As the precursor awards continue unabated through the month of December, I’m going to be providing a weekly update highlighting the films that have won and lost momentum through the precursor awards (this will be in place of my prior weekly article “Oscar Preview”. Today, we look back at the results of the New York Film Critics Circle, National Board of Review, Satellite Awards nominations, Spirit Awards nominations and the Producers Guild of America nominations. This is a healthy spread of award bodies from indie to big budget, and a nice broad spectrum of critics groups.

But, before we get into this week’s winners and losers, let’s take a look at what’s coming up this week:

Week 2

Monday, Dec. 2 – Annie Award Nominations
Monday, Dec. 2 – Satellite Award Nominations
Tuesday, Dec. 3 – New York Film Critics Circle Awards
Wednesday, Dec. 4 – National Board of Review Awards
Friday, Dec. 6 – Grammy Award Nominations
Saturday, Dec. 7 – Boston Online Film Critics Circle Awards (guesstimate)

Big Winners

12 Years a Slave: No film could have better benefited from this year’s Spirit Award nominations than Steve McQueen’s slavery saga. No one suspected the film would be a no-show at the Oscars, but the complete embrace of the film by the Spirit Awards, including three acting nominations, cements its status as a central figure in this year’s race.
All Is Lost: Robert Redford’s solo achievement under the direction of Oscar nominee J.C. Chandor was certain before the Spirit Awards. The appreciation the Spirit committee had towards the film overall gives it a boost in categories it wasn’t certain to be a threat in, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay (which would probably have been a consideration even without this attention). Its Cinematography nomination may have been initially surprising, but all things considered it makes perfect sense and may also make sense to the Academy.
Fruitvale Station: The film only snagged three nominations, so being listed as a big winner is a bit of a misnomer. That Michael B. Jordan hung on for a six-wide field of Best Actor candidates, including major Oscar contenders, gives his film some credence and he could emerge as a dark horse now for a Best Actor nomination. Melonie Diaz gets a leg up on the competition by beating out Oscar winner Octavia Spencer for the Best Supporting Actress nomination from the film.
Nebraska: Second only to 12 Years a Slave, Alexander Payne’s black-and-white comedy picks up steam in pursuit of several nominations. Whether Payne himself can end up in Best Director remains to be seen, but this strong showing should bolster its chances at a Best Picture nomination and may help secure his film nods in writing, actor and supporting actress.
A Place at the Table: Being one of the few immediately recognizable titles on the DGA nomination list for Best Documentary will help the sequel to Oscar nominee Food, Inc. in its attempt to become one of the few sequels ever nominated for Best Documentary Feature. It still faces stiff competition as critics aren’t likely to give it any help.
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks: The film has the political importance that Academy voters like and before it was nominated by the DGA, I had not considered it as much of a contender. With the fizzle of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s biopic The Fifth Estate and lack of newsworthy stories about the site in months, it wasn’t certain the film would be much of a contender. It’s now back in the race.

Big Losers

Before Midnight: What should have been a slam-dunk nominee at the Spirit Awards, the third film in the Before… series was almost completely ignored picking up only two nominations for Best Actress Julie Delpy and Delpy, Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke in screenplay. The film was thought to be on a shortlist of films with strong potential for a Best Picture nomination. However, if even the Spirit Awards aren’t concerned with the early-peaking film, the Academy may not care to recognize it either. At least the writers will give the film some attention.
Blue Jasmine: Another big name on the indie circuit, Woody Allen should have been all over the place with his Cate Blanchett-starring film. Yet, apart from a required screenwriting nomination, the film only picked up two acting citations for Blanchett in lead and Sally Hawkins in support. That lackluster showing doesn’t give it much hope of a Best Picture nomination, though it does give Hawkins a boost.
Blackfish: This is the one documentary everyone seems to be talking about and its pro-animal rights message should speak well to the Academy. However, the producers guild completely ignored the film, a significant jolt to the film’s campaign. A good showing with critics should help its chances and the Academy may still nominate it, but without more help from other groups, the film may struggle to win when just a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have bet against it.