The Academy Reinstate Oscars Requirements For Theatrical Releases For 2023

With theater operations restarted at one-hundred percent capacity, the time for streaming releases making it big at the Oscars is ending. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has reinstated its requirements for the films to have a theatrical release to be eligible to contend at the 95th Academy Awards. In order for any film to make submissions to Oscars 2023, it must have a theatrical release within the calendar year 2022. Like the previous two ceremonies, Oscars 2023 won’t allow films that went straight to streaming due to theaters being shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ceremony will also remove the Academy Screening Room as the valid release venue for any films to contend.

The press release from the Academy states:

The eligibility period for Academy Awards consideration will return to the full calendar year: a feature film must have a qualifying theatrical release between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022. The Academy Screening Room will no longer be a method of qualification, as theaters have reopened.

However, the Academy has announced that the studios will have an option to release their submissions in six U.S. metropolitan areas, continuing the decision from the previous year. The six areas will be – Los Angeles County; the City of New York; the Bay Area; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; and Atlanta, Georgia. The requirement will apply to both General Entries and Documentary Categories.

The press release also confirmed that the ceremony’s eligibility criteria would once again move to consider films in one full calendar year. Oscars 2023 will view movies slated to release between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022. Earlier, the Academy extended the calendar year to March 2021 for 93rd Academy Awards while shortening the release date criteria for the 94th Oscars to a period of nine months (March 2021 to – December 2021).

Due to the pandemic, the audiences’ idea of viewing films changed significantly, allowing several streaming releases to get far better recognition as theater operations struggled. But with the previous trends in film releases returning, the Oscars is again getting back to its previous screening and selection methods; thus, making theatrical experiences the same escape from reality they used to be.

Other Rules Announced in the Press Release

The Documentary categories have received a name change and will now be called Documentary Feature Film and Documentary Short Film. The studios will be required to show their films contending in Sound categories to the Sound Branch members prior to the films’ releases. Furthermore, the Academy has restricted the number of Best Original Song submissions from a single film to three.

Earlier, the Academy moved up the date of the ceremony to the second week of March, which is two weeks earlier than the previous year’s function.

Academy also announced the submission deadlines for several categories:

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