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Oscars Allow Films to Compete in Both International, Animated Feature Categories

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Monday that the 97th Academy Awards for next year will allow films submitted for the International Feature Film category to also be submitted for the Animated Feature Film category, provided that the film is meets the eligibility requirements for both categories. The International Feature Film category's new eligibility period for initial theatrical screening is now November 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024.

The awards are also adding the Dallas/Fort Worth area to the list of qualifying cities in the United States that a film must have at least a one-week theatrical run in to qualify for awards consideration, in addition to Los Angeles County, the City of New York, the Bay Area, Chicago, Miami, and Atlanta. The awards are expanding the theatrical eligibility requirements for its Best Picture category. They now require an expanded seven-day theatrical run in 10 of the top 50 U.S. markets no later than 45 days after the film's initial release, with non-U.S. territories counting for two of the 10 aforementioned markets, provided those non-U.S. markets include the top 15 international theatrical markets plus the home territory for the film. Films with an initial theatrical run late in the year, with a later expanded seven-day theatrical run (as described above) after January 10, 2025 (after the awards' nominal initial screening eligibility period of January 1-December 31, 2024) must also submit release plans to the Academy for verification, with the run completed no later than January 24, 2025.

The rule changes are part of a larger slew of changes for the 97th Academy Awards, which affect multiple categories of the awards.

Sources: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, IndieWire (marcus Jones)