The marathon to the Oscars officially begins next week, when five influential organizations unveil their selections — setting the early tone for a season that promises heavyweight contenders, late-breaking surprises and no shortage of pundit hand-wringing.

The Gotham Awards (Dec. 1), New York Film Critics Circle (Dec. 2), National Board of Review (Dec. 3) and Los Angeles Film Critics Association (Dec. 7) make up the first major wave of precursor announcements. Sprinkled between them are the Film Independent Spirit Award nominations (Dec. 2), the Critics Choice film nominations (Dec. 5) and the occasional smaller regional critics’ citations — all adding to the noise as the season ignites.

While each group has its own identity, influence and taste profile, three of them — NYFCC, NBR and LA

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