Strict and controversial rules for this year’s Oscars explained
The 97th Academy Awards is right around the corner—honouring a slew of famed films released in 2024.
Big hitters like the movie musical Wicked and Sean Baker’s Anora are battling for the Best Picture gong, while Colman Domingo, Sebastian Stan, and Timothée Chalamet are going up against Ralph Fiennes and Adrien Brody for the Best Actor award.
Zoe Saldaña is a shoo-in to go home with the Best Supporting Actress trophy after sweeping up at this year’s Golden Globes, BAFTA and SAG Awards, while Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot have a chance to win the Best Animated Feature category.
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The Oscars gala, set to take place on March 2 in Los Angeles, will see The Substance’s Margaret Qualley, Rachel Zegler and Dave Bautista announcing the winners, alongside Harrison Ford, Andrew Garfield and Samuel L. Jackson.
And while there is a smorgasbord of awards on offer and a slew of films poised to snatch a 24-karat gold-plated Oscar, did you know that not every film released in 2024 was eligible for nomination?
There are actually quite a few hoops that flicks have to go through to even get a sniff at being considered, which we’ve outlined below for you.
These include how long a film has to be, how long it has to be in cinemas for, and how there’s more you have to do to be nominated in the Best Picture category.
Film length
All eligible motion films must be over 40 minutes in length to be considered as a main category contender.
The threshold is in place because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a feature film as one that exceeds this outlined runtime.
If a film is under 40 minutes, it can still be nominated for one of the short film categories, including Best Animation, Best Documentary, and Best Live Action.
Nominees across these categories this year include the Dutch-language sci-fi offering I’m Not a Robot, Once upon a Time in Ukraine, and Magic Candies.
Picture quality
As well as your qualifying movie being more than 40 minutes long, it has to be publicly exhibited in line with Academy quality requirements.
The 97th Academy Awards rules state that this must be by means of 35mm or 70mm film or in a 24- or 48-frame progressive scan Digital Cinema format with a minimum projector resolution of 2048 by 1080 pixels.
Screening rules
For a film to be considered by the AMPAS, it must run in a commercial cinema for at least seven consecutive days.
However, this period of paid admission must take place in one of the six US cities.
These include Los Angeles County; the City of New York (five boroughs); the Bay Area (counties of San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, San Mateo and Contra Costa); Chicago (Cook County, Illinois); Dallas-Fort Worth (Dallas County, Tarrant County, Texas); and Atlanta (Fulton County, Georgia), as per the Academy.
During this run, there must be three screenings scheduled each day at the same commercial motion picture screening.
One of these must occur between 6pm and 10pm, daily.
Eligible film must premiere in a movie theatre
As well as complying with the commercial cinema rules, a movie must have received its first public exhibition in a theatrical setting.
So, if a movie debuted via streaming, DVD distribution, on a flight or via an internet transmission, it will not be eligible.
This year’s qualifying rules further state: “Motion pictures released in such nontheatrical media on or after the first day of their theatrical qualifying run remain eligible.”
So, as long as the film premieres in a cinema and has a week-long run with three screenings per day, it can be nominated.
Submission deadlines
For a film to be eligible to be nominated for the 97th Academy Awards, the qualifying theatrical run must begin between January 1 and December 31, 2024.
Now, this may be confusing as cinephiles will know ten-time nominees The Brutalist and Chalamet’s A Complete Unknown were only released in UK cinemas in January 2025.
However, both had December releases in the United States, with the former actually having its debut at the Venice Film Festival in September—making them both eligible for this year’s ceremony.
Films must be submitted for consideration by a certain time
It’s worth noting that films aren’t just automatically submitted for Oscar approval if they hit all of the outlined criteria.
You actually have to submit them for consideration.
For films that had their theatrical qualifying run between January 1, 2024, and June 30, 2024, an Oscars Submission Form had to have been submitted to the Academy with full-screen credits by 5pm on September 12.
