We had three films release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.

The Green Knight

Having been on the outskirts of Oscar recognition twice before, 2013’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and 2018’s The Old Man & The Gun, director David Lowery might finally have his first Oscar-nominated feature on his hands. Loosely based on the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain, The Green Knight stars Dev Patel in a performance that is earning him lots of praise in the role of Gawain. Barry Koeghan, Joel Edgerton, and Alicia Vikander each have roles in the film.

Even without the praise of Patel, the film is likely to compete in some of the craft categories, most notably Production Design and Costume Design. There’s a distant chance of being considered for Best Makeup & Hairstyling and Best Visual Effects as well, but those are not remotely a slam-dunk situation. The Green Knight is unlikely to capture any Oscars for the work, but two craft nominations wouldn’t be unexpected.

Jungle Cruise

Disney’s bountiful production values are on full display in their latest adaptation of one of their popular theme park rides. Jungle Cruise stars Dwayne Johnson as a riverboat operator who agrees to transport Emily Blunt and her brother Jack Whitehall deep into the Amazon jungle where they hope to uncover a legendary curative item that will help millions. They are pursued by villains of every type as they search desperately for this item.

The film has earned decent reviews, but it’s not the film itself, nor its actors, that is likely to generate Oscar attention. It’s the creative aspects. Best Production Design, Costume Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, Sound, and Visual Effects are all very possible, though I imagine it will struggle to win any of them. This is especially true when three of these five categories are more likely to go to Disney’s earlier success Cruella rather than this distant riff on The African Queen.

Stillwater

Premiering to rapturous applause at the Cannes International Film Festival, Tom McCarthy’s new film about a conservative father traveling to Paris to help prove his imprisoned daughter’s innocence. Matt Damon plays the lead while Abigail Breslin plays his estranged child who has been accused of murder.

McCarthy’s Oscar track record is pretty strong as is Damon’s. Damon has scored three acting nominations to date, his most recent being in 2015 for The Martian. He was also nominated for Best Picture for Manchester by the Sea as well as Original Screenplay, an award he won alongside friend Ben Affleck. McCarthy’s had even more success for his films even though he has only scored 3 nominations of his own. Although his first directorial effort, The Station Agent, barely missed the Oscars, his subsequent film, The Visitor, pulled out a nomination for star Richard Jenkins. His next two films were Oscar failures, but the third, Spotlight, not only proved to be his most successful yet, it pulled off a surprise victory for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay with additional nominations for McCarthy as director, film editing, and for stars Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams.

Stillwater was well received at Cannes, but that’s not always a sign of Oscar attention. We’ll have to see if he can hang on until Oscar season rolls around to see if he can overcome the film’s non-Oscar-typical concept and pull in Academy voters.