Ah yes, that special time of giving is almost here. That time when we give special attention to those who did a little extra this year and rewarding them for being the person at what they do. Wait, oh, you thought I was talking about Christmas. No, rather I’m talking about all the major awards shows for film that are coming early next year.

Whether you’re a fan of the Golden Globes, Oscars, or some other random awards show, these shows can make someone suddenly recognize a film they might not have heard of. There’s always that high-profile indie film that is highlighted from the Oscars that people will check out because it either won an award or was the big talk of the show. So that’s why it’s important to see who to Oscar front runners are and what films could benefit from some simple awards show buzz.

There’s already big awards favorites like A Star is Born, Boy Erased, Widows, Love Simon, Blackkklansman, and more recently The Favourite, but there are still plenty of more award hopefuls to come this December. So now it’s time to take a look at some possible future nominees that could shake up this next awards season.

Stan and Ollie (In Theaters December 28th)

Hearing about the excellent works of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy for years from my grandparents, one of the first December films that caught my eye was the new biopic from Philomena writer Jeff Pope.

Not only does this new film take on the dynamic duo’s later years, but also brings together comedy legends John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan to play them. From the trailer, Reilly and Coogan are clearly giving it all and the story will be emotionally touching as it focuses on both Hardy’s health issues and the two’s struggles in their last couple of years. It’s the kind of story that will undoubtedly garner up some award nominations for both acting and writing and one that will hopefully get long-time fans of Laurel and Hardy to see it in theaters.

Stan & Ollie also seems to be a lovingly fateful tribute to Laurel and Hardy and hopefully there will love given to the film in the form of some awards.

Vice (In Theaters December 25th)

Who could be more perfect to create a biopic on the story of George W. Bush’s Vice-President, Dick Cheney, than the director behind films like The Big Short and Anchorman? Honestly, nobody could cover such odd political personalities that people snicker at when just hearing their voices better than Adam McKay. His more dark and aggressive comedy and truly unique style of storytelling seen in The Big Short will hopefully translate perfectly into Vice.

McKay has made some incredibly unique characters in his films that could easily make Vice an awards favorite. McKay did an excellent job explaining the ins and outs of bonds in The Big Short and using his filmmaking style to explain something typically complicated easy to understand to general movie audience. It’s frankly what him so unique and what makes him so perfect to take the subject matter of understanding how Cheney was given the power to control the military, energy, and foreign policy under George W. Bush.

Not to mention, with McKay reuniting with acting greats like Christian Bale and Steve Carrell and bringing on other big names, like Amy Adams and Sam Rockwell, Vice seems like it has all of the perfect pieces in place. Also, let’s face it, tell me that Dick Cheney and George W. Bush don’t already come off like characters from Anchorman.

If Beale Street Could Talk (In Theaters December 14th)

From the director of Moonlight, which pretty much makes it awards contender in itself, If Beale Street Could Talk could be Barry Jenkins’ next big award winner. His adaptation of the acclaimed novel of the same name by James Baldwin looks to bring both strong performances and a truly emotional story.

Following the story of a Harlem couple that is struggling to deal with their pregnancy while the woman attempts to prove her fiancé’s innocence. The trailer, alone, will make any viewer feel emotional with it’s incredible score and eye-catching visuals. The film also looks to have some standout performances from not only its leads, Kiki Layne and Stephan James, but also a strong supporting cast of Regina King and Colman Domingo.

Basically, if there was an undeniable aroma that film destined to be an awards favorite could have, If Beale Street Could Talk would wreak of it.

The Mule (In Theaters December 14th)

Clint Eastwood has created some big awards favorites in the past couple of years with films like Million Dollar Baby, American Sniper, and Sully and he looks to continue to do that with The Mule. Eastwood plays an old man who desires to exit the world of being a drug runner and escape the grasp of the authorities. Seeing Eastwood back in a lead role feels incredibly refreshing and could him enter a Best Lead Actor race that’s already filled with plenty deserving talent.

The Mule also has a dominant supporting cast filled with big names like Bradley Cooper, Michael Pena, and Lawrence Fishburne. Just from watching the trailer, you immediately get vibes from one of Eastwood’s most favorited films, Gran Torino, and it seems like a story that any moviegoers could become invested in.

Sure, Eastwood made a humongous blunder earlier this year by making one of the worst films of the year, The 15:17 to Paris,  but with The Mule he seems to be making all of the right decisions.

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (In Theaters December 14th)

Now, unlike the other films on this list, this animated feature probably wouldn’t have much luck landing any Best Feature nominations (although, anything is possible). However, Into the Spiderverse is an incredibly strong candidate for any and every award for Best Animated Feature. Focusing away from the most known web-head Peter Parker, Into the Spiderverse looks to give some lime-light to not only Miles Morales, but to other versions of Spider-Man as well.

Into the Spiderverse has really only gotten better with each trailer that has come out and definitely looks like it could easily be a top contender against animated giants like The Incredibles 2 and Ralph Breaks the Internet. It actually looks to be the different kind of Spider-Man tale that fans have been very vocal about and has a comic book styled animation that is incredibly reminiscent of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World.

So with this new iteration of Spider-Man coming to the big screen soon, it seems likely that Sony can beat Disney and Marvel to the punch in creating a superhero film that is deserving of awards.

As a whole, this year has already been one of the most competitive years for awards and these films are only going to make it that much closer. There have already been some great films that have come out this year and there will be plenty to talk about once awards season truly begins.