Front runners for the Best Picture nominations are Golden Globe nominees The King's Speech and The Social Network. Animated films like Despicable Me and Toy Story 3 are also considered for the category. Also included in the list are Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Inception.
The criteria for qualification according to AMPAS include "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." And movies that, say, appear in a film festival rather than at a movie theater are not eligible for an Academy Award "in any category."
