How The Oscars Work: From Nominations to Best Picture Voting

[@DanMurrellMovies]

Well, “there’s always one,” as they say. And I messed up by saying Honeyland was the only movie to be nominated for both Best Documentary and Best International Film. It’s also happened the last two years, and Flee was a great movie that I loved last year. My only excuse (and that’s what it is) is that I was juggling A LOT of research and I just flat out got it wrong. Now my penance is to see the top rated comments highlight my only big mistake (I think) in this video. As always, I do my best but I still mess up.

[@lyoopalamthoko4492]

Hi Dan why does the academy continue to ignore stunt actors?

[@nekonyx]

Great work regardless Dan!

[@benzaiten933]

nonetheless this video was very informative, accessible and put together greatly. I especially enjoyed your demonstration of the best picture process, made it easy to understand but also raised the question whether or not that's actually the best way to do it. but as you've said, this is what we've got. thanks for your hard work on this!

[@ipdeboer]

Not a problem man

[@potterpotty01]

some things slip through the cracks, no worries. i loved Flee a fantastic movie.

[@FTNChicken]

I love how the randomizer actually gave Dan the most perfect example of how ranked choice voting can affect the final results

[@benzaiten933]

it'd be hilarious if this was how it'll play out IRL.

[@jfess1911]

@@benzaiten933 That would drive the conspiracy theorist crazy! There is no way that they would believe the results. Now I really, really want this to happen!

[@hothotheat3000]

And that’s why I will not believe that EEAAO has it until they open the envelope.

[@juanburgos8176]

@@hothotheat3000 one can dream.

[@davidfadul6239]

Hey Dan, just wanted to show some appreciation for your ranked choice voting demonstration. It looks like it took a lot of work, but it paid off! Really love how you did it. Thanks for this video 😊

[@butchjohnson9736]

There is probably an excel sheet, but yeah, great job showing how the system works and it looks like a lot of work on the entire video.

[@benzaiten933]

this demonstration made it so much easier to understand than just the explanation!

[@DanMurrellMovies]

@Butch Johnson It’s a full custom graphic that I built in Photoshop, not an Excel spreadsheet! That sequence probably took the most work in the whole video.

[@MrKangorilla]

I thought it stacked up like a combo bonus so if you had Elvis at fifth but your first 4 got eliminated, Elvis would get a 5x multiplier on your ballot lol. Thinking about it for more than a second told me that that was needless complication for no reason

[@hothotheat3000]

Legit. That demo made this so much easier to understand.

[@hothotheat3000]

I wish they’d release the full results. I’d love to know how close the votes are.

[@800Ms-k6n]

They once did a recount for Saving Private Ryan vs Shakespeare In Love and Crash vs Brokeback Mountain, two of the most controversial Best Picture win ever and the result were if it had given a second chance (now that Weinstein is in jail of course), Saving Private Ryan and Brokeback Mountain would've won

[@ezwar99]

6:04 "Flee" was also nominated in both the "Best Documentary Feature" and "Best International Feature Film" categories. The movie was also nominated for "Best Animated Feature Film".

[@ellicel]

Well now I have an answer for every time I have smacked my forehead in angst, exclaiming, "How the heck did THAT win an Oscar?!" Thanks for adding such context and behind-the-scenes details, Dan!

[@TheIndSin]

Dan, this might be one of the best videos you have ever made. Not just for the insight and the indepth knowledge but the mock ballot and the images and soundbites used throughout the video (your editing skills remain on point!) make it a really enjoyable ride rather than someone just reading out some rules. Loved this!

[@markdaly1903]

For Ireland An Cailin cuins entry is historic as its the first ever Irish language film to be nominated

[@iamokayiswear]

Loved the snark and wit embued throughout the video. Took me by surprise, as I'm used to Charts' pacing, but it was a pleasant surprise.

[@jplawman1938]

Thank you Dan for your incredible hard work putting that video together. I’ve read other explanations about Academy voting but never as thorough and clear as your discussion. 👍🏼

[@RandomRandomMan]

'Honeyland' is not the only film nominated for both the Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature Film categories. 'Collective' from Romania scored noms in both places the following year and last year 'Flee' also landed nods in those categories as well as Best Animated Feature Film.

[@DanMurrellMovies]

That moment when you realize you should have said “first” and not “only.” Mistake on my part, 100%. There was bound to be one.

[@metalandmagi6486]

Thank you so much for this Dan! I had no idea there was even a category for best musical. Your dedication to researching the industry is truly unparalleled, even if you make some small mistakes sometimes. You're only human. We all love you and your videos anyway.

