But voters with lots of time on their hands still can’t see most of the contenders
More than 90 documentaries have already qualified for this year’s Academy Awards, according to new rules put in place by the Academy’s Documentary Branch.
But at a time when many of the members of that branch are self-isolating at home with free time, very few of those films are available for voters to watch.
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For this year only, a film qualifies for the Academy Awards if it is chosen by two film festivals from an Academy list of nine early-year fests: Sundance, South by Southwest, Tribeca, Full Frame, Hot Docs, Berlin, San Francisco, CPH:DOX and the True/False Film Festival. That rule holds regardless of whether the festivals actually took place.
(Sundance, Berlin and True/False did; the others were postponed or canceled or took place virtually.)
Also Read: Academy Allows Documentaries to Qualify for Oscars at Film Festivals
Films must still meet other eligibility requirements and must be submitted to the Academy for viewing on the members-only Academy Screen Room, so not every doc that qualified via film festivals will end up in the running. But dozens of films have been selected by two or more of the festivals, including the Sundance winner “Boys State,” Kirsten Johnson’s playful “Dick Johnson Is Dead,” the “Ren and Stimpy” doc “Happy Happy Joy Joy,” Matt Wolf’s timely “Spaceship Earth” and Ron Howard’s “Rebuilding Paradise.” “Feels Good Man” was selected by seven of the nine festivals, “Boys State,” “Dick Johnson,” “Time” and “Welcome to Chechnya” by six of the nine and “Mayor,” “Mucho Mucho Amor,” “The Painter and the Thief” and “A Thousand Cuts” by five.
A count by TheWrap found that 93 different documentaries were booked by at least two of the nine festivals, with the qualifying films also including “Be Water,” which will air on ESPN in June; “9to5: The Story of a Movement,” the new film from Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar, who won the Oscar in February for “American Factory”; “The Dissident,” Bryan Fogel’s film about the killing of Adnan Khashoggi; “On the Record,” Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering’s documentary about sexual misconduct in the music in industry; and several music-related docs, including “The Go-Go’s,” “Zappa” and “The Nowhere Inn.”
Another seven films have already earned eligibility by winning an Oscar-qualifying award from a film festival. Those are “Beware of Children,” “An Elephant in the Room,” “Irradies,” “Jacinta,” “Punta Sacra,” “Socks on Fire” and “Songs of Repression.”
Also Read: 'On the Record' Film Review: Wrenching Documentary Offers Black Women a Voice in the #MeToo Movement
In a normal year, some of those films would have gone straight to television without airing theatrically, which would have disqualified them under the rule that required competing documentaries to have seven-day theatrical runs in Los Angeles and New York. But with the coronavirus prompting theater closings around the country, the Academy changed the rules to make it easier for films to qualify.
And because of the size of some festivals that specialize in nonfiction films – Hot Docs and CPH:DOX each selected more than 200 films before downsizing to smaller online editions – the floodgates were opened for films to qualify, and to do so far earlier in the year than usual. That’s why it’s unfortunate that the members’ screening room on the AMPAS website currently contains nothing but last year’s films.
After all, wouldn’t voters stuck at home be interested in watching “Spaceship Earth,” about the gang of eight offbeat adventurers who quarantined themselves inside the artificial ecosystem Biosphere 2 back in 1991?
Wouldn’t folks who are bemoaning the loss of their favorite restaurants get a kick out of “Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles,” in which the French court of Louis XIV is recreated in mind-boggling desserts for an event at the Metropolitan Museum?
Wouldn’t people sick of living in a hyper-partisan world want to watch “Feels Good Man” to learn how the cartoon character Pepe the Frog was turned into a symbol of white-nationalist hate?
Also Read: 'Spaceship Earth' Director Matt Wolf on What Drew Him to Saga of Biosphere 2 (Video)
Some of the eligible films are currently available on Netflix; others can be found on VOD on other platforms. But given that everybody’s stuck at home, and given the huge number of eligible films in a category that typically has more than 150 competing docs – as one Oscar documentary voter told TheWrap, “Now would be a great time for those to be available” on the members’ streaming platform.
