311 movies eligible for Oscar this year

Voting members of the Academy will have a little more than the morning paper dropping on their doormat today. Nomination forms and a list of eligible movies will arrive with voters today and with 311 films to choose from, it’ll be the first time in 32 years that over 300 movies have battled it out for the best picture statuette.

Academy Credits Coordinator Howard Loberfeld believes that the 16.5% increase in contenders compared to 2004 is partly due to the fact that 35 feature length documentaries made it to the screen in 2005, which is a staggering 20 more than last year.

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To be eligible, a movie must have a running time of over 40 minutes and have been shown in theatres on 35mm or 70mm film, or a qualifying digital format. The flick must open in a commercial theatre, for paid admission, in Los Angeles County between 1 January 2005 and midnight on 31 December 2005, and run for a full week. Films that receive their first public showing in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for an Oscar in any category. Official screen credits and copies of the main and end title credits must have been submitted to the Academy by 1 December 2005.