The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this Thursday significant changes to the Oscars qualification rules, which will toughen the national distribution criteria, imposing a greater presence in movie theaters, with an impact on the transmission and in foreign films.
The change will be effective from next year and will affect the films that will be released in 2024. To qualify for the Best Film nomination at the 97th edition of the Oscars, which will run in 2025, the films must have a longer distribution. USA.
These films must be released in at least eight of the top 50 North American regional markets, plus their home territory and one of the top 15 international film markets. They will also have to be in the theater for more than a week, which is the current minimum criteria.
For example, a Portuguese film would have to open in Portugal and nine regions of the United States to be considered for the nomination, or in eight North American markets plus one of the 15 largest international markets.
In theory, it could also only launch in the top 10 North American markets, though this was unlikely.
The truth is that the changes affect all films, international or North American: all are now required to have a greater distribution in movie theaters.
Now, a film will not only have to complete a week at the cinema in at least one of the six cities defined by the Academy -Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami or Atlanta-, but also expand its presence in more territories in the following 45 days.
After that first week, the film must be shown for another seven days in at least 10 major markets in North America or eight of the largest in the United States and two internationally.
Most large studios should have no problem meeting the criteria, which will particularly affect streaming networks like Netflix and Apple TV+, independent films and international distributors.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a statement that the revised criteria will serve to bolster the presence of films in theaters at a time when more and more candidates are fielding. to the nomination of the cinema chains. transmissionthat make limited investments in off-television distribution.
In 2022, Apple TV+’s “CODA” won the Best Picture Oscar with virtually no theatrical distribution.
In 2023, the German Netflix film “Nothing New in the West” was nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture, and won four Oscars.
“In support of our mission to celebrate and honor the arts and sciences of film, we hope this expansion of theater presence will increase the visibility of films around the world and encourage audiences to experience our art in the theater environment. theater”, reads the text. statement.
“Based on many conversations with industry partners, we believe this evolution benefits both artists and movie fans.”
These distribution criteria will not affect the rest of the Oscar categories, but they will be necessary for the Best Picture nomination, the most coveted of all.
Source: TSF
