BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The Academy Awards will double the number of best-picture nominees from five to 10.
Academy president Sid Ganis said the academy’s board of governors wanted to open the field up to more worthy films for the top prize at Hollywood’s biggest party.
The change takes effect with next year’s Oscars on March 7. The move is a return to traditions of the 1930s and ’40s, when 10 nominees were common.
Ganis said the board looked at last year’s slate of films and decided there was room for more in the top category. Among last year’s most acclaimed movies was the Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight,” which was snubbed. Ganis said the broader field also might make room for documentaries, foreign-language films, animated movies and comedies. The Associated Press
