Academy Halts Post-Nomination Screenings

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that it will no longer host screenings of films that are nominated for Oscars.

AMPAS has long hosted screenings of Oscar-hopefuls for its members throughout the year in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and London.

But in the past decade since the Academy introduced its members-only streaming service (the Academy Screening Room), attendance at these screenings has markedly declined.

Post-nomination screenings, in particular, have been the hardest hit. An average of just five members attended these screenings over the last two years, even as each screening costs thousands of dollars to put on. To save money, those are now being axed.

The announcement was included in January’s Academy Bulletin emailed to members, but is only now gaining wider notice amongst members.

The Academy has now responded in a letter, stating that its members had plenty of opportunities to see those films on the big screen before the nominations – either at an official Academy screening, at a commercial cinema, or through studio-organised FYC screenings.

Source: THR