For films with a theatrical qualifying run between July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, entrants had to submit the same form with credits by 5pm on November 14, 2024.
If the film’s theatrical qualifying run occurred after December 1, 2024 - like The Brutalist and A Complete Unknown - their forms and credits had to be in for 5pm on December 2, 2024.
Who is nominated for Best Picture?
All active and life Academy members can vote for ten eligible movies to be included in the Best Picture category.
This was expanded from the original field of five in 2009 following a public outcry over the apparent snub of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, writes USA Today.
This year’s nominees include Wicked, I’m Still Here, Dune: Part Two, Conclave, and A Complete Unknown.
Emilia Pérez, Nickel Boys, and The Substance also join Anora and The Brutalist in the category.
Rules for Best Picture eligibility
For a film to be eligible for Best Picture, it must meet two out of four of the standards.
These standards are to ‘encourage equitable representation on and off screen to better reflect the diverse global population.’
Below, we’ve outlined all four standards so you can see how the ten contenders have been selected by Academy members, as per AS.com.
Standard A: On-Screen representation, themes, and narratives
To hit Standard A, a film must meet the criteria of one of the following:
- Either one of the lead actors or a significant supporting actor must be from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group in a specific country or territory of production.
- Have an ensemble cast where at least 30 percent of all actors not submitted for Oscar consideration are from at least two underrepresented groups
- Have a main storyline, theme ,or narrative running through the movie which is centred on underrepresented people.
Standard B: Creative leadership and project team
To hit Standard B, a film must meet the criteria of one of the following:
- Two creative leadership positions and department heads must be from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.
- Six other crew roles and technical positions must be held by people from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group This does not include Production Assistants.
- At least 30 percent of the flick’s crew is from at least two unrepresented groups.
Standard C: Industry access and opportunities
To hit Standard C, a film must meet the criteria of one of the following:
- The film’s distribution or financing company has taken on paid apprenticeships/internships from underrepresented groups (must also include racial or ethnic groups) in departments such as VFX, music, and marketing
- The film’s production, distribution and/or financing company offers training and/or work opportunities to those who need to build skills.
Standard D: Audience development
To hit Standard D, a film must meet the criterion below:
- A studio and/or film company has more than one in-house senior executive or hired consultants that belong to at least two underrepresented groups.
Why do some consider the Best Picture Oscar eligibility rules controversial?
The Oscars’ diversity efforts - which were enforced for the first time last year - has sparked debate among critics.
Some like Spike Lee claim that while the Academy’s ‘heart is in the right place’ by introducing the Standards, they still contain ‘a lot of loopholes’, as per the New York Times.
He added that little will change about how movies are made unless the ‘studio gatekeepers who greenlight films come from more diverse backgrounds’.
Meanwhile, Jeanell English, who previously worked at the academy on its impact and inclusion efforts, argued that while the Standards are ‘not difficult to meet’ they are starting ‘conversations in this community about representation'.
Previously, 250 actors including Amy Schumer and Tiffany Haddish signed an open later claiming Jewish people were still being excluded.
They asked for Standards to be revised to include Jewish people, writing: “While we applaud the academy’s efforts to increase diverse and authentic storytelling, an inclusion effort that excludes Jews is both steeped in and misunderstands antisemitism.”
Meanwhile Meredith Shea, the Academy’s chief membership, impact and industry officer, has defended the inclusion Standards.
She told The New York Times that she hoped everyone can have the ‘the widest lens possible throughout the filmmaking process’.
“The goal is not to exclude. It’s not to tell people what stories to tell, how to tell them, who to hire or how to cast."
Do other categories have their own requirements?
The Oscars’ prestigious Best Picture category isn’t the only group that has rules and stipulations to adhere to in order to gain nomination eligibility.
If you would like to see and learn more, you can check out the official 97th Academy Awards rules here.
Topics: TV And Film, Oscars, Entertainment, US News, UK News
Ella Scott