[@djwarrior5150]

INCREDIBLE to find out the secret category that's never been implemented, that's insane to me. I just found out about the rare ties in Oscar history, if you make a part 2 would love to hear your thoughts and research on that, and if you think it could happen again in our lifetime. Great work!

[@calapai7]

A great sequel to this video would be everything that goes into lobbying and campaigning for Oscars and why snubs are so frequent. Plus the relationship or lack of one between different awards shows.

[@thevikingbear2343]

Man, that race between Elvis and Women Talking was nail biting and had all the stages of suspense of an Eurovision live vote counting. Only thing missing was the anticipation music and individual voters on crazy outfits. If the Oscars for Best Picture were counted live like Eurovision, as you showed, more people would see them live.

[@tammygant4216]

Fascinating and enlightening! Thanks for taking the time to explain this. I especially liked the fake ballots--that helped me to better understand the process. I'm not much of an awards show fan (I've never seen one), but I'm always interested in behind the scenes stuff! (PS: I'd watch a part two--but I don't have any ideas or suggestions for what to include--but if you post it, I'll watch it)

[@johncra8982]

this is going to become your most watched video Dan, good job making it so thorough and easy to follow, what with all the explanations, examples, and visuals 👏

[@clarissa182]

What a fantastic video, Dan! The ranked choice demonstration was amazing. I didn't know that's how the Best Picture was selected that way. It really is fascinating.

[@RahulJain777]

this video shows how great of a researcher is Dan, Amazing Work Brother

[@Animaxx010]

Dan, gotta hand it to you man. Love this video, and the work you put into it. Your love for movies is why I love this channel. Thanks!

[@TheClockchan]

Wow! I’m blown away at how you managed to present the info in such a digestible way! I really appreciate the time you put into this. Thanks, Dan!!

[@samwest4505]

This is fantastic! Very well made, easy to understand, and explains everything I ever wanted to know about The Oscars (and a bit more). Great job Dan!

[@kingralph627]

Thanks for for mentioning my movie Dan! Definitely should have gotten a nom that year! signed King Ralph of England

[@NonaPrince]

What a great video! Always wanted to know the process and there is no other video which does it so comprehensively. Amazing Dan, good job!

[@andrewc3236]

Dan this video is so sensational. Informative, funny, and done with impeccable editing and film clips! I'm sending this to all my friends.

[@ThatRockMetalGuy]

6:38 Hey, what with the jab at Finland? Who needs Spielberg when we already have Renny Harlin 😎😅

[@jdfromparis6230]

That was a great and very informative video. And this oscar ranked choice demonstration was awesome. I found myself rooting for some movies to stay in the race although I knew full well this was a mock up for demonstration purposes. Well done, sir, well done!

[@corybeale6764]

Great explainer vid, Dan. Also, "Ghost of David Bowie" absolutely killed me!

[@oldschoolabrahamhicks2742]

IKR LOL

[@JoshLange3D]

Great job on this Dan. Just FYI, "ranked choice voting" is also called "instant runoff voting" and is used in the European Parliamentary system. The advantage it has over the winner-take-all system we have in the States is that it ensures even the lesser-funded parties, such as the Green Party, are more assured of representation. These days it feels like the KZbinrs I subscribe to are all watching the same movies, so it's redundant to watch everyone's similar reviews, but the fact that you make videos like this helps set you apart.

[@msmilesftw]

FANTASTIC breakdown, Dan!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@simplyrowen]

Omg. What a convoluted voting system. I had no idea that this is how it was. Thank you for explaining with visuals. It made it easy to understand.

[@morallycorruptmaleficentti1194]

So thats why my bootlegs in the early 2000s had the "For your consideration" watermark throughout the movie

[@goatcheese4me]

Thank you for this video! The Best Picture example really hit it out of the park, explaining how this works and now I get why some of the "wtf" films win.

[@tigrezangel]

Thank you so, so much for explaining the voting system for the Oscars. I think it's very elaborate and complicated, but very interesting. I would ha a Fielday counting votes using that system.

[@JasmeenBraich]

This video was incredible! I never knew how the system worked until now and I've seen other videos trying to explain it. Thanks for your hard work in putting this together :)

[@TVandManga]

Absolutely brilliant video Dan! The Best Picture ballot simulation was great to see, it made the process clear! Thanks!

[@klausweasley]

Knowing about the nominations procedures and rules can explain a lot of the wacky WTF nominees and exclusions throughout the years.

