10 reasons why 10 'Best Picture' nominations is a bad idea

The critics weigh in on why the Academy shouldn't have doubled the number of top nominees

For the first time this year, the Academy has upped their "Best Picture" nominations from five to 10.
(Image credit: Corbis)

The Oscar nominees for Best Picture have arrived — all ten of them. This year, in an effort to rebuild the award show's waning audience, organizers have doubled the number of nominations in this marquee category. While some critics praise the change for allowing movies like the South African sci-fi thriller "District 9" to make the cut, a greater number are grumbling about the move. Here, according to the doubters, are ten reasons why it's a mistake to have ten nominees:

1. Why not 100? "The Academy might as well have expanded the category to 50 films, or 4,423 films, or simply everything that has ever been released in the civilized world," says Ryan Gilbey in New Statesman.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us