A total of 306 feature films are eligible for consideration for the 80th annual Academy Awards' top honor for best picture, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday.

Brandon Heiman of PriceWaterhouseCoopers pushes a mail cart containing envelopes with the nomination ballots for the 80th Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills, California Dec. 26, 2007. At right is a bronze prototype which was the first test casting of the statuette that would eventually become the world famous "Oscar" statuette. The Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 22, 2008 from Beverly Hills and the Academy Awards ceremony will be held in Hollywood Feb. 24.

To be eligible for Oscar consideration, films have until midnight, Dec. 31, to open in a commercial movie theater in Los Angeles County and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days, the Beverly Hills-based academy said.

Under Oscar rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format.

Feature films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category.

The 80th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Jan. 22 and the awards show is scheduled for Feb. 24 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2007)