We had one film release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.

Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal secured his first Oscar nomination for his co-lead (though he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor) role in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. Nine years later, his new film Nightcrawler in which he plays an investigative journalist on the trail of a juicy crime story in Dan Gilroy’s debut feature.

Gyllenhaal has been getting some of the best notices of his career, many have started talking about his likely inclusion in the year’s hefty Best Actor slate. As sure as he is a contender, the film’s strong acclaim from critics could put into play in a number of categories, though it seems like the only place it could compete is Best Original Screenplay.

Films that perform this well for critics often get picked up as possible Best Picture nominees, but Gilroy is very unlikely to nab a Best Director slot when there are a maximum of five inclusions. Ultimately, I think the film will end up nominated in Best Original Screenplay and Gyllenhaal, without a string of critics wins, will barely miss the Best Actor slate.