A large quantity of screeners came in the mail today and I don’t have the time to provide the same customary Screen Watch post I normally do. The bulk of the screeners came from Magnolia/Magnet who have a poor history at achieving Oscar success. In addition to the 23 titles from Magnet and Magnolia, I also received a screener for Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story.

Looking through the list, I see a number of films that were released VOD before they were released at the theaters (titles such as Headhunters and Deadfall). These won’t be eligible for Oscar. Of the remainder, only two titles pop out at me as potential Oscar contenders. Take This Waltz, Sarah Polley’s follow up to Away from Her. The film didn’t do as well with critics as I expected, which means it probably won’t be a factor, but that doesn’t mean the ever-present Michelle Williams won’t still reap some Oscar talk.

The second title with Oscar chances is A Royal Affair, Denmark’s official selection for the Academy Foreign Language Feature award. The subject matter and the strong reviews make this seem a likely contender for a nomination and is the one title on the list that has better than 50/50 chance of doing so.

Here are the titles I received from Magnolia & Magnet.

2 Days in New York
360
Beyond the Black Rainbow
Compliance
Deadfall
God Bless America
The Good Doctor
Goon
Headhunters
The Hunter
I Wish
The Innkeepers
Jack & Diane
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
The Magic of Belle Isle
Marley
Nobody Walks
Queen of Versailles
A Royal Affair
Sound of Noise
Take This Waltz
Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie
V/H/S