The Board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has approved a major change in eligibility rules for Best Picture beginning with the 97th Academy Awards for films released in 2024. There will be new added requirements for films to be considered for the Best Picture Oscar, after completion of the current initial qualifying run of a one-week theatrical release in one of six qualifying U.S. cities.
The added requirements are:
- Expanded theatrical run of seven days, consecutive or non-consecutive, in 10 of the top 50 U.S. markets, no later than 45 days after the initial release in 2024.
- For late-in-the-year films with expansions after January 10, 2025, distributors must submit release plans to the Academy for verification.
- Release plans for late-in-the-year films must include a planned expanded theatrical run, as described above, to be completed no later than January 24, 2025.
- Non-U.S. territory releases can count towards two of the 10 markets.
- Qualifying non-U.S. markets include the top 15 international theatrical markets plus the home territory for the film.
AMPAS has clarified that these new additional requirements are strictly for Best Picture and not for the other 22 categories.
“As we do every year, we have been reviewing and assessing our theatrical eligibility requirements for Oscars, said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang. “In support of our mission to celebrate and honor the arts and sciences of moviemaking, it is our hope that this expanded theatrical footprint will increase the visibility of films worldwide and encourage audiences to experience our artform in a theatrical setting. Based on many conversations with industry partners, we feel that this evolution benefits film artists and movie lovers alike.”
The new rules are likely to impact theatrical releases of features from major streamers such as Netflix, Apple and Amazon, which have dominated the awards season with titles such as All Quiet on the Western Front, Coda and Glass Onion: Knives Out in previous years.
Of course, this rule only impacts the Best Picture Race and not the Best Animated Feature race, which has its own rules and regulation. The 2023 animated feature race is shaping up to be quite an interesting one with Sony Pictures Animation’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Illumination’s blockbuster The Super Mario Bros. and December release Migration, DreamWorks’ Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken and Trolls Band Together, Disney’s holiday season feature Wish, Netflix’s Nimona and Leo, Aardman’s Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, Pixar’s Elemental and Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem all hoping for a date with Oscar when the nominations are announced. Let’s not forget that the new movie by everyone’s favorite Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki — How Do You Live?— is likely to be released by GKIDS with an eye on awards season glory in the fourth quarter.
