14 movies coming out soon that are surefire Oscar contenders

An alien craft has landed on earth and a linguist (played by Amy Adams) has been called upon to translate the alien communications. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, who wowed audiences in the past with "Prisoners" and "Sicario," it's already generating a lot of excitement.

Adams is looking to be an early best actress Oscar favorite.

Nate Parker's movie about the slave rebellion led by Nat Turner swept the major awards at this year's Sundance Film Festival, but recently Parker has been under fire thanks to the resurfacing of a 1999 rape accusation (he was eventually acquitted). Now the question lingers if audiences (and Oscar voters) will look at the movie the same way.

If Parker can weather the storm, he could be looking at nominations for acting and directing. The movie could also find itself in the best picture category.

Boxing movies have long drawn the attention of Oscar voters, and this one should, too. Miles Teller ("Whiplash") plays real-life former world champion boxer Vinny Pazienza, who after being in a near-fatal car crash has an improbable comeback to the ring.

Teller will certainly get awards consideration for this one.

Not many documentaries can also play as thrilling action movies, but this one does exactly that. Filmmaker Otto Bell follows a 13-year-old girl who attempts to be the first eagle hunter in her family in twelve generations. The movie includes narration by Daisy Ridley, who is also an executive producer, and features a powerful song by Sia.

This movie will get a lot of support for a best documentary Oscar.

South Korean director Park Chan-wook ("Oldboy," "Stoker") delivers another masterful work, this time adapting the Sarah Water novel "Fingersmith." This erotic, Victorian-era thriller follows the con game between a handmaiden and a privileged family.

Though South Korea did not choose the film as its submission for the best foreign language Oscar category, it's possible "Handmaiden" can find nominations in cinematography, original score, or costume design — all are top-notch in the movie.

Natalie Portman plays Jacqueline Kennedy in the days following the assassination of her husband, president John F. Kennedy.

Portman is one of the few who can realistically portray the queen of Camelot. It could earn her some Oscar gold.

Director Damien Chazelle follows up his Oscar-winning "Whiplash" with this musical set in Los Angeles and starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.

This has the potential of being an Oscar nominee across multiple categories on the acting and creative side.

Receiving stellar reviews when it premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival, this look at the true story of an interracial couple who are sentenced to prison in 1958 for getting married is one of the most talked-about movies of the second half of the year.

Ruth Negga (Tulip from "Preacher") looks to be a lock for an Oscar nomination.

In what's already considered the movie of the year by many, Casey Affleck plays an uncle who becomes the guardian of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.

Affleck has been doing great work his whole career, but this looks to be the one that could put him in the elite class of male actors working today.

With the film's release date changed from October to December, this story of a boy befriending a giant tree monster looks to be gaining traction as an award-season hopeful.

Told in three parts, this moving story looks at the life of an African-American man from the drug-plagued streets of Miami to growing up a mature man.

Expectations are high that the latest movie by director Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy") can break through the #OscarsSoWhite ceiling hovering over the Academy.

Buster (Matthew McConaughey) is a koala who runs a failing theater. So he decides to put on a singing competition, which leads to some incredible results. The movie features an all-star cast (Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon, Nick Offerman, Seth MacFarlane) and chart-topping songs.

The latest animated feature from Illumination Entertainment, which released "The Secret Life of Pets" earlier this year, "Sing" has major potential in the best animated Oscar category.

Oliver Stone brings the story of whistleblower Edward Snowden to the big screen with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Snowden.

He's got a lot of competition ahead of him, but Gordon-Levitt is on the long list of potential Oscar best actor nominees.