The Oscars have announced that 276 feature films are eligible for this year’s Academy Awards, with nomination voting set to begin Thursday, Jan. 27
” , “Nightmare Alley” , “Parallel Mothers” , “The Power of the Dog” , “A Quiet Place Part II” , “Spencer” , “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “West Side Story” .
Since the expansion from five to 10 best picture nominees in 2009, we’ve waited to see if a documentary feature could break into the field with more spots available. Several from the 15 shortlisted docs appear on the reminder list, including Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee,” Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s “The Rescue,” Questlove’s “Summer of Soul” and Todd Haynes’ “The Velvet Underground.
A couple of films that have been off the radar, critically panned or simply presumed longshots, are among the features on the reminder list, including: Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead,” Walt Becker’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” Stephen Chbosky’s “Dear Evan Hansen,” Everardo Gout’s “The Forever Purge,” Alan Taylor’s “The Many Saints of Newark,” Lana Wachowski’s “The Matrix: Resurrections” and M. Night Shymalan’s “Old.
During the inaugural Oscars, which celebrated pics from 1927 and 1928, there were 562 titles on the reminder list. AMPAS didn’t have the same clear and strict guidelines that are in place today. Prior to 1950, the reminder lists would not feature all eligible films. From 1940 to 1944, the lists had fewer titles by studio choice — studios would select which of their films would appear, limiting the list to about one-third of eligible titles.