I do not know the inner-workings of Hollyweird but I have a related question:
How can a movie which was just released last week already have Oscar nominations? Are all movie-connected people or people wh do nominations in Hollyweird able to see the movie before general release? How does that work?
Short answer, yes. My nephew is the personal aide of a Hollywood Star who is a member of the Academy. They’re shipped all the DVDs well in advance. He saw American Sniper about 3 months ago.
That said, the movie was released in December in both LA and NY specifically so it could make the 2014 Oscars so many have seen it prior to this weekend.
It was in limited release in December to qualify for the Academy Awards.