[@MadCapJuggler]

I appreciate the work that went into this video

[@teruphoto]

Thanks for this nerd nirvana of info. Loved it and would love to see more Oscar trivia (e.g. the detail of directors of winning International Films not winning an award).

[@sflute123]

Dan thanks for all your time explaining the Oscars this year - voting, campaigning, etc. I really enjoy your channel and your insights!

[@marianne5055]

I think it would also be interesting to a deep dive on how movies are made - especially since a lot of people dont know the difference between sound editing and sound mixing (I know for the oscars its just one combine category now).

[@timgold577]

My mom actually won tickets on the radio for a sneak preview of King Ralph when I was a kid. Our whole family got to see it. As a 9 year old, I thought it was pretty fun. :)

[@branagain]

If there’s a casting branch then there should be a best casting Oscar as well as a best stunt Oscar.

[@TheFirefox]

Ranked choice ballot (also known as instant runoff balloting) is used in many countries/jurisdictions for actual elections. Here in Canada it’s commonly used for political party leadership campaigns.

[@sir.klunchis8557]

your videos are normaly over 25 mins. But they are so entertaining I allways watch them complete

[@pawacoteng]

Hi Dan - just to point out at 14:45 it's a clever way to smooth out the average votes. Rank 1-5 then 3 is 3x higher than 1. But if you rank 6-10, then 8 is only 1.3 x higher than 6.

[@Giovanni1798p]

I was anticipating a video like this for a while now

[@Ductos]

The only thing missing at the end was Dark Helmet from Spaceballs going "Everybody got that?" Wow, I didn't even know there was a category Best Musical and that they only call on it when it's needed. What a tidbit!

[@ZachBobBob]

As if there's a Best Musicals category and still no Best Stunts category. Also that gift bag thing is INSANE.

[@aftarsun]

Appreciate you providing all this info, Dan! Especially the effort to go through the ranked choice voting demo 👌🏼Excited for next Sunday!!

[@Planet_Yavin]

This is awesome! Thank you for all the incredible, and painstaking work you do.

[@guysimchony309]

Great video, I thought I knew everything there was to know about the Oscars but you actually shed light on some interesting behind the scenes processes

[@mooskanate]

I say go back to 5 Best Film Nominees and vote for the one you like best to win. Rank choice voting leads to voters trying to figure out what position to put their favorite film in. I've read many articles about this rank choice voting that say it's more important what you place in second or third place, than first. Speaking of that, here's a question: This video says that if a film got 50%+1 vote in first place it's immediately the winner and that it's highly unlikely ANY film would ever do that, so why would you put your favorite film in first place? It does require at least 1 first place vote to move on would be an answer, but not getting at least 1 vote in first place is also highly unlikely. One has to put something there. Or do you? Does a ballot count if you just ranked five films, say? Or if you didn't put a choice into first or any other position?

[@DanMurrellMovies]

Yes, a ballot counts if you rank fewer than 10. But if all your picks are eliminated, then it’s basically a wasted ballot. The Academy encourages voters to rank all the movies to ensure their vote is meaningful

[@spenserwalker4361]

This was a top notch video! Presented in such an easily digestible way while still being thoroughly informative!

[@moviereedviews]

That demonstration was really cool to see and very helpful!

[@marcosgin777]

These are the best kinda videos Dan you explain these things so well! Ty keep it up!

[@bigmoviefreak]

This is fantastic! Anytime someone asks me how the Oscars work, I’ll just direct them to this video! ❤

[@aloysiusmaina2625]

Dan, thank you 😊 for this great public service. 👏 I learnt a great deal. That ranking system is a head scratcher but I now see the sense in it.

[@Dunybrook]

Brilliant explanation of a very convoluted voting system. Thanks so much.

[@PoolRatz]

Just wanted to comment and genuinely say thank you to this amazing video, very educational and easy to follow. I can tell a ton of work went into this and it doesn’t go unnoticed! Great video Dan!

[@justanotherfrog]

they really should have used that Best Musical oscar for last year's Oscars considering how many musicals were released in 2021

[@benzaiten933]

as someone who loves musicals I'm looking forward to the year this Oscar will be invoked - c'mon Hollywood, you can do it!

[@DanMurrellMovies]

But were they original musicals? That’s the key. Annette is the only one I can think of that definitively meets the standards and would be of awards caliber. Maybe there’s one or two more. But the rest are stagings of existing musicals, which doesn’t count.

