Kiss the Future: Why was Ben Affleck, Matt Damon’s movie, disqualified from Oscars 2025? Check the rules

The documentary Kiss the Future, produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, has been critically acclaimed and won multiple awards this year. However, the movie faced a setback after its nomination was rejected from the prestigious Oscar Awards 2025.

The movie makers plea to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences rejected the movie makers' plea to reconsider their decision to reject the documentary’s nomination, reported Deadline on Monday. The governing body of the awards rejected the documentary after it failed to meet technical criteria related to its theatrical release.

Why did ‘Kiss the Future’ fail to qualify Oscar 2024 nomination?

According to Deadline, all the films nominated for the Oscars need to have a wide release in a specific number of theatres in the US. However, the movie ‘Kiss the Future’ failed to meet the specific criteria associated with the frequency of the movie’s show in a day, said Deadline in its report.

Challenging the fixed criteria of ‘three screenings at a theatre in a day’, the producers wrote in their plea that the film was screened multiple times at numerous international film festivals and was released theatrically by AMC for a two-week run in 139 theatres across all the major markets in the US.

“In some theatres, the film screened three times daily, but… the programmers (AMC) neglected to do a three-times daily screening within New York or Los Angeles,” mentioned the producers in the letter, as reported by Deadline. The film producers have also criticised the Acadmy’s ruling over criteria which they say was misinterpreted.

Academy’s response to Kiss the Future producers’ appeal

The producers-Damon, Affleck and Sarah Anthony, in their appeal, had argued about the movie’s wide release. In their plea, it was mentioned that the movie was released in 139 AMC cinemas including Los Angeles and New York.

They also said that the wide release should have made the movie eligible for Oscars 2025 qualification.
Responding to the moviemakers’ appeal, the Academy wrote back, “ “The Documentary Branch Executive Committee has reviewed the appeal for KISS THE FUTURE. We regret to inform you that the appeal has been denied, and the film was deemed ineligible. While we know this news is disappointing, we assure you that the situation was thoroughly discussed and evaluated. These difficult decisions are not taken lightly by the Committee, but the process is necessary to be fair and consistent with all entries.”