The Imitation Game - directed by Morten Tyldum and starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the highly influential mathematician and early computer scientist Alan Turing - has won he prestiguous People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival.

The award has long been considered a solid indicator for any film's future hopes. Recent winners have included 12 Years a Slave, Silver Linings Playbook, Inglorius Basterds, Precious and Slumdog Millionaire - all of which went on to enjoy significant Oscar success. Only 2011 winner Where Do We Go Now? from Lebanese director Nadine Labaki failed to achieve major awards success in recent years.

Of course it's still very early to start calling favourites for sure. Films such as Birdman, Foxcatcher (starring Steve Carrel and Channing Tatum) and Mr Turner have been attracting attention on the festival scene, and already released critical and audience favourites such as Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel are likely to remain contenders despite the significant amount of releases due in the annual 'awards season'.

There are still many noteworthy releases left to premiere, too. The New York Film Festival, which kicks off this month, will see the first screenings of David Fincher's Gone Girl and Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice, and Christopher Nolan's Interstellar cannot be ruled out.

As ever, whatever the Oscar shortlist early next year, it is going to be the audience who wins here - there is no doubt that late 2014 and early 2015 will offer a whole host of excellent new releases.