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As they do every year, the studios are saving some of the potentially biggest Oscar-bait movies for November and December — whether to showcase some great acting or directing, or to aim for the whole best picture enchilada.

With that in mind, this selective list of movies that look award-worthy won't include big commercial titles like "Casino Royale," with blond Bond Daniel Craig. Or Tim Allen's "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause." Or Ben Stiller's "Night at the Museum." Or crazy Mel Gibson's Mayan movie "Apocalypto." Or ... well, you get the point. Dates are tentative and subject to change.

DAVID JAMES/DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures (ENLARGE)
Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Anika Noni Rose and Jennifer Hudson in the screen adaptation of the Broadway show "Dreamgirls," about a girl group's musical rise and internal tensions.
ALEX BAILEY/Fox Searchlight Pictures (ENLARGE)
"The History Boys," set in the 1980s in a British school, won six Tony Awards this year, including best play. Its Broadway director, Nicholas Hytner, is also at the helm for the movie version.
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NOVEMBER

• "The Fountain." Director Darren Aronofsky's follow-up to "Requiem for a Dream" stars Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz in pursuit of immortality across three centuries. (Nov. 22)

• "Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus." Nicole Kidman plays the suicidal photographer, with Robert Downey Jr. as her mentor. (Nov. 10)

• "A Good Year." Russell Crowe reunites with "Gladiator" director Ridley Scott and tries to soften his phone-flinging image, playing a stockbroker who learns to chill when he inherits a French vineyard. (Nov. 10)

• "The History Boys." Nicholas Hytner ("The Crucible") directs his original stage cast in a film of Alan Bennett's much awarded drama. (Nov. 24)

• "The Hoax." The go-to guy for Oscar-worthy flicks, Lasse Hallström, directs Richard Gere, playing Clifford Irving, the guy who faked Howard Hughes' autobiography. (Nov. 22)

• "Volvér." Pedro Almodóvar reunites with actresses Penélope Cruz and Carmen Maura in a tale of mothers and daughters; the six leads won a collective award for best actress at Cannes. (Nov. 3)

DECEMBER

• "Breaking and Entering." Jude Law, Juliette Binoche and Robin Wright Penn star in a tale of lives linked by a series of burglaries. From "The English Patient" director Anthony Minghella. (Dec. 8)

• "Children of Men." Alfonso Cuarón ("Y tu mamá también") directs Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine in a sci-fi drama about a future without fertility. (Dec. 25)

• "Dreamgirls." Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles and Eddie Murphy. Directed by Bill Condon, who adapted "Chicago" for the screen. (Dec. 25)

• "The Good German." Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh directs Oscar winners George Clooney and Cate Blanchett as lovers in postwar Berlin. (Dec. 8)

• "Miss Potter." As in children's book author-illustrator Beatrix, played by Renée Zellweger. (Dec. 29)

• "Notes on a Scandal." Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench go head to head in a drama about two teachers and an inappropriate affair with a student, from "Iris" director Richard Eyre. (Dec. 22)

• "Pan's Labyrinth." The Spanish Civil War, an evil stepfather and a girl embarking on a dark fantasy. From "The Devil's Backbone" director Guillermo Del Toro. (Dec. 29)

• "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer." Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run") directs Ben Whishaw and Dustin Hoffman in the long-planned film of Patrick Süskind's creepy novel. (Dec. 27)

• "Venus." Peter O'Toole portrays an aging actor whose life gets upended by a spirited teenager. With Vanessa Redgrave, directed by Roger Michell ("Enduring Love"). (Dec. 15)