Editing Academy Award for Best Picture (section)

===Nomination limit increased===
On June 24, 2009, the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] (AMPAS) announced that the number of films to be nominated in the Best Picture award category would increase from 5 to 10, starting with the [[82nd Academy Awards]] (2009).<ref name="10noms">{{cite news|author=Joyce Eng |title=Oscar Expands Best Picture Race to 10 Nominees |url=https://www.tvguide.com/Movie-News/Oscar-Expands-Best-1007223.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208200429/http://www.tvguide.com/Movie-News/Oscar-Expands-Best-1007223.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 8, 2012 |work=TV Guide Online |date=June 24, 2009 |access-date=June 24, 2009 }}</ref> Although the Academy never officially said so, many commenters noted the expansion was likely in part a response to public criticism of ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' and ''[[WALL-E]]'' (both 2008) (and, in previous years, other blockbusters and popular films) not being nominated for Best Picture.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Buchanan|first=Kyle|date=January 22, 2020|title=10 Years Later, an Oscar Experiment That Actually Worked|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/movies/expanded-best-picture-oscar.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122200021/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/movies/expanded-best-picture-oscar.html |archive-date=January 22, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=June 5, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Rogers|first=Nathaniel|date=July 18, 2018|title=How a Dark Knight Best Picture snub forced the Oscars to change|url=https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/18/17585878/dark-knight-oscars-best-picture|access-date=June 5, 2020|website=Polygon|language=en|archive-date=July 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718193222/https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/18/17585878/dark-knight-oscars-best-picture|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Phipps|first=Keith|date=January 30, 2020|title=A Decade Ago, the Oscars Looked Down on Superhero Movies. Now One Might Win Best Picture.|url=https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/1/30/21114274/superhero-movies-oscars-joker-dark-knight-black-panther|access-date=June 5, 2020|website=The Ringer|language=en|archive-date=January 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131154326/https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/1/30/21114274/superhero-movies-oscars-joker-dark-knight-black-panther|url-status=live}}</ref> Officially, the Academy said the rule change was a throwback to the Academy's early years in the 1930s and 1940s, when 8 to 12 films were nominated each year. "Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going to allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize," AMPAS President [[Sid Ganis]] said in a press conference. "I can't wait to see what that list of 10 looks like when the nominees are announced in February."<ref name="10noms" />

At the same time, the voting system was switched from [[first-past-the-post]] to [[Instant-runoff voting|instant runoff voting]] (also known as preferential voting).<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-richie/poll-oscars-irv_b_824246.html Poll: Vote on the Oscars Like an Academy Member] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112164350/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-richie/poll-oscars-irv_b_824246.html |date=November 12, 2012 }}, Rob Richie, Huffington Post, February 16, 2011</ref> In 2011, the Academy revised the rule again so that the number of films nominated was between 5 and 10; nominated films must earn either 5% of first-place rankings or 5% after an abbreviated variation of the [[single transferable vote]] nominating process.<ref name="Rule Change">{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/awards/column-post/new-best-picture-rules-could-discard-hundreds-ballots-or-more-28412|title=New Best Picture Rules Could Discard Large Number of Oscar Ballots (Exclusive)|author=Steve Pond|date=June 22, 2011|publisher=The Wrap|access-date=January 19, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304233702/http://www.thewrap.com/awards/column-post/new-best-picture-rules-could-discard-hundreds-ballots-or-more-28412|archive-date=March 4, 2014}}</ref> Bruce Davis, the Academy executive director at the time, said, "A Best Picture nomination should be an indication of extraordinary merit. If there are only eight pictures that truly earn that honor in a given year, we shouldn't feel an obligation to round out the number."<ref name="5to10">{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2011/06/oscar-academy-builds-surprise-into-best-picture-race-140014/ |title=OSCAR SHOCKER! Academy Builds Surprise & Secrecy Into Best Picture Race: Now There Can Be Anywhere From 5 To 10 Nominees |author=Nikki Finke |date=June 14, 2011 |work=Deadline Hollywood |publisher=MMC |access-date=June 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723021022/http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/oscar-academy-builds-surprise-into-best-picture-race/ |archive-date=July 23, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> This system lasted until 2021, when the Academy reverted back to a set number of ten nominees from the [[94th Academy Awards]] onward.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/06/oscars-changes-rules-ten-best-picture-nominees-1234784121/|title=Oscars: Academy Sets Rules And Regulations For 94th Awards; 10 Best Picture Nominees, Plus Changes In Music And Sound Categories|author=Pete Hammond|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=June 30, 2021|access-date=January 13, 2021|archive-date=June 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630180725/https://deadline.com/2021/06/oscars-changes-rules-ten-best-picture-nominees-1234784121/|url-status=live}}</ref>