A gameplan for awards movie viewing

With just two months left in 2024, most of the year’s most acclaimed movies gunning for the Oscars haven’t yet arrived in theaters or on streaming services.

Realistically, just three movies from pre-November remain strong contenders for the 10 Best Picture slots at the Academy Awards. Those would be the sci-fi extravaganza “Dune: Part Two,” the engrossing papal thriller “Conclave” and the moving prison-set indie, “Sing Sing.” Sure, “Saturday Night” might have an outside shot, and, man, wouldn’t it be crazy if Demi Moore’s unforgettably gory body horror film “The Substance” landed in the Oscar conversation, but us weirdos can only dream.

Going by early reviews and reactions from the fall’s string of film festivals, expect the rest of the Oscar favorites to unspool on various platforms in the next few weeks. A look at the highlights:

STREAMING:

Netflix’s big player this season appears to be “Emilia Perez,” a big swing musical co-starring Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez. It lands on Netflix on Nov. 13.

A trio of Washingtons is involved in “The Piano Lesson,” an adaptation of the August Wilson play. Denzel Washington is a producer, his son, John David Washington, stars and his other son, Malcolm Washington, directs. It arrives on Netflix on Nov. 22.

Angelina Jolie looks to be a heavy favorite in the Best Actress race with “Maria,” a biopic about opera singer Maria Callas. It goes to Netflix on Dec. 11.

“12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen brings his war drama “Blitz” to both the big and small screen this November. The Saoirse Ronan-led drama will play in a good chunk of theaters in the weekends leading up to its Apple TV+ debut Nov. 22.

Also, while there is no streaming date yet for Clint Eastwood’s “Juror No. 2,” the well-reviewed courtroom drama received a tiny theatrical run recently and is expected to show up on Max before year’s end.

BIG TITLES IN THEATERS:

If early reviews are any indication, a couple of big Thanksgiving titles could join “Dune: Part 2” as blockbusters in the Best Picture conversation. Ridley Scott’s long-awaited epic “Gladiator II” competes against the ballyhooed film adaptation of the musical “Wicked” (or at least the first half of the musical) on the same release date: Nov. 22. While horror films don’t usually perform well with the Academy, the talent behind “Nosferatu” might be too enticing for voters to resist. It opens Christmas Day.

MAJOR CONTENDERS EXPANDING THROUGH DECEMBER:

The rest of the slate will arrive in the Inland Northwest … eventually. Most of these films have limited runs in larger cities, with some coming sooner than later. Sean Baker’s acclaimed comedy “Anora” is considered a Best Picture frontrunner at the moment; it debuts in Spokane this weekend. Expect the Jesse Eisenberg-Kieran Culkin dramedy “A Real Pain” (a Sundance favorite) to arrive soon as well.

In December, look for the other current Best Picture frontrunner “The Brutalist,” starring Adrien Brody, to start making an impact (though it might take until January to make it to North Idaho). Same goes for the first-person shot “Nickel Boys” and the historical thriller “September 5.” International Feature standouts “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” and “All We Imagine as Light” will surely land in Spokane in the coming weeks, but those might need some major nominations to play in Coeur d’Alene.

Of course, you can also check out things like “Kraven the Hunter” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” in wide release in December, though both honestly have better shots at Razzies than Oscars.

• • •

Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.