The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday announced sweeping rules changes for the upcoming Oscar season. The three biggest takeaways: a strong push away from AI; the possibility of actors receiving multiple nominations in the same category; and a major revamp to the Best International Feature Film category.
“These changes are part of our mission to leverage the immense resource that is our membership to shape the future of the organization,” AMPAS said in a statement provided to Gold Derby. “We are dedicated to making sure we reflect the current state of filmmaking. That involves listening to the global filmmaking community and addressing barriers to entry in our eligibility process.”
The AI stance
The organization reviews and refines its guidelines every year, and it is “constantly looking at ways to improve our eligibility processes.” Speaking specifically about the increasing aspect of artificial intelligence in the movie-making business, the Academy stated, “What will never change is our commitment to honoring human authorship and artistry.”
Across multiple categories, there’s a clear line being drawn against AI. Acting performances must be “demonstrably performed by humans with their consent,” and screenplays must be “human-authored to be eligible.” On top of that, the Academy now reserves the right to investigate how generative AI was used.
More opportunities for actors
For decades, actors could only be nominated twice in a given year: once for a leading performance and once for a supporting performance. Not anymore. The new rule states that “actors may be nominated for multiple performances in the same category if those performances place in the top five votes.” That means, for example, Anne Hathaway could potentially be nominated six times this year across the lead and supporting categories for her performances in Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey, The End of Oak Street, Verity, and Alone at Dawn. (Note that this rule does not mean Michael B. Jordan could have been nominated twice for Sinners for playing two roles, as it’s still the same movie.)
International changes
For the Best International Feature Film category, contenders can still be submitted by their countries, but they can also now be submitted “by winning a qualifying award at an international film festival.” (More on that below.) As for the eventual Oscar winner, credit will henceforth be given to the film (with the director accepting), not the country, shifting recognition to the actual creators.
The full rundown
Here are the Academy’s complete rule changes for the 2027 Oscars:
- In the Acting category, actors may be nominated for multiple performances in the same category if those performances place in the top five votes, which aligns with achievements in other award categories.
- Additionally, in the Acting category, only roles credited in the film’s legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent will be considered eligible.
- In the Casting category, the number of statuettes awarded will increase from a maximum of two to a maximum of three statuettes.
- In the Cinematography category, the preliminary voting round will produce a shortlist of 20 films rather than 10-20.
- In the International Feature Film category, there are now two ways to submit a film for consideration. In addition to a film being submitted as an official selection by a country or region via the Academy-approved Selection Committees, a non-English language film can now be submitted for consideration by winning a qualifying award at an international film festival as specified in the International Feature Film Award Qualifying Festival List. Qualifying festivals for the 99th Oscars are the Berlin International Film Festival (Golden Bear for Best Film), Busan International Film Festival (Busan Award — Best Film Award), Cannes Film Festival (Palme d’Or), Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize), Toronto International Film Festival (Platform Award) and Venice International Film Festival (Golden Lion).
- Additionally, in the International Feature Film category, the film will be credited as the nominee rather than the country or region, and the award will be accepted by the director on behalf of the film’s creative team. The director’s name will be listed on the statuette plaque after the film title and, if applicable, the country or region.
- In the Makeup and Hairstyling category, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch members must attend at least one of the two final branch meetings (roundtables) to be eligible to vote in the preliminary round.
- In the Original Song category, the rules clarify a song’s eligibility when based on its placement in the end credits. For songs submitted as the first new music cue once the end credits begin, the video clip must include the last 15 seconds of the film before the credits begin.
- In the Visual Effects category, all Academy members must view the three-minute Before and After reels from the Visual Effects Bake-Off to be eligible to vote in the final round.
- In the Writing categories, the rules codify that screenplays must be human-authored to be eligible.
- For Governors Awards recipients, a minimum of three disciplines must be represented in a given Awards year.
- Under Eligibility (Rule Two) regarding Generative Artificial Intelligence, the Academy reserves the right to request more information about the nature of the use and human authorship.
The Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 21, and the 99th annual ceremony will air March 14 on ABC.
