281 films eligible for 71st Academy Awards® consideration

©A.M.P.A.S.®

The 1998 Oscar®-winner for Best Picture will be chosen from a field of 281 feature-length films. This is the largest number of films under consideration since 1973 and it's 6 more than last year.

A complete list of eligible films, along with a nomination ballot, will be sent to Academy voters on Friday, January 8th, 1999.

To qualify for consideration under the Academy's rules, a feature-length (over 40 minutes) motion picture must receive public theatrical exhibition by means of 35 or 70mm film, for paid admission in a commercial theater in Los Angeles County between January 1, 1998, and midnight December 31, 1998, such exhibition being for a run of seven consecutive days after an opening prior to midnight of December 31.

Films submitted in the Documentary, Foreign Language and Short Films categories are viewed and selected by special voting panels of Academy members. These categories have different eligibility requirements. Foreign language films and documentary features can be submitted both in their own categories and for consideration in 24 "regular" categories, including Best Picture.