Academy Screening Room Nears 150 Films for Voters to Watch – but It’s Missing Some Major Contenders

Thanksgiving has long been a deadline of sorts for studios campaigning for Oscar nominations, because it offers the tempting proposition of a holiday weekend in which voters might have free time to catch up on movies. In past years, that meant a steady stream of screener DVDs arriving in voters’ mailboxes in the days before Thanksgiving – but now, with the Academy focusing on its members-only screening platform and placing restrictions on physical screeners, the push is to get new films into the  Academy Screening Room before the holiday.

Fifteen new films were added to that room on Wednesday, a departure from the usual weekly additions, which typically come every Friday. The newcomers include Best Picture contenders “Conclave” and “The Piano Lesson,” following a Nov. 22 influx that included “Emilia Perez,” “Joker: Folie a Deux,” “Juror No. 2,” “Nightbitch,” “A Real Pain,” “The Room Next Door,” “Saturday Night” and “September 5.”

But some major films are still missing, Neon’s “Anora” and A24’s “The Brutalist” foremost among them. Other contenders that haven’t shown up in the screening room include last weekend’s big releases, “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” along with the yet-to-be-released “A Complete Unknown,” “Nosferatu,” “Maria” and “Nickel Boys.”

In the case of “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” it’s logical that Universal and Paramount would keep those films off screening platforms while they’re making big money in theaters. When it coms to the films that haven’t been released, it’s understandable that companies would feel as if they have enough time with voters who don’t cast their nomination ballots until the second week of January. (Voters for other awards like the Critics Choice Awards, who vote earlier, have received screeners of “Maria” and others.)

And the inclination to wait can be particularly strong for directors who are particular about the formats in which their films are seen: “The Brutalist,” for example, is clearly designed as a theatrical experience, with a built-in intermission that includes a card that appears on the screen while music written for the break plays. The film has been screened aggressively for voters and will be added to the Academy Screening Room in December.

As of Thanksgiving, there are 144 films in the Academy Screening Room, out of which about 30 to 40 have a realistic chance of receiving an Oscar nomination, and the same number an outside chance. Placement in the room requires a payment of $20,000 to the Academy, or $25,000 to add forensic watermarking. Films with budgets of less than $10 million are eligible to apply for a reduced rate.

Currently, the films in the main screening room include 20 documentaries, 11 animated films and 15 entries in the Oscars Best International Feature Film race. Films that qualify in those categories are also put in special screening rooms devoted to the categories free of charge.

Here’s the full list of films in the Academy Screening Room as of Thanksgiving:

“The Absence of Eden”
“Albany”
“Alien: Romulus”
“All We Imagine as Light”
“Am I Racist?” (documentary)             
“American Star”
“Americans With No Address” (documentary)
“The Apprentice”
“Argyle”
“Armand” (international)
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”
“Between the Temples
“The Bibi Files” (documentary)
“The Bikeriders”
“Blink Twice”
“Blitz”
“Bob Marley: One Love”
“Cabrini”
“Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid” (documentary)
“Celebrating Laughter: The Life and Films of Colin Higgins” (documentary)
“Challengers”
“City of Dreams”
“Civil War”
“Conclave”
“The Count of Monte Cristo”
“Daddio”
“Dahomey” (documentary, international)
“Dandelion”
“Daughters” (documentary)
“Day of the Fight”
“The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” (animated)
“The Dead Don’t Hurt”
“Deadpool & Wolverine”
“The Deliverance”
“The Devil’s Bath” (international)
“Didi”
“A Different Man”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Elton John: Never Too Late” (documentary)
“Emilia Perez” (international)
“Everybody Loves Touda” (international)
“Exhibiting Forgiveness”
“Ezra”
“Fall Guy”
“Fancy Dance”
“Firebrand”
“Flipside” (documentary)
“Flow” (animated)
“Fly Me to the Moon”
“Frida” (documentary)
“From Embers”
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”
“Ghostlight”
“The Girl With the Needle” (international)
“Good One”
“Goodrich”
“The Greatest Hits”
“Heretic”
“His Three Daughters”
“Hit Man”
“The Hopeful”
“Horizon: An America Saga Chapter 1”
“How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” (international)
“I Am: Celine Dion” (documentary)
“I Saw the TV Glow”
“The Idea of You”
“I’ll Be Right There”
“I’m Still Here” (international)
“The Imaginary”
“In the Land of Saints and Sinners”
“Inside Out 2” (animation)
“The Instigators”
“It Ends With Us”
“Janet Planet”
“Joker: Folie a Deux”
“Juror No. 2”
“Kinds of Kindness”
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”
“Kneecap” (international)
“The Last Showgirl”
“Late Night With the Devil”
“Lee”
“The Listeners”
“Longlegs”
“Lost Ladies” (international)
“Love Lies Bleeding”
“Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln” (documentary)
“Martha” (documentary)
“Maxxxine”
“Memoir of a Snail” (animated)
“Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa” (documentary)
“Murderess” (international)
“My Old Ass”
“My Penguin Friend”
“Nightbitch”
“The Piano Lesson”
“Piece by Piece” (animated, documentary)”
“One Life”
“The Outrun”
“Porcelain War” (documentary)
“Problemista”
“Queens” (international)
“A Real Pain”
“The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” (documentary)
“The Room Next Door”
“Rumours”
“Santosh” (international)
“Saturday Night”
“Sasquatch Sunset”
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (international)
“Separated” (documentary)
“September 5”
“Shirley”
“Sing Sing”
“The Six Triple Eight”
“Skincare”
“Small Things Like These”
“Spellbound” (animated)
“The Substance”
“Sugarcane” (documentary)
“Suncoast”
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” (documentary)
“Thelma”
“The Thicket”
“Touch” (international)
“Transformers One” (animated)
“Tuesday”
“Twisters”
“Ultraman: Rising” (animated)
“Unstoppable”
“Vermiglio” (international)
“The Wait”
“Waves”
“We Grown Now”
“We Live in Time”
“White Bird”
“Wicked Little Letters”
“Widow Cliquot”
“The Wild Robot” (animated)
“Wildcat”
“Will & Harper” (documentary)
“Wolfs”
“The Young Woman and the Sea”
“Zurawski vs. Texas”

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