Academy Puts Best-Picture Voting on Sliding Scale

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a new approach to its best-picture category Tuesday, recognizing as many as 10 nominees and as little as five. To qualify, a movie must earn at least 5 percent of voters’ top picks for the category. Before the new rule, exactly 10 films had a shot at winning.

“In studying the data, what stood out was that Academy members had regularly shown a strong admiration for more than five movies,” said retiring Academy executive director Bruce Davis in a press release.

For studios that dole out huge amounts of money on Oscar campaigns, the Academy’s new guideline could affect how much they’re willing to invest in a movie. “A best-picture nomination should be an indication of extraordinary merit,” Davis said. “If there are only eight pictures that truly earn that honor in a given year, we shouldn’t feel an obligation to round out the number.”

The Academy implemented its previous standard of 10 best-picture nominations in 2009 to include a variety of movies in the category. Prior to that, the category came with five nominations.

The Academy will reveal next year’s nominations Jan. 24. The awards ceremony takes place Feb. 26.

This article was original published on AllMediaNY.com