The Oscars are decided by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, an organisation composed of professionals from various branches of filmmaking. (Image: X)
The Academy has more than 10K members from 17 professional branches, including actors, directors, writers, editors, costume designers, and publicists. They are eligible to vote for the Oscars, except a small number who hold emeritus status. Notably, the actor’s branch is the largest in the Academy, giving it significant influence during the nomination stage. (Image: X)
The Oscars use a branch voting system to pick nominees: actors vote for acting awards, directors for Best Director, writers for writing, and cinematographers for cinematography. But when it comes to Best Picture, every Academy member gets a say. Nominations are determined through a ranked-choice voting system, also called a preferential ballot, where members rank their favorites to decide who makes the cut. (Image: X)
Voters rank their favorite candidates in order. Nominees who cross the required threshold secure a spot, while those with too few votes are eliminated. Their votes then transfer to the next choice on each ballot. This ranked-choice system continues until the final list of Oscar nominees is set. (Image: X)
The Oscars tweak their process when choosing winners. In most categories, all Academy members vote, and the nominee with the most votes takes the award. For Best Picture, however, the preferential ranked-choice ballot is used again to determine the winner. (Image: X)
For Best Picture, voters rank all nominated films from 1 to 10. If no film hits 50% of the votes, the lowest-ranked is eliminated, and its votes shift to each voter’s next choice. This continues until a film crosses 50%, often rewarding a widely liked consensus favourite, even if it wasn’t everyone’s top pick. (Image: X)
Ahead of the 98th Academy Awards, the Academy introduced a key new rule: members must now watch all nominees in a category before casting their votes, according to reports. The change aims to ensure fairer, more informed decisions, preventing voters from picking winners without seeing every performance or film. By requiring members to view all contenders, the process encourages a broader industry consensus, reflecting the opinions of professionals who have fully experienced the work being honoured. (Image: X)
According to the Academy’s official Oscars calendar, preliminary voting for the 98th Academy Awards ran from December 8–12, with shortlists revealed on December 16. Nomination voting took place January 12–16, and the official nominations were announced on January 22. The final voting round ran February 26–March 5, with winners set to be revealed at the March 15 ceremony. With thousands of industry professionals participating, the Oscars’ multi-round voting system balances expert opinion with broad industry consensus, ensuring that each award reflects careful, structured deliberation despite annual debates over nominees and winners. (Image: X)
