**Mary is Missing** leads the early market at 15% implied probability, narrowly ahead of **Agapito** at 14.5%, reflecting festival momentum and high-profile backing in a wide-open field months before the shortlist. The Irish psychological thriller gained fresh traction from Paul Mescal’s recent executive producer role and its Cork Grand Prix win, alongside its collaborative approach with learning-disabled performers. **Agapito** benefits from official Philippine Film Academy support and strong reviews from its Cannes competition premiere and Toronto honorable mention. With dozens of other qualifiers still emerging and the December shortlist far off, traders are pricing in uncertainty around guild screenings, additional festival runs, and late-breaking critical consensus that typically reshape short-film frontrunners.