Every year the academy’s leadership board reviews categories and potential changes. That’s meant some categories — juvenile acting, dance direction and split winners for black-and-white and color films — have gone away. Best picture, film’s highest honor, frequently gets reviewed. Remember the brief moment not too long ago when there was going to be a popular Oscar category?
This year one such change takes effect: 10 best picture contenders will be announced come nomination morning on Feb. 8. Here’s what to expect:
WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT THE BEST PICTURE CATEGORY THIS YEAR?
There will be 10 movies announced as best picture nominees for the 94th Oscars on Tuesday. For the past decade, it’s been a sliding range of five to 10 nominees. Most years had eight or nine.
No, the academy has shifted the number of best picture nominees several times. In the 1930s and early 1940s, eight to 12 films could be nominated in any given year. In 1944, it shifted to five and in 2009 it was expanded to 10. Then, in 2011, they went to five to 10.