The wait may not be too long, mind you – the Academy’s submission process recently opened, and the first batch of films is typically made available to doc-branch voters in June. AMPAS is aiming for a similar schedule this year, according to a person with knowledge of the plans.
But typically, only a small batch of films are in the June group; last year, it didn’t go out until the end of the month, June 28, and it included only 23 of what was eventually 157 eligible docs.
This year, with lots of films already in contention and lots of voters looking for ways to fill their free time, we can only hope – and urge – that things start sooner and go bigger.
CORRECTION: The original version of this story was based on the trimmed lineup for the online version of CPH:DOX. The number of qualifying films has been changed to reflect the festival’s original lineup.
All the Hollywood Films Arriving on Demand Early Because of the Coronavirus
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Disney/Warner Bros./UniversalSince most U.S. movie theaters have shuttered in response to the coronavirus pandemic, studios are rushing out VOD home releases of movies that were only just in theaters.
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Universal Pictures"Trolls World Tour"
The sequel to the 2017 animated hit announced it would be available for digital download on April 10 -- the same day it was supposed to land in theaters. Now it's a VOD exclusive.
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Warner Bros.
"Birds of Prey"
The Margot Robbie spinoff of 2017's "Suicide Squad" debuted on demand on March 24. The film grossed $84 million since opening on Feb. 4.
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Universal Pictures
"The Hunt"
The Universal/Blumhouse horror film was first delayed from release last fall due to controversy over its violent content -- and then sidelined after its March 13 opening by the coronavirus. It's available to stream now.
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Universal Pictures
"The Invisible Man"
The Universal horror film starring Elisabeth Moss grossed nearly $65 million since its Feb. 26 release in theaters. It's available to stream now.
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Focus Features
"Emma."
Focus Features' adaptation of the Jane Austen novel opened in limited release Feb. 21 -- and picked up $10 million in ticket sales until the pandemic shut down theaters. It's available to stream now.
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Sony Pictures
"Bloodshot"
The Vin Diesel comic-book movie opened March 6 and grossed $10 million before theaters shut down. It's available on VOD now.
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Lionsgate
"I Still Believe"
Lionsgate's biopic starring K.J. Apa as Christian music star Jeremy Camp hit VOD on March 27 -- just two weeks after it opened in theaters.
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Warner Bros.
"The Way Back"
Warner Bros. released the Ben Affleck drama "The Way Back" -- which grossed $13 million in theaters since its March 6 opening -- on VOD less than three weeks later, on March 24.
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Disney/Pixar
"Onward"
Disney and Pixar’s animated feature was made available for purchase on Friday, March 20, and the film hit Disney+ on April 3.
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Paramount Pictures
"Sonic the Hedgehog"
Paramount Pictures' "Sonic the Hedgehog" set a new record for video game adaptations with a $58 million domestic opening weekend on Feb. 14 and has grossed $306 million worldwide theatrically. It's available on demand now.
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20th Century
"The Call of the Wild"
20th Century Studios' feel-good film starring Harrison Ford and a giant CGI dog is available on demand now.
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Fox Searchlight
"Downhill"
Barely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation, a married couple (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell) is thrown into disarray as they are forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other. It's available on demand now.
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Focus Features
"Never Rarely Sometimes Always"
"Never Rarely Sometimes Always" is the story of two teenage cousins from rural Pennsylvania who journey to New York City to seek an abortion. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and walked away with a Special Jury award. It's available for VOD now.
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Samuel Goldwyn Films
"Endings, Beginnings"
"Endings, Beginnings," a romantic drama from Drake Doremus starring Shailene Woodley, Sebastian Stan and Jamie Dornan, opened early on digital on April 17 and on demand on May 1. It was meant to open theatrically on May 1.
