Could ‘Dallas’ or ‘Wolf’ Pull Off a Best Picture Stunner?

The early, smart money will tell you the Oscars' Best Picture chase this year is a three-horse race among "American Hustle," "Gravity" and "12 Years a Slave."

But with an extended campaign season -- thanks to the Academy’s decision to get away from February’s Winter Olympics and push the Oscars back to March 2 -- there’s plenty of time for shifting sentiment and dark horses to sneak in for a surprise finish.

[Related: 'American Hustle,' 'Gravity' Lead Oscar Nominations; 'Slave' Close Behind]

Both "Dallas Buyers Club" and "The Wolf of Wall Street" have momentum right now after big wins at the Golden Globes. Matthew McConaughey scored a Best Actor, Drama victory while "Dallas" costar Jared Leto snagged Best Supporting Actor (Academy voters historically love performances and films that require major physical transformations).

And, of course, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Globe win for Best Actor, Musical/Comedy in "Wolf" could pave the way for reconsideration of the film after it was stung by early controversies. Plus, the DiCaprio-Martin Scorsese combo is always a favorite of Academy voters.

Even less-heralded little movies “Philomena” and “Nebraska” have a puncher’s chance. For one thing, these "more seasoned" entries each hit the demo of Academy voters (just telling it like it is, folks). And they both come with Oscar pedigree: Dame Judi Dench for "Philomena" and director Alexander Payne from "Nebraska."

[Related: 13 Snubs and Surprises from the 2014 Oscar Nominations]

There's certainly plenty of precedent for underdog surprises in the Best Picture race. Just last year, "Argo" surged from being considered "Zero Dark Thirty"-lite to a bona fide winner, surpassing Steven Spielberg’s "Lincoln" on the way. (Even more impressive -- or infuriating, depending on how you look at it -- is that it won Best Picture despite Ben Affleck's snubbing in the Best Director category.)

In 2010, the last time the Oscars dovetailed with the Olympics, the extended campaign season helped "The King's Speech" unseat early frontrunner "The Social Network."

Further back, there was the infamous "Crash" upset in 2005, where Paul Haggis's meditation on race and class smashed through the "Munich" and "Brokeback Mountain" juggernaut. And in 1999, the period comedy "Shakespeare in Love" edged out Steven Spielberg's serious WWII drama, "Saving Private Ryan," in one of Oscar’s biggest upsets of all time.

As for the frontrunners, there are weak spots. "Gravity" and "12 Years a Slave" have been on the shelf for months after early theatrical releases. That means there's time for a cooling off and, in the case of "12 Years a Slave," a backlash among viewers with mixed feelings about the film.

Even "American Hustle" has its critics: Was there really a there there? And, as we discovered with David O. Russell's last movie, "Silver Linings Playbook," voter love can be funneled into the performances but not the movie itself.