The Oscar nomination process and the 23 categories of awards, explained

The 95th Oscars ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre on March 12, and there’s a slew of excellent films with a chance of winning an Academy Award. The pack is led by the time-and-space-bending Everything Everywhere All at Once, with a startling 11 nominations. The frontrunner is followed hot on its heels by the epic war film, All Quiet on the Western Front, and the quirky meditation on male friendship and the Irish Civil War, The Banshees of Inisherin – both of which are up for nine golden statues.

Even though the Academy Awards are all about excitement and glamour, you might be wondering about the nitty gritty of how the Oscar nomination process works for the 23 categories of awards, which include categories as diverse as Best Film Editing and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Whether you’re a budding filmmaker with dreams of accepting your Oscar nomination or just want to find out more about the categories that make up the biggest prizes in the film industry, we’ve got you covered.

The nomination process

The Oscar nomination process can be broadly summarized in five simple steps:

1. Film Submission: Films are submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for consideration. These movies have to adhere to the submission criteria, which varies per category. Generally speaking, the films have to have had at least a one-week run in a theater in Los Angeles during the eligibility period, and be in English or have English subtitles. Films up for the Foreign Language award only have to have run in their country of origin.
2. Initial Voting: Academy members such as actors, directors, writers, and other professionals are given the chance to review the submitted films before voting to determine who will be nominated for each category. They use something called a preferential voting system, which allows them to rank their choices in order. The choices with the highest overall scores become the nominees.
3. Nomination Announcement: The Academy announces their nominations for the 23 categories, usually in January.
4. Final Voting: Voting Academy members use the preferential voting system again to rank their favorite of the nominees.
5. Winners Announcement: The winners are announced during the glamorous Oscars ceremony on March 12, 2023.

Awards categories: Competitive vs. non-competitive

While there are 23 competitive categories of awards in the Oscars, there are also three noncompetitive awards up for grabs. These are known as the Governors Awards and consist of the Academy Honorary Award, the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. These are usually given to those who have contributed to the industry over several years, or to those whose work has brought credit to the film industry. The actual Governors Awards takes place in November, but highlights and winners are incorporated into the Academy Awards Ceremony in early Spring of the next year, and those who receive the awards are also honored at the Oscars.

The 23 Oscar award categories

The 2023 Oscars has 23 competitive categories, ranging from Best Foreign Language Film to Best Sound. However, throughout the history of the awards this number has been subject to change. The last addition to the categories was the Best Animated Feature Film award all the way back in 2001, and the last major change was in 2019 when Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing were combined into the new category of Best Sound.

Films can be nominated for any category for which they are eligible, which is how films like Titanic and La La Land managed a massive 17 nominations in their respective years. The 23 categories for the 95th Academy Awards are as follows:

1. Best Actor in a Leading Role: This year’s nominees are Austin Butler, Colin Farrell, Brendan Fraser, Paul Mescal, and Bill Nighy
2. Best Actor in a Supporting Role: This year’s nominees are Brendan Gleeson, Brian Tyree Henry, Judd Hirsch, Barry Keoghan, and Ke Huy Quan
3. Best Actress in a Leading Role: This year’s nominees are Cate Blanchett, Ana de Armas, Andrea Riseborough, Michelle Williams, and Michelle Yeoh
4. Best Actress in a Supporting Role: This year’s nominees are Angela Bassett, Hong Chau, Kerry Condon, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Stephanie Hsu
5. Best Animated Feature Film: This year’s nominees are Guillermo del Toros’ Pinocchio, Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Sea Beast, and Turning Red
6. Best Cinematography: This year’s nominees are All Quiet on the Western Front, Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, Elvis, Empire of Light, and Tar
7. Best Costume Design: This year’s nominees are Babylon, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Mrs Harris Goes to Paris
8. Best Director: This year’s nominees are Martin McDonagh, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Steven Spielberg, Todd Field, and Ruben Östlund
9. Best Documentary Feature Film: This year’s nominees are All That Breathes, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Fire of Love, A House Made of Splinters, and Navalny
10. Best Documentary Short Film: This year’s nominees are The Elephant Whisperers, Haulout, How Do You Measure a Year, The Martha Mitchell Effect, and Stranger at the Gate
11. Best Film Editing: This year’s nominees are The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Tar, and Top Gun: Maverick
12. International Feature Film: This year’s nominees are All Quiet on the Western Front, Argentina, Close, EO, and The Quiet Girl
13. Best Makeup and Hairstyling: This year’s nominees are All Quiet on the Western Front, The Batman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Elvis, and The Whale
14. Best Music (Original Score): This year’s nominees are All Quiet on the Western Front, Babylon, The Banshees of Inisherin, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and The Fablemans
15. Best Music (Original Song): This year’s nominees are “Applause”, “Hold My Hand”, “Lift Me Up”, “Naatu Naatu”, and “This is a Life”
16. Best Picture: This year’s nominees are All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of the Water, The Banshees of Inishiren, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fablemans, Tar, Top Gun: Maverick, Triangle of Sadness, and Women Talking
17. Best Production Design: This year’s nominees are All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of the Water, Babylon, Elvis, and The Fablemans
18. Best Short Film (Animated): This year’s nominees are The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, The Flying Sailor, Ice Merchants, My Year of Dicks, and An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It
19. Best Short Film (Live Action): This year’s nominees are An Irish Goodbye, Ivalu, Le Pupille, Night Ride, and The Red Suitcase
20. Best Sound: This year’s nominees are All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of the Water, The Batman, Elvis, and Top Gun: Maverick
21. Best Visual Effects: This year’s nominees are All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of the Water, The Batman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Top Gun: Maverick
22. Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay): This year’s nominees are All Quiet on the Western Front, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Living, Top Gun: Maverick, and Women Talking
23. Best Writing (Original Screenplay): This year’s nominees are The Banshees of Inishiren, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fableans, Tar, and Triangle of Sadness

And there you have it! A comprehensive guide to the Oscar nomination process and the 23 categories of awards!