Oscars: 276 films eligible for 94th Academy Awards

276 feature films are eligible for the 94th Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.

Last year, the Academy extended the eligibility year to February 28, 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic, which gave us 366 eligible films, the most submissions since 1970. With only 10 months in this season, 2022’s eligibility list is much closer to recent years.

To be eligible for consideration under rules provisions implemented for the 94th Academy Awards year only, feature films may open in a commercial motion picture theater in at least one of six U.S. metropolitan areas: Los Angeles County; the City of New York; the Bay Area; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; and Atlanta, Georgia, between March 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021, and complete a minimum qualifying run of seven consecutive days in the same venue.  Drive-in theaters open nightly are included as qualifying commercial venues in the above cities.  Films intended for theatrical release but initially made available through commercial streaming, VOD service or other broadcast may qualify if the film is made available on the secure Academy Screening Room member site within 60 days of the streaming/VOD release or broadcast.  Feature films must have a running time of more than 40 minutes.

The Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 94th Academy Awards is available at http://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility.  The Reminder List also includes the performers eligible for consideration in the Acting categories. Interesting to note, some films have a very limited cast represented like The Power of the Dog, which only lists the four main roles played by Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons. Animated films have always been eligible for acting nominations and this year everything from Luca to Raya and the Last Dragon have their casts listed. The Mitchells vs. the Machines, however, do not.

To be eligible for Best Picture consideration, films must have submitted a confidential Academy Representation and Inclusion Standards entry as part of the submission requirements.  Meeting inclusion thresholds will not be required for eligibility in the Best Picture category until the 96th Oscars.

Nominations voting begins on Thursday, January 27, 2022, and concludes on Tuesday, February 1, 2022.

Nominations for the 94th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.

The 94th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.