This week, eight new films arrived in my mailbox. Three were from Netflix Studios; three were from Focus Features; one was from Cohen Media/Amazon Studios; and the other was from regular Amazon Studios. Here is what arrived.

13th

Oscar Chances: Excellent: Ava DuVernay’s Selma scraped by with a small number of nominations, winning Best Original Song. However, it seems likely this film will be a major player for Best Documentary Feature. A nomination seems guaranteed. A win is also a strong possibility.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Documentary Feature (Ava DuVernay, Howard Barish, Spencer Averick)
• Best Director (Ava DuVernay)
• Best Cinematography (Hans Charles, Kira Kelly)
• Best Film Editing (Spencer Averick)
• Best Original Score (Jason Moran)
• Best Original Song (“Letter to the Free” – Common)

Amanda Knox

Oscar Chances: Unknown: Another documentary whose prospects don’t seem great, but with the documentarians voting, it’s possible they’ll see something they love in it and get it some recognition.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Documentary Feature (Mette Heide, Stephen Morse)
• Best Director (Rod Blackhurst, Brian McGinn)
• Best Cinematography (Rod Blackhurst)
• Best Film Editing (Matthew Hamachek)
• Best Original Score (Saunder Jurriaans, Danny Bensi)

The Little Prince

Oscar Chances: Unknown: The film could have been a major Best Animated Feature contender, but its studio dropped release and it was picked up by neophyte studio Netflix who hastily launched it and has been playing catch-up all year. The competition is fierce and I suspect this one will get left off the list.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Animated Feature (Mark Osborne, Dimitri Rassam, Aton Soumache, Alexis Vonarb, Jinko Gotoh)
• Best Director (Mark Osborne)
• Best Supporting Actor (Jeff Bridges, Riley Osborne, Paul Rudd, James Franco, Benicio Del Toro, Ricky Gervais, Bud Cort, Paul Giamatti, Albert Brooks)
• Best Supporting Actress (Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Mackenzie Foy)
• Best Adapted Screenplay (Irena Birgnull, Bob Perscichetti)
• Best Film Editing (Matthew Landon, Carole Kravetz Aykanian)
• Best Production Design (Lou Romano, Alexander Juhasz)
• Best Sound Editing (Christopher Barnett, Tim Nielsen)
• Best Sound Mixing (Christopher Barnett, TIm Nielsen)
• Best Visual Effects (Jamie Caliri, Pascal Bertrand, Jason Boose)
• Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer, Richard Harvey)

Loving

Oscar Chances: Good: While Ruth Negga seems like a solid bet for Best Actress, the film’s chances have been muted by less-than-exuberant reviews. Still, it has been one of the prominent Oscar players long enough that it may make an appearance either way in several other categories.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Picture (Ged Doherty, Colin Firth, Nancy Buirski, Sarah Green, Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf)
• Best Director (Jeff Nichols)
• Best Actor (Joel Edgerton)
• Best Actress (Ruth Negga)
• Best Supporting Actor (Marton Csokas, Nick Kroll, Alano Miller, Jon Bass, Michael Shannon)
• Best Supporting Actress (Terri Abney)
• Best Original Screenplay (Jeff Nichols)
• Best Cinematography (Adam Stone)
• Best Film Editing (Julie Monroe)
• Best Production Design (Chad Keith, Jonathan Guggenheim, Adam Willis)
• Best Costume Design (Erin Benach)
• Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Julia Lallas, Kenneth Walker)
• Best Sound Editing (Will Files)
• Best Sound Mixing (Pud Cusack, Will Files, Brandon Proctor)
• Best Visual Effects (Phil Crowe, Chris Harlowe)
• Best Original Song (“Loving” – Ben Nichols
• Best Original Score (David Wingo)

A Monster Calls

Oscar Chances: Good: Although it didn’t make the Best Visual Effects shortlist, the film has earned incredibly strong reviews and a box office success could propel it into the race.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Picture (Belen Atienza)
• Best Director (J.A. Bayona)
• Best Actor (Lewis MacDougall)
• Best Supporting Actor (Toby Kebbell, Liam Neeson)
• Best Supporting Actress (Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones)
• Best Adapted Screenplay (Patrick Ness)
• Best Cinematography (Oscar Faura)
• Best Film Editing (Bernat Vilaplana, Jaume Marti)
• Best Production Design (Eugenio Caballero, Jaime Anduiza, Didac Bono, Pilar Revuelta)
• Best Costume Design (Steven Noble)
• Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Marese Langan, David Marti, Montse Ribe)
• Best Sound Editing (Oriol Tarrago)
• Best Sound Mixing (Marc Orts, Peter Glossop)
• Best Visual Effects (Felix Berges, Pau Costa)
• Best Original Song (“Tear Up This Town” – Tim Rice-Oxley, Keane)
• Best Original Score (Fernando Velazquez)

Nocturnal Animals

Oscar Chances: Unknown: It’s received solid notices from critics and a smattering of precursor nominations so far, so it could be in play, but I suspect it will be largely ignored with the exception of Michael Shannon making a play for Best Supporting Actor and possibly Tom Ford for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Picture (Tom Ford, Robert Salerno)
• Best Director (Tom Ford)
• Best Actor (Jake Gyllenhaal)
• Best Actress (Amy Adams)
• Best Supporting Actor (Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Armie Hammer)
• Best Supporting Actress (Isla Fisher, Laura Linney)
• Best Adapted Screenplay (Tom Ford)
• Best Cinematography (Seamus McGarvey)
• Best Film Editing (Joan Sobel)
• Best Production Design (Shane Valentino, Christopher L. rown, Meg Everist)
• Best Costume Design (Arianne Phillips)
• Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Donald Mowat, Yolanda Toussieng)
• Best Sound Editing (Lon Bender, Kris Fenske)
• Best Sound Mixing (Scott Harber, Paul Cotterell, Gilbert Lake)
• Best Visual Effects (Casey Schatz)
• Best Original Score (Abel Korzeniowski)

Paterson

Oscar Chances: Weak: With no recognition from the Spirit Awards, the chances of this film suddenly emerging as a dark horse contender are virtually nil. The only thing that will help it now is recognition from critics groups.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Picture (Joshua Astrachan, Carter Logan)
• Best Director (Jim Jarmusch)
• Best Original Screenplay (Jim Jarmusch)
• Best Actor (Adam Driver)
• Best Cinematography (Frederick Elmes)
• Best Film Editing (Alfonso Goncalves)
• Best Production Design (Mark Friedberg, Lydia Marks)
• Best Costume Design (Catherine George)
• Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Margie Durand, Jennifer Serio)
• Best Sound Mixing (Drew Kunin, Tony Volante, Robert Hein)
• Best Sound Editing (Robert Hein)
• Best Original Score (SQURL, Carter Logan, Jim Jarmusch)

The Salesman

Oscar Chances: Unknown: The Foreign Language Film race is largely foggy. It could be a contender or it could not.