For movie awards season, February is beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It’s around Christmas, traditionally, when studios and smaller distributors release their award contenders, hoping to be fresh in the minds of critics groups, guilds and most significantly members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which presents the Oscars, when they start voting.

For the 2020 awards, however, the eligibility window has expanded beyond the conventional calendar year through February, which accounts for the onslaught of prestige films arriving this month, through a combination of digital and theatrical platforms.

This month also offers directing debuts from two well-known actors, in movies in which they also star: Robin Wright’s “The Land,” about a troubled woman seeking refuge in a remote cabin; and Viggo Mortensen’s “Falling,” about a man dealing with his abusive father, who is suffering from dementia.

Notably, another directing debut from an Oscar-winning star, Regina King’s “One Night in Miami,” is already perceived as a major player in this year’s awards derby.

The next few weeks, meanwhile, bring “Nomadland,” director Chloe Zhao’s film starring Frances McDormand; “The United States Vs. Billie Holiday,” from director Lee Daniels, with Andra Day as the legendary singer; and “The Father,” starring Anthony Hopkins — nominated by both the Globes and SAG — and Olivia Colman, which offers a piercing window into the Hopkins character’s dementia.

The Academy made this Valentine’s Day-adjacent bounty possible when it delayed the ceremony itself by two months, until April 25, which triggered a collective shift in the entire awards timeline. In what was described as a one-time-only move, the organization also eliminated rules that require a movie to have a theatrical release in order to be eligible, paving the way for streaming services and on-demand windows to fill the breach left by shuttered theaters.

Netflix has been a clear beneficiary of the current state of play, with “Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Da 5 Bloods” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” among its major award hopefuls. But other streaming competitors, including Amazon (behind “One Night in Miami” and “The Sound of Metal”), Hulu (which picked up “Nomadland” and “Billie Holiday”), and Disney+ (the animated “Soul”), have stepped up as well.

As Deadline noted, even with…

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