The Oscar race continued to be an enigma at the end of the week with less definition and no clear front-runner.

For most pundits and critics it has become a foregone conclusion that the race has come down to "Birdman" vs. "Boyhood." However, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" has gained a lot of traction, and many prognosticators believe it will be a big hit at the Academy Awards.

As of late, the Oscar race has become a two-field race with a third film right behind. For example, last year everyone knew it was a race between "Gravity" and "12 Years a Slave." Both films tied at the Producers Guild of America, and neither won the Writers Guild of America. However, "American Hustle" snuck in late in the race when it won the SAG awards' big prize Best Cast in a Motion Picture. It also became the most nominated film at the Oscars for that year.

In 2012, things got a little tricky when "Argo" failed to get nominated for Best Director. However, early on it was a "Zero Dark Thirty" vs. "Argo" race. When the Academy Award nominations were announced, "Zero Dark Thirty" was hampered by controversial remarks and the themes of the film. As a result, it turned into a "Lincoln" vs. "Argo" race. Many critics believed the Oscars would award Steven Spielberg for his achievement for "Lincoln." However, the Academy proved that the guild awards were important, and "Argo" had won the SAG award, the Director's Guild, the Producers Guild and the Writers Guild awards.

The 2011 race was more straight forward with "The Artist" in a duel with "The Descendants." "Hugo" was right behind as it won the most Academy Awards that year and was a critical success. However, "The Descendants" and "The Artist" were in better positions because they both won the Golden Globe's highest honors in Comedy and Drama. However, when it came down to the Best Picture award, "The Artist" had won more critics groups as well as the Producers Guild of America.

The one race that most people remember is when "The King's Speech" won the Oscar. The film had been shut out early in the race as "The Social Network" had won all the critics' groups, the Critics' Choice awards and the Golden Globe. However, when it came time for the Academy and the BAFTA to choose, they went for "The King's Speech." The race showed that critics had no effect on the Oscar outcome and that campaigns were more important.

This year has been very tricky to predict, and even though "Boyhood has already won 10 critics groups while "Birdman" has won four, the tally count is still too small to consider either one a front-runner. Additionally, the fact that "Boyhood" only leads by six Best Picture wins shows that there is still no consensus and that the race could change at any time.

"Boyhood" has many things working in its favor including a formidable campaign and the fact that it was shot over 12 years, an achievement that has never been done before. However, while it was a financial hit for IFC Films, the film only made $24 million, which is not a lot for a film. The worst grossing Best Picture winner was "The Hurt Locker," but ever since that film, every Best Picture has made more than $44 million and has been released in October or November.

"Boyhood" is also at a disadvantage because IFC Films has never won a Best Picture and the film does not really follow a concrete storyline that could prove divisive for conservative Academy members. "Boyhood" also did not have the Festival circuit run that most Oscar winning films go through, including Toronto and Telluride.

On the other hand, "Birdman" is a comedy that is backed by Fox Searchlight, which won the Best Picture award last year. The film is also still in cinemas, and it has been getting more nominations than any other film. "Birdman" is also a comedy and most recent Best Pictures have been extremely serious.

However, the film is at a disadvantage because it had a lot of backlash after the Venice Film Festival for its existential final act and inconclusive ending. It is also unlikely the film will win a Best Director award as the Academy is unlikely to award two Mexican directors in a row.

Both films are worthy candidates, but they may be too experimental for the Academy's conservative taste. This is where the third best choice comes in. "The Grand Budapest Hotel" seems like the third choice, but it was released in March. No film since "Erin Brockovich" in 2000 has been nominated for the Best Picture award released that early, and while "Budapest Hotel" could end that era, it may have been released too early for the Academy to award it.

So what is the other third option? "The Imitation Game" was an early favorite out of the Festival circuit as it won the People's Choice at Toronto and premiered at Telluride. The Weinstein Company is also releasing the biopic, and reviews are solid if not as strong as the studios previous Best Picture winners "The Artist" and "The King's Speech." "The Imitation Game" seems tailor-made for the Academy as it is based on a real life individual and it also has an all-star cast. It is also the most traditional of the three films and the safest choice for the Oscars.

It is still too early, though, and the lack of a Best Director nod at the Golden Globes is a bad sign. However, things could change once the DGA bring their opinion to the table.

The Oscar race is still too early to predict, and it could easily become a bigger roller coaster ride that is unexpected.

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