December is the month that the majority of Oscar contenders tend to show up at your local multiplex and art house theaters. The "2008 Oscars" are a couple of months away, but we're guessing that quite a few of December's movie releases will show up on the "2008 Academy Awards" nominations list!

One of the most anticipated movies (in a bad way) of December 2007 is The Golden Compass, starring Nicole Kidman and James Bond, Daniel Craig. (Critics have pounced on it and most are hoping it bombs at the box office.) Sweeney Todd, directed by Tim Burton, could be, but probably won't, be the second coming for Dreamworks. Last year their musical Dreamgirls bombed at the Oscars. Not even a Best Picture Academy Award nomination. While Sweeney Todd is 100% movie musical, it has a much better story and director.

Will Tim Burton finally earn his first Best Director Oscar nomination? And will Johnny Depp finally win his first Oscar? We're betting on those two scenarios, rather than a Best Picture win for the film that is destined to be one of the biggest box office hits of the winter. (Also, WAM close friend, Helena Bonham Carter, is a lock for an Oscar nomination!) The movie that we're predicting will be Rob Reiner's comeback kid, The Bucket List, stars two Oscar winners — Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson — both of whom most likely will also secure their fifth and thirteen Oscar nominations, respectively.

—Wildaboutmovies.com