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Samuel Goldwyn Films
"To the Stars"
"To the Stars," a period drama set in 1960s Oklahoma that stars Kara Hayward, Liana Liberato, Jordana Spiro, Shea Whigham, Malin Akerman and Tony Hale, was bumped up to a digital release on April 24 and an on demand release on June 1. Martha Stephens directed the film that premiered at Sundance in 2019 and was meant to be released theatrically by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
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truTV
"Impractical Jokers: The Movie"
truTV's first-ever feature-length film arrived early on digital on April 1. Follow James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, Joe Gatto, and Sal Vulvano, aka The Tenderloins, playing themselves in a fictional story of a humiliating high school mishap from the early '90s.
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Disney
"Artemis Fowl"
Disney's adaptation of the Eoin Colfer fantasy novel "Artemis Fowl" was meant to debut in theaters on May 29 but premiered exclusively on Disney+. The film is directed by Kenneth Branagh and stars Colin Farrell and Judi Dench.
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Oscilloscope
"The Infiltrators"
The theatrical release of Oscilloscope's docu-thriller "The Infiltrators" has been postponed, and the film was released on both Cable On Demand and Digital Platforms starting June 2.
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Brainstorm Media
"Working Man"
The March 27 theatrical release of "Working Man" has been canceled due to the theater closures, and the film premiered on May 5 via Video On Demand.
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Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
"Jump Shot: The Kenny Sailors Story"
"Jump Shot: The Kenny Sailors Story," a sports documentary executive produced by NBA star Steph Curry, was made available for streaming on the new service Altavod between April 16-18 for $7.99 and is available for pre-order beginning April 9. 10% of all the proceeds will be donated to COVID-19 relief efforts. The documentary tells the story of the player, Kenny Sailors, who pioneered the jump shot, and it features interviews with Curry, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Clark Kellogg, Bobby Knight and more.
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Warner Bros.
"Scoob!"
Warner Bros. announced on April 11 that it would release the family animated film “Scoob!” for digital ownership and premium video on-demand on May 15, making it the second film (after Universal's "Trolls World Tour") to cancel a planned theatrical release and head straight to home release pandemic.
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Universal Pictures
"The King of Staten Island"
"The King of Staten Island," the comedy starring and co-written by "SNL" star Pete Davidson and directed by Judd Apatow, skipped its theatrical release date of June 19 and opened one week early on VOD everywhere on June 12.
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Focus Features
"The High Note"
"The High Note," the latest film from "Late Night" director Nisha Ganatra that stars Tracee Ellis Ross and Dakota Johnson, made its premiere on VOD on May 29. It was meant to open on May 8 theatrically.
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Samuel Goldwyn Films
"Waiting for the Barbarians"
Ciro Guerra's film starring Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson was originally slated for a theatrical release but was picked up by Samuel Goldwyn Films to instead be released via cable on demand and on digital in August
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Daniel McFadden / Focus Features
"Irresistible"
Jon Stewart's latest film, a political comedy called "Irresistible," will skip theaters and make its premiere online for on demand digital rental on June 26. The film from Focus Features stars Steve Carell and Rose Byrne and was meant to open in theaters on May 29.
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Amazon Studios
"My Spy"
The Dave Bautista action comedy "My Spy" was originally meant for a theatrical release from STXfilms and was due to hit theaters in March. Amazon then acquired the film from STX and will now release it on streaming on June 26.
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Disney
"The One and Only Ivan"
The animated Disney film based on Thea Sharrock's best-selling children's book "The One and Only Ivan" is the latest feature to skip theaters and move to Disney+. The movie features the voice talent of Angelina Jolie, Danny Devito, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren. The film was previously slated for theatrical release on August 14 but will now debut on Disney+ one week later on Aug. 21.
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STXfilms
"The Secret Garden"
The re-imagining of the book "The Secret Garden" was meant to open in UK theaters in April but delayed its theatrical release until August. But STXfilms will now release the StudioCanal and Heyday Films movie on PVOD for $19.99 on August 7 in North America. "The Secret Garden" stars Colin Firth, Julie Walters and Dixie Egerickx.
”Irresistible“ joins a list of big films heading to digital home entertainment platforms early
Since most U.S. movie theaters have shuttered in response to the coronavirus pandemic, studios are rushing out VOD home releases of movies that were only just in theaters.
Steve Pond
Awards Editor • steve@thewrap.com • Twitter: @stevepond