend to do well by Oscar (see recent Best Picture winners Argo, The Artist and Birdman). There's the added benefit that most voters haven't been subjected to the hype that has caused a mixed reaction from some critics and audiences (hint: watch it again to see what the fuss is about). La La Land is an energetic, honest and uplifting film about the struggle to make it in Hollywood. That it's also an original movie musical is merely icing on the cake.

Two awards La La Land can expect to lose are likely to go to Manchester by the Sea, for Kenneth Lonergan's original screenplay and Casey Affleck's lead performance.

Other predicted winners include Moonlight (Supporting Actor Mahershala Ali and Adapted Screenplay) and Fences (Supporting Actress Viola Davis).

And if there are upsets in the acting categories, the most likely winners are the iconic Isabelle Huppert for Best Actress, the undeniable Denzel Washington for Best Actor and the rising upstart Dev Patel for Supporting Actor.

The ceremony on Sunday will be presented by talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who is expected to strike a delicate balance between lampooning Hollywood and speaking out on political topics. All five best song nominees will be performed live during the show by the likes of Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Sting.

And if you stick with it, the grand finale will be the reunion of Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway to mark 50 years since the release of their classic Bonnie & Clyde. They are presenting Best Picture. Most likely to La La Land.

Watch the trailer for La La Land: