As the wider entertainment space evolves, so must the award shows that celebrate it. The Oscars has announced some new rule changes and updates to its campaign protocols for the next Oscar season. Brandon Blake, from entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A., sums up some of the major changes for us.
Oscars and Theaters: A New Love Affair
As always, Oscar-eligible films will need to be released in theaters during the 2024 calendar year. However, drive-in theaters no longer make the grade, and films must screen for at least one week in a brick-and-mortar theater within the usual areas, with Dallas-Fort Worth now making a (somewhat puzzling) addition to the list. Films must now also have an expanded theatrical run of 7 days in 10 of the top 50 domestic markets, not later than 45 days after the initial release and with a hard final deadline of Jan 10, 2025. Late-releasing films will need to verify those release plans with the academy. Non-US releases can be counted for 2 of those 10 markets, provided they are one of the Top 15 international markets and/or the film’s home territory.
Other Key Changes
Animated feature films from foreign countries submitted to the best international feature film category will now be eligible for consideration in the animated category too. The original score category shortlist is extended to 20 titles. More intriguingly, and no doubt in a bid to ward off AI-generated entries, writers competing for the best adapted and original screenplay categories will have to furnish a final shooting script.
There have also been some changes to the special award categories, and two of the Scientific and Technical Awards will be renamed. Alongside these shifts, the Academy also announced its key submission deadlines and dates for the next ceremony, alongside some changes to the campaign promotional regulations for the next Oscar season, clarifying how ‘in-house’ promotion to Academy members can be done.
All in all, most of the announced changes seek to keep the ceremony in line with wider industry changes and shifts, which should be a net positive for all concerned, including competing titles.
Film and Television 