Yes, and the NYFCC rules stipulate that in order to qualify for their awards a film must be shown in a theatre (or amended now to include widely available streaming in lieu of a theatrical showing) that is available to the general public. The fact that the New York Times has not reviewed it suggests that the Lincoln Center showing was tantamount to a New York Film Festival event that doesn't qualify as a New York release date.FilmFan720 wrote:It was a virtual opening through Lincoln Center. It played for a week, with very limited tickets and streaming times.OscarGuy wrote:According to The Numbers website, Nomadland got an Oscar Qualifying run on 12/4 even though it's limited release will be 2/4/21. IMDb still shows it with a 12/4 release date in the U.S.
IMDb. is generally a good source of information but is not infallible. I have submitted a number of updates to date with proof positive of errors in opening dates. Most of the time they fix the errors on my submissions but not always. I recently gave them proof that Tennessee Johnson was not shown anywhere until 1943 yet they failed to update their information and never gave me a reason why. I suspect it was because Warner Bros. objected, having just put out a Blu-ray of the film with the incorrect release date plastered all over the box cover.
A lot of the IMDb. release date information is based on the date a film was first mentioned in a column in the New York Times for New York release date information and the Los Angeles Times for L.A. release dates but these mentions are often in Sunday supplements announcing forthcoming releases. Always be suspicious of any film showing a release date on a Sunday. They occur, but they are rare.
I don't know what The Numbers website uses to determine an Oscar qualifying run. I thought that meant a showing in a Los Angeles theatre which I thought were also closed. However, if it did receive a showing in L.A. it may be eligible for the Los Angeles Film critics, but not the New York Film critics unless they make a change to their rules.