Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor A late-release awards contender can move through Oscar season like a cat. It crouches low, waiting patiently for the right moment to pounce. With the deployment of a skillful campaign, yet-unscreened films waiting in the wings — notably “The Color Purple,” “The Iron Claw” and “Napoleon” — might execute the perfect strike, catching established front-runners like “Oppenheimer” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” by surprise.