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The Oscars have announced the shortlists in 12 categories for the upcoming 98th ceremony.
Members from various branches of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences participated in preliminary voting across multiple categories, including animated short film, documentary feature, documentary short, international feature, live action short, makeup and hairstyling, original score, original song, sound and visual effects. This year also marks the debut of shortlists for achievement in casting and best cinematography, both included for the first time.
Oscar voting to determine the nominees in all 24 categories opens on Monday, Jan. 12, and concludes on Friday, Jan. 16. Nominations will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 22.
Conan O’Brien will be returning to host the Oscars ceremony, which will take place on March 2.
The complete list of films on the shortlist is below.
Fifteen films will advance to the next round out of the 201 that were eligible in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch will vote to determine which five films become nominees.
Documentary Short Film
Fifteen films will advance in the documentary short film category for the 98th Oscars. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine both the shortlist and the nominees.
International Feature
The international feature film category drew 86 eligible submissions from countries or regions around the world. The Academy defines an international feature film as a feature-length picture (more than 40 minutes) produced outside the U.S. with a predominantly non-English dialogue track.
Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting. To be eligible, members were required to meet a minimum viewing requirement. In the nominations round, members from all branches may opt in to participate but must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote. A shortlist of 15 titles will be announced Dec. 16.
Makeup and Hairstyling
Ten films will advance in the makeup and hairstyling category for the 98th Academy Awards. All members of the Academy’s Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films in January.
Original Score
Twenty films will advance in the original score race from an eligible list of 135 submissions — the lowest number of eligible scores in a decade. Members of the Music Branch vote to determine both the shortlist and the nominees. Scores that were not eligible or not submitted include “After the Hunt” (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross), “Blue Moon” (Graham Reynolds), “Ella McCay” (Hans Zimmer), “KPop Demon Hunters” (Marcelo Zarvos) and “The Phoenician Scheme” (Alexandre Desplat).
Original Song
Fifteen songs will move on to the next round in the original song category. Sixty-eight songs were eligible for consideration — the lowest tally in 14 years. Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
Animated Short Film
In the nominations round, Academy members from the Animation Branch and the Short Films Branch may opt in to vote. Eligible members must view all 15 shortlisted films to cast a vote.
Live Action Short Film
Fifteen films will advance in the live action short film category for the Oscars. Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary voting round, provided they met the minimum viewing requirement. In the nominations round, members may opt in to vote and must view all 15 shortlisted films.
Sound
All eligible members of the Sound Branch will vote to determine the shortlist and the final nominees. In January, members will be invited to view excerpts from each shortlisted film. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for Oscar consideration.
Visual Effects
The Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the 10-film shortlist. In January, all members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view excerpts and artist interviews from each shortlisted film. Branch members will then vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration. Variety exclusively reported the internal list of 20 finalists that were in contention for the shortlist.