[@toddhollen]

I'd heard that that ranked voting system was bananas, but never really understood how it worked, so thank you for that great explanation. Though I guess with that many options for Best Picture I am not sure what a better way it would be. But then it does also explain why so many great movies have been snubbed and so many medicore movies have won. If your movie is changing challenging or ahead of it's time it's going to get a lot more 1 and 10 votes, but if it's safe or plays to what Academy voters already like, like Green Book or Crash or anything about how great movies are or about famous people from their childhoods, they might get a lot more 4s and 5s but that might be enough to win. I wonder if something like flipping the numbers, so your #1 choice would get 10 points, and then just adding up the points would give a better result. That way it would favor movies that had more #1 (10points) and #2 (9 points) rather than movies that were safely hiding in the middle. That just popped in my head so maybe it would have issues as well. It would be interesting for Dan to do a "If I ran the Oscars" video and maybe give some other voting options and the pros and cons to each.

[@DanMurrellMovies]

Crash, it should be noted, predated the ranked choice system. But I do think Green Book is very likely a case where the "safe choice" (lots of 2s and 3s) secured a win in a year of challenging nominees like Roma, BlacKkKlansman and The Favourite.

[@toddhollen]

@@DanMurrellMovies Oh I thought they had always done ranked voting. Now that you mention it I think you said that in the video and I just missed it. What did the do before? Just straight voting and whoever got the most votes won?

[@markziegler4568]

Thank you for all your informative videos Dan!

[@hans-sniekers-art]

I always love your content, definitely my favourite movie creator and critic, but this video is just amazing! As someone not from the USA and not previously into the Oscars, it's just fantastic to see such a well-made breakdown of the voting system!

[@patcurrie9888]

Dan thanks a bunch. I was shocked that Moonlight won, after La La Land won 6 Oscars. After the ceremony I found out about preferential ballots where haters ranked La La 9th. I had thought it was simple averages. Thanks for the example.

[@almartin7]

Love that you did this Dan!! Very thorough and insightful-have so much respect for you and your content! Keep it up!

[@zachreed3042]

Most underrated channel on KZbin! Great stuff 🎉

[@waywardmind]

Wow. The Best Picture procedure seems messy as hell. Thanks for the primer, Dan! Much appreciated.

[@richardpboo2018]

You're so cool, Dan. Love how clear you are. Congrats!

[@Suzanne_sf]

I think you should have a number randomizer pick the major winners and see how the results match up with the actual show. I'd be curious to see the results.🤔

[@benjiklotz6505]

As someone who takes Oscar prognosticating very seriously, this was an excellent video

[@daisyblossomflowerchild9702]

Thank you so much, Dan, for this excellent video. It genuinely made the process, which was a complete mystery to me before this video, understandable. I especially appreciate the example you gave at the end for the best picture. The graphics were clear, and your explanations as to how films were eliminated in each round and why the winner took the statue home was interesting. Thanks again. :)

[@yoshimitsu5537]

Thanks for the visual breakdown of how ranked choice for Best Picture works! Seems stupidly overcomplicated though. I like ranked choice for sure but once the lists come in from the voters each film should simply have it's position on each list tallied and the one who scores lowest (since first place is worth 1 and last place is worth 10) wins. Using Dan's example set: 93-Elvis 109-All Quiet on the Western Front 110-Avatar: The Way of Water 110-Women Talking 112-The Banshees of Inisherin 119-TAR 123-Top Gun: Maverick 124-Triangle of Sadness 128-Everything Everywhere All At Once Much clearer and simpler. Same ultimate result too.

[@me45116]

Great video Dan, really like to this kind of deep dives from you

[@JohnnyWednesday]

Great idea Dan - looking forward to this :D

[@chrisadams7000]

Excellent work, thanks for this Dan!

[@davidchiarion9971]

Very nice, Dan, thank you. If i may, on a personal note, i wish everything in this video went down just a tiny bit slower, to soak up more comfortably all the information. Still, admirable work, as usual.

[@alexfragac]

Thank you so much for this video, Dan! So insightful and well explained!

