The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said that beginning in 2024, movies that want to be considered for the Best Picture Oscar will have to be in theaters for longer.
The new rules are meant to help movie theaters and show how different big screen and small screen projects are.
Under the new rules passed by the Academy’s board of governors, movies that want to be considered for Best Picture will have to meet more theater standards.
After an initial qualifying run of one week in one of the allowed U.S. cities, a film must be shown in theaters for seven days in at least 10 of the top 50 U.S. markets, either consecutively or not, within 45 days of the first release in 2024.
For films that come out late in the year and get bigger after January 10, 2025, producers must send the Academy their plans to make sure they are correct.
Late-year movies must have plans for a longer run in theaters that will end no later than January 24, 2025. Non-U.S. territory releases can count for two of the required 10 markets. The top 15 foreign theater markets and the film’s home territory are the only non-U.S. markets that can count.
Even though big Hollywood studios should be able to meet these standards without much trouble, the effects are likely to be felt more by small streaming services, independent filmmakers, and overseas distributors whose movies usually have shorter runs in theaters in big cities.
Bill Kramer, the CEO of the Academy, and Janet Yang, the President of the Academy, said that they hoped the expanded theatrical footprint would make films more visible worldwide and encourage people to watch movies in a standard theater setting.
“As we do every year, we have been reviewing and assessing our theatrical eligibility requirements for the Oscars,” said Bill Kramer, the chief executive of the Academy, and Janet Yang, the president of the Academy.
“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 Academy’s choice was praised by the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), which said that showing movies in theaters is an important part of appreciating them as art.