How Movies Get Oscar Nominations

The Academy Awards, one of the most prestigious honors in the cinematic arts, has a complicated nomination process.

With around 50 to 60 films nominated for Academy Awards each year, the process of deciding which ones to feature and short is a bit complicated. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the host of the Academy Awards. It consists of 17 different branches for various crafts such as directing, cinematography and costume design, and two general memberships for those who don't fall into these categories. The academy did not reveal specific numbers, but there are about 10,000 members in its institution.

Eligibility for the Academy Awards runs from the first day of the calendar year to the end of the last day, and only films that were released in the United States during that period can be considered. Whether their goal is just one category or the most Oscar nominations ever, films must be submitted for consideration. Submissions can be made at any time during the year preceding the deadline, provided they are submitted within 60 days of the opening of the film. These submitted films are then voted on for five days, two months before the ceremony. Then, the full list of Oscar nominations is revealed, usually in the middle of the to late January. ^When it's time to choose an Academy Award nominee, each Academy branch votes for performance in a film, craft, or show: Director's vote for Best Director, Costume Designer for Best Costume Design, and so on ,etc. Notably, members of the Actors Branch can vote for all four acting category awards. So, for example, the majority of each category for Oscar nominations in 2023 were selected by their respective peer groups.

Most Oscar Categories Are Nominated By Academy Members Of The Corresponding Branch

Each branch can nominate only five films in each category. So that voters don't forget who and what they're nominating, members receive an affiliate-specific "reminder list." Submitted films will only be nominated if they appear on this list. This is an important way to accurately normalize vote content. While this may seem straightforward, there are exceptions, and each branch can nominate films in its own category based on how accurately it can be. Each branch has many special and unusual cases.

For the actors' division, voters receive long lists because each film on their list has multiple actors. They can choose five performances from any one film to Nominated for four acting awards. A performer can even be nominated for two Academy Awards for acting in the same year, as long as they are in different categories. For the Documentary Division, Sound Division and Short Film categories, members shortlisted 15 films, and then a second ballot determined the five nominees. The Visual Effects Division went through three rounds of voting, first by distributing submissions among 20 contenders, then 10, and finally 5 nominees.

The Academy Awards are divided into three categories, and every member of the Academy can vote. The films for Best Animated Feature, Best International Feature and Best Picture are eligible for nominations from the entire Academy. Every member of the Academy is eligible to vote for Best Picture nominees. Academy members can rank up to 10 submitted films from the reminder list. That means the 10 Best Picture nominees were chosen by a committee of nearly 10,000 voters who decided their favorites of the year.

All Academy Members Can Nominate A Movie For Best Picture

For Best Animated Feature Film and Best International Feature Film awards, Academy members must first join the committee to vote for these Oscar categories, but any member can join in. For animated features, the selection process is standard: members of the Animated Feature Nominating Committee select their top five awards. The International Feature Film Nominating Committee makes a shortlist of 15 films and then votes again to determine the five nominees.

Over the years, several rule changes have been added to the Oscar nomination process. For example, streaming films are eligible for the 2021 Oscars due to industry changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was later decided that a film had to be released in theaters the same day it premiered on streaming, and had to be on the big screen for at least seven days to be nominated.

Nomination Rules Changes

In another nomination rule change, the Oscars reinstated Best Picture nominations for 10 films, according to Deadline. The Best Picture category was previously expanded to allow up to 10 films, but only films that received a significant number of votes were eligible for nominations, meaning there could be fewer than 10 nominations in that category. Right now, it's always 10.

A major change takes effect at the 96th Academy Awards in 2024. thanks for pushing In an effort to make the historically white and male-dominated ceremony more inclusive, the academy changed its rules to increase the diversity of films submitted for consideration. The idea is that if a film doesn't meet the mix of diversity benchmarks, then it's not eligible for submission. It's by no means a perfect system, but it's the right step for an organization that often overlooks underrepresented communities.

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