Thanksgiving has long been a deadline of sorts for studios campaigning for Oscar nominations, because it offers the tempting proposition of a holiday weekend in which voters might have free time to catch up on movies. In past years, that meant a steady stream of screener DVDs arriving in voters’ mailboxes in the days before Thanksgiving – but now, with the Academy focusing on its members-only screening platform and placing restrictions on physical screeners, the push is to get new films into the Academy Screening Room before the holiday.

Fifteen new films were added to that room on Wednesday, a departure from the usual weekly additions, which typically come every Friday. The newcomers include Best Picture contenders “Conclave” and “The Piano Lesson,” following a Nov. 22 influx that included “Emilia Perez,” “Joker: Folie a Deux,” “Juror No. 2,” “Nightbitch,” “A Real Pain,” “The Room Next Door,” “Saturday Night” and “September 5.”

But some major films are still missing,...