Oscars 2013 - 289 Films Eligible for Best Picture

Credit: AMPAS

Two hundred eighty-nine feature films are eligible for the highly-coveted Best Picture Oscar at the Academy Awards for 2013.

This is an increase from last year's slate of 282 films that achieved eligibility for the highest prize in Hollywood.

Naturally, eligibility isn't as easy to come by as some might expect, although most major studios can become eligible in their sleep: in order to qualify, a film must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, Dec. 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days. In order to bid for Best Picture, a film must also be feature-length (i.e., a running time of over 40 minutes, which is actually a much lower minimum runtime than I would have expected). In addition, the film must have been shown theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format.

The nominations for the 86th Academy Awards will be announced live Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. PT / 8:30 a.m. ET in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The Oscars will be presented Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in a ceremony televised live on ABC.

For a refresher on the 289 films that have qualified for Best Picture, check out the official list of eligible movies: Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 86th Academy Awards