The number of Academy members who are eligible to vote for the Oscars has topped the 9,500 mark for the first time, according to an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences branch count dated Jan. 6, 2023.
But while a record 9,579 members are eligible to cast ballots beginning on Thursday, Jan. 12, that number is an increase of only 92 over last year, when 9,487 members were eligible to vote. In June of 2022, the Academy invited 397 film professionals to join, but that influx was likely counterbalanced by existing Academy members who died or moved to non-voting status.
Of the 17 Academy branches, 13 showed slight increases in membership, with the Documentary Branch having the largest increase, 30. Other branches with double-digit increases were Executives (13), Producers (14) and Short Films and Feature Animation (23).
The Actors Branch, on the other hand, fell by 34 members, dropping from 1,336 eligible members last year to 1,302 this year. That branch, the Academy’s largest, has now declined in size for two years in a row after the boom caused by the membership drive that followed the 2016 #OscarsSoWhite protests.
The Costume Designers Branch and Sound Branch also lost members, dropping by two and one, respectively, while the Cinematographers Branch held steady at 290 members.
Counting non-voting associate members, the Academy has a total active membership of 9,660 – while if you add an additional 933 emeritus members, the total reaches 10,593, about 100 more than last year.
Here are the branch counts as of Jan. 6, 2023. The change in size since last year’s final pre-nomination count is indicated in parentheses.
Actors: 1,302 (-34)
Casting Directors: 154 (+4)
Cinematographers: 290 (-)
Costume Designers: 169 (-2)
Directors: 573 (+5)
Documentary: 648 (+30)
Executives: 694 (+13)
Film Editors: 376 (+1)
Makeup Artists and Hairstylists: 236 (+5)
Marketing and Public Relations: 614 (+9)
Music: 388 (+5)
Producers: 648 (+14)
Production Design: 390 (+3)
Short Films and Feature Animation: 867 (+23)
Sound: 549 (-1)
Visual Effects: 615 (+9)
Writers: 510 (+6)
Members-at-Large: 556 (+2)
Total voting members: 9,579 (+92)
Associate members: 81 (-5)
Total active members: 9,660 (+87)
Emeritus members: 933 (+19)
Total active and inactive members: 10,593 (+106)
