Are Taylor Swift and Beyoncé’s concert films eligible for Oscars?

Oscar ceremony with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift? What television producer wouldn’t want two of the biggest names in entertainment to grace the red carpet at the 96th Academy Awards? But despite two upcoming megastar concert films—Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and Renaissance: A Beyoncé Film—neither are eligible to bid or compete for an Academy Award nomination for documentary or any technical category. according to current guidelines.

According to the Academy’s bylaws, the Documentary Film Division defines a documentary film as “a theatrically released non-fiction film creatively addressing cultural, artistic, historical, social, scientific, economic or other topics. It may be photographed in real time or may use partial reconstruction, video footage, stills, animation, stop-motion or other techniques, as long as the emphasis is on fact rather than fiction.”

Read: Diversity Awards for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.

The Special Rules section, Part B, states: “Works that are essentially promotional or educational are not eligible for entry into the competition, as are works that are essentially unfiltered recordings of performances.”

Additionally, the deadline to digitally upload a documentary for consideration was Monday, October 2, and neither film reportedly made it.

This isn’t the first time music icons have released behind-the-scenes footage of their tour in long form and have won quite a few awards. Madonna: Truth or Dare, which follows the artist during her controversial Blond Ambition tour in 1990, premiered out of competition at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival and was later released in limited release. Despite a third place mention by the National Society of Film Critics, it was ultimately considered a contender for that year’s Television Documentary.

Of course, numerous musical docs like Questlove’s “Summer of Soul (…or When the Revolution Couldn’t Be Televised)” have found their way onto the Oscars podium. The film uses footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which received scant coverage despite performers such as Gladys Knight and Nina Simone. But it is also replete with commentary from historians and related opinions on the subject.

Even film versions of Broadway productions such as “Hamilton” could not fall under the changed COVID rules.

Swift’s concert film documents the 12-time Grammy winner’s record-breaking stadium tour, which grossed more than $2 billion.

Beyoncé’s film may be more of a gray area regarding eligibility, as in addition to her musical performances, it will feature footage of the 32-time Grammy winner rehearsing with her daughter and backup dancer Blue Ivy Carter, as well as footage of other members families. including Jay-Z and her twins Rumi and Sir.

Beyoncé is already nominated for an Oscar for co-writing the 2021 King Richard original song “Be Alive” with Dixon. Her musical films such as Lemonade (2016) and Homecoming: A Beyoncé Film (2019) have been nominated for several Primetime Emmy Awards.

Swift has had close brushes with the Oscars before, most recently with two of her 2022 projects — the short film It’s Too Good, which she directed, and the original song “Caroline” from the Sony Pictures drama adaptation Where. The crayfish are singing.” The latter made the initial shortlist of 15 songs, but did not receive a nomination.

Advance ticket sales for Swift’s Eras Tour have already exceeded $100 million worldwide. On its first day of pre-sales, Beyoncé’s film reportedly grossed an estimated $6 million to $7 million, in line with blockbusters like Avatar: The Way of Water and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. Part 3″.

Even though the Oscars don’t seem to bite, another shot at the Grammys is likely to be in the cards in the Best Musical Film category, but at the 2025 ceremony due to eligibility and submission periods applications. I expect both films to be considered for Emmys in the next awards cycle.

Beyoncé and Swift are providing a lifeline to movie theater chains like AMC, Regal and Cinemark, which are still struggling to get back on track after the pandemic and Hollywood strikes have crippled the industry.

The “Eras Tour” opens on Friday, and the “Renaissance” is scheduled for December 1st.