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

Hercules

Back in the 1990’s, many of us lamented that the Best Visual Effects category at the Oscars was too narrow, allowing in only 3 nominees at maximum, leaving off countless deserving choices. As visual effects have become an ever-present part of cinema, the bounty of films that could contend continues to grow, even if they aren’t all deserving of recognition. Thankfully, the Academy increased the threshold to 5 in 2010, a decade too late.

Regardless, now we have a situation where there are so many films that could be nominated that five just doesn’t seem enough, yet assuredly many good films will be left off. Hercules could be one of the movies to replace them. The type of effects on display are showy enough that they could be nominated, with such a heap of better reviewed films in contention, I just don’t imagine Herc will be making it all the way through. It will also struggle in the two other categories it could be a contender in: Sound Mixing and Sound Editing.

Magic in the Moonlight

Every year, the big question is will Woody Allen’s latest film be the type of behemoth that triumphs at the Oscars or be the kind of film that the Academy forgets exists. Allen’s history with the Academy is checkered and unless he provides a solid box office hit, his chances diminish dramatically.

There’s also a strong correlation between films that the critics love and the films the critics don’t. When the critics respond in the negative, his films typically fail at the box office and the Academy doesn’t give them much attention. When he’s scored his highest ratings with critics, the box office responds and in tandem so does the Academy. So, how does Magic in the Moonlight fit into this? It has received mixed-to-positive reviews, but not the type of overwhelming support critics have afforded his films like Blue Jasmine and Midnight in Paris. Perhaps it ends up nominated as a result, but this is a fairly tepid response and I suspect it may be a no-go for the Academy.

A Most Wanted Man

Ever since Philip Seymour Hoffman’s untimely passing, each film that featured him before his death becomes a curiosity about whether the Academy will fete him with a posthumous Oscar nomination. First it was John Slattery’s God’s Pocket, which gave him a decent role with a shot at a nomination. That didn’t pan out when the film tanked with critics.

Now, there’s Anton Corbijn’s latest film. An adaptation of John Le Carré’s thriller about a Chechen Muslim immigrant who’s thrust into the international war on terror. This marks Corbijn’s third straight feature to have a potential Oscar nominee on board. In 2007, Sam Riley delivered a performance that was frequently cited as one of the year’s best debuts. In 2010, George Clooney gave one of his most impressive performances to date. Neither film got anywhere with the Academy, but could the added attraction of Hoffman’s presence give it a bit of a boost?

I’m not sure. A lot depends on how fierce competition is this year. If it’s an incredibly tough race, I could imagine Hoffman being forgotten. However, that accent in the trailer is captivating and the film is getting stellar reviews. A well placed prize from critics could put him in play. I doubt he would win, but a nomination isn’t entirely out of the question.