As Hollywood’s hype machine whirs up for awards season, moviegoers find themselves inundated with prognostications, praise, pans and punditry about the films anointed as Oscar contenders. But for all the buzz generated by these prestige pictures, it can be a challenge for even the most dedicated cinephiles to keep track of them at the multiplex, thanks to studios’ labyrinthine schedules of limited releases, gradual expansions and one-week Academy Award qualifying runs. A quick guide to where and when some potential players are scheduled (for now) to open:
“Foxcatcher”
Director Bennet Miller’s fact-based drama about the twisted relationship between Olympic wrestlers Dave and Mark Schultz (Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum) and rich benefactor John du Pont (Steve Carell) opened earlier this month in six theaters in Los Angeles and New York. It’s slated to open in Atlanta on Dec. 19. (Sony Pictures Classics)
“The Imitation Game”
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and directed by Morten Tyldum, this drama about the English mathematician and World War II code breaker Alan Turing will open in two theaters each in Los Angeles and New York on Friday, then expand to the top 10 markets Dec. 12. (The Weinstein Co.)
“Wild”
Based on Cheryl Strayed’s bestselling memoir, the film stars Reese Witherspoon as Strayed, who undertook a life-changing 1,100-mile solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. The movie, director Jean-Marc Vallee’s follow-up to his “Dallas Buyers Club,” opens Dec. 3 in Los Angeles and New York. It is slated for Atlanta Dec. 12. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
“Still Alice”
Julianne Moore garnered excellent reviews when this Alzheimer’s drama premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Co-written and co-directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, “Still Alice” begins a one-week awards-qualifying run in Los Angeles and New York on Dec. 5, ahead of its wide release Jan. 16. (Sony Pictures Classics)
“Inherent Vice”
The first feature film adapted from a Thomas Pynchon novel finds Joaquin Phoenix portraying a pot-smoking private eye enlisted by his ex-girlfriend (Katherine Waterston) to investigate a plot involving her billionaire boyfriend. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the comedy-drama will open in limited release Dec. 12 and expand nationwide Jan. 9. (Warner Bros.)
“The Gambler”
Mark Wahlberg has called his role in this drama, about a self-destructive college English professor with a sizable gambling debt, the most difficult part in his career. A remake of the hardboiled 1974 film starring James Caan, “The Gambler” is directed by Rupert Wyatt (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”). It will open in limited release Dec. 19 and go wide Jan. 2. (Paramount Pictures)
“American Sniper”
Bradley Cooper plays the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who served four tours of duty in Iraq and became known as the most accurate sharpshooter in U.S. military history. Kyle’s 2012 memoir served as the basis for the film, directed by Clint Eastwood. The film will open in select theaters on Christmas Day in Los Angeles, New York and Dallas before going wide Jan. 16. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Big Eyes”
Tim Burton takes on the strange but true story of Margaret and Walter Keane, the prolific painter of sad-eyed images and her fast-talking husband who took public credit for the images. Starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz, “Big Eyes” will open in moderate release on Christmas Day. Expansion plans have not been announced. (The Weinstein Co.)
“Selma”
Directed by Ava DuVernay and starring David Oyelowo as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., this historical drama set against the 1965 voting-rights marches in Alabama made a splashy debut at AFI Fest this month. It will open in select theaters Christmas Day, then nationwide, including Atlanta, Jan. 9. (Paramount Pictures)
“A Most Violent Year”
Set in 1981, during one of the most crime-ridden winters in New York history, writer-director J.C. Chandor’s gritty exploration of the American dream stars Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain as an immigrant businessman and his wife trying to stake their claim in life. “A Most Violent Year” is set to open in Los Angeles and New York on Dec. 31 and expand nationally throughout January. (A24 Films)
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