[@oldschoolabrahamhicks2742]

WOWWWWWWWW What an amazing deep dive. Thank you for this. Mind blowing the work you put in and your ability to explain! x

[@Roxanneiscute]

This was so good. Thank you for explaining this. If you are looking for ideas for future long-form videos, I have had some questions about movie theaters I've had trouble finding answers to. For example, if a theater is part of a chain, does the individual theater decide what movies they will get, for how many screens, and for how many weeks, or is that decided by the corporate headquarters for each theater? Who decides if they take part in things like Fathom Events? What is the breakdown of how much money per showing a theater gets versus the studio? And a related box office question: Does the box office take into account the different prices for different theaters and showtimes (i.e., matinee vs evening) or just multiply number of tickets by a standard average price? As an example, if we have two theaters in town, and theater A has a $5.35 matinee rate and $8.50 evening show, and theater B has a $9.00 matinee and a $12.25 evening show, and each sold one ticket, would the box office be the actual prices charged ($5.35 + $8.50 + $9.00 + $12.25 = $35.10) or is the box office just four tickets were sold in market X, average ticket price there is $9.00, so it made $36.00? Maybe that's too specialized a topic, but I like your detail, so if anyone would do it on KZbin, you're probably the guy. Thanks again for a great video!

[@kal_ed1175]

Love this stuff! Thank you for your service. Keep it up!

[@personwithcommonname]

Dan! Thanks so much for, well, alll of this! I've been watching you for a while and have gotten what I thought was a full idea of how it worked. The details though make it all work clearly, as you show here. In particular your step-by-step 21 ballot example perfectly showed how the ranked voting works. Enlightening, thank you sir!

[@kingofthesharks]

Watched this nearly twice already, it's one of your best and most informative videos ever dude! Thanks for going thru all that effort, especially with the ranked choice demo and the smartly placed film clips pulled to illustrate what you happened to be talking about. I think the only thing missing (or I might've stupidly missed) in the 'nomination procedures' section is the big one - Best Picture. Sorry if it's obvious to others, but I'm guessing ALL the branches (9500 members) combine to select the 10 nominees each year via ranked choice? Where does the initial big list come from then, and how big does it get considering everything seems to be eligible from live-action thru animation. Also, what about international films who've made the list like All Quiet & Drive My Car? Would RRR be eligible for BP for example, if the producers submitted it themselves, or does it still have to be submitted by 'the country' of India? Speaking of eligibility, do you know if documentaries or short films are eligible for the broad definition of "Best Picture?" If there are prior examples in years past I apologize, I only know of animated films and international films that've made the BP list haha Though it's entirely possible everything is eligible but nobody has ever voted for them.

[@commandZee]

Excellent work Dan, thanks for the effort!

[@abenicks]

Can’t wait to tuck in! Love ur deep dive well researched videos!

[@hamilpatel4025]

omg, thank you for this, much needed cuz I wasn't going to google this to just get even more confused.

[@bluenoahx]

Thanks, Dan. For all the hard works and education ...

[@_yacko_]

Very well explained. Thanks!

[@menachtv6522]

Honeyland is not only Movie to be nominated for Best international Film and Best Documentary Feature. Collective in 2020 and Flee in 2022 were both nominated in that category. Flee is also was first movie to be nominated In Animated, Best Documentary and Best International FIlm

[@DanMurrellMovies]

Please see my pinned comment and multiple others as well.

[@michelek5819]

This is going to help me fill out my at-home Oscars ballot, thank you Dan

[@michaelangelo2192]

I don't like that every academy member can vote on the 'best animated' category rather than just animated specialists. Ever since they introduced that rule, less unique animated films have been nominated... less inspired picks.

[@travisspazz1624]

Be the most agreeable movie. That's how stuff like Coda and Shape of Water won best picture.

[@heatheraggus7501]

I call it The Ron Howard principle

[@johannmwanga6130]

Great video man!!! PLEASE PLEASE may the Oscars tonight have the same scenario for Best Picture, I want Elvis to win sooooo bad

[@dammifaj]

Wow, this was a very lovely and informative video. Thank you so much!

[@dwokidol7354]

I believe the reason the documentaries are rated 6-10 is because on the old 0-10 system some voters were giving 10s to the 5 they wanted to get in and 0 to everything else regardless of how much they actually liked it. This group of voters then had an outsized effect on the nominations because of this strategy. The academy did an audit in the 90s and changed the ratings to 6-10, which reduces the impact of those who vote like that so that the result is more indicative of the entire branch

[@tomiwaaina5499]

I love this video! One question Dan... how dies the academy know the voter has watched all the movies (for the votes where they have to)?. Is it honor system? Do they check the online portal etc

[@RaymondHng]

19:32 The value of the gifts are also taxable income according to IRS rules.

[@jimshmee]

What a fantastic video! You're the best Dan 👏

[@AkiVainio]

Sorry, Dan, we Finns already figured that if we want an Oscar, we can just join the Swedes (see, Fanny och Alexander 1982, which has a Finnish producer).

[@acewingate6993]

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Daft Punk, and Beyoncé writing a music sounds like a dream come true for my black gay self haha 😊