Where Are All the Oscar Films?

It may be hard to believe, but we are in the middle of an important time that has nothing to do with the presidential election — it’s Oscar season.

Theaters will soon be filled with awards contenders sporting showy performances from Hollywood’s biggest names, each one hoping to scrape its way to the top in order to get noticed before Academy members cast their ballots and Oscar nominees are announced on Jan. 24.

The Oscars love transformations.

PR departments are already in full awards-promotion swing as festival screenings and viral trailers begin heated talks about who will have the best chance at taking home those little gold statuettes Hollywood loves so much.

But where are all the fine films vying for the trophies?

Clint Eastwood’s true story “Sully” is the only serious Oscar contender seen by a wide audience thus far. With more than $120 million in domestic box office receipts, the film about hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger doesn’t need any nominations to be considered a success — but it certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Related: Oscar Buzz Begins for ‘Sully’

Since Eastwood’s highly polarizing “American Sniper” nabbed a handful of nominations, including Best Picture, there’s a good chance the much-praised “Sully” could be in the running for a similar nominations sweep, including a nod for lead performance by two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks. What will work against “Sully” is its early September release. Though the timing helped boost box office sales, Oscar voters can be cruel in their short-term memories. Once the onslaught of films begin dropping in November and December, “Sully” may be a distant memory.

“The Birth of a Nation,” Nate Parker’s film about Nat Turner’s slave revolt, earned big awards buzz when it premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival. The film has earned raves from critics, but controversies surrounding director/star Nate Parker’s history with sexual assault have led to protests and bad press. The box office earnings are far less than originally envisioned. The buzz surrounding “Nation” has moved to whether it will recoup its budget, rather than how big of a sweep it’ll make on Oscar night. Expect it to be forgotten.

Actors currently gaining momentum and likely preparing themselves to hit the talk show circuit as aggressively as campaigning politicians include a few names we see every year — but also a couple we haven’t seen in a long time.

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Warren Beatty has been silent for over a decade, despite being George Clooney way before there was a George Clooney. The 79-year-old actor is now back in front of — and behind — the camera with his long-in-the-works Howard Hughes movie, “Rules Don’t Apply.”

The film boasts a classic old-Hollywood feel in its trailer. Beatty stepping back into movies will likely earn him enough goodwill to nab at least a few Oscar nominations, as long as “Rules” doesn’t disappoint when it opens on Nov. 23.

So far, it’s earned good word of mouth. “Saw Warren Beatty’s lovely new film last night. Sumptuous telling of a complex love story. Don’t miss it. Great performances by all,” tweeted fellow Hollywood veteran James Woods. He called Beatty’s performance “amazing.”

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are also winning praise for their work in the musical “La La Land.” After several film festival screenings, the film has received near-universal acclaim for its throwback feel and the musical and dance chops from Gosling and Stone. The Dec. 2 release even won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, which many previous Best Picture winners have scored.

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The Oscars love transformations. Gain weight? Check. Scale back your good looks? Check and check. Matthew McConaughey already lost over forty pounds for his Academy Award-winning turn in “Dallas Buyer’s Club,” and now he’s gone in the opposite direction, gaining weight and changing his boyish looks into that of a desperate, pudgy, balding entrepreneur. “Gold” has many talking Oscars based off of its one trailer. Considering McConaughey’s good standing with Oscar voters and his shocking physical transformation for the role, expect a nod for him for the Christmas release.

Michael Keaton looks to be making a different sort of transformation in “The Founder,” the story behind the fast food chain McDonald’s. Playing Ray Kroc, the ruthless man who helped to create the ubiquitous eaterie we know today, Keaton is far from his beloved “Beetlejuice” days. After starring in two Best Picture winners, “Birdman” and “Spotlight,” two years in a row, Keaton looks to be a hefty competitor. The film even had its release date pushed from September to the more awards-competitive December.

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Not all awards contenders are enjoying the good buzz, however. Ang Lee’s “Bill Lynn’s Halftime Walk” is being shown in a special 4K release and was previously thought to be a serious awards contender.

It has the highest frame rate of any movie ever released (120 frames per second), meaning it has more picture on screen and a higher definition than previously exhibited. The film, about an Iraq war veteran invited to the halftime show of a football game after returning home, is also a 3D release.

But some early critics who have seen the Nov. 11 release have not been kind. “This next-generation movie is a huge failure,” read Kyle Smith’s New York Post review. It currently rates only 47 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Other films with Oscar buzz surrounding them remain mostly unseen. There’s “Silence,” Martin Scorsese’s drama about persecuted Christians in 17th-century Japan. Despite a release on Dec. 23, not much is known about the picture — but Scorsese’s films are always in serious consideration by Oscar voters.

The Dec. 2 release, “Jackie,” follows first lady Jackie Kennedy in the days following her husband’s assassination. Natalie Portman’s performance won praises and Oscar talk out of screenings at the Venice Film Festival and Toronto.

Related: A Grieving Icon: Natalie Channels Jackie

Also earning healthy performance buzz from festival screenings is “Manchester by the Sea.” Starring Casey Affleck, the movie’s early reviews are in almost universal agreement. After showings at the Toronto Film Festival, New York, and others, “Sea” has a 97 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 39 reviews, with Affleck’s performance as a New Englander returning home to take care of his nephew earning particular recognition. With that kind of acclaim at this time of year, “Sea” can be expected to be a strong competitor in all categories when released on Nov. 18.

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It may be early into Oscar season, but it already looks to be a fiercely competitive year with love for Old Hollywood (Beatty, “La La Land”) in direct competition with New Hollywood (the 4K, 3D “Halftime Walk”). Who will win is anyone’s guess, but with a field of vastly different releases in the coming weeks, expect a bloody fight to the top — something we should be familiar with after watching the 2016 presidential election.