DGA Awards to Require Exclusive Theatrical Release to Qualify for 2022 Awards

The Director’s Guild of America announced on Tuesday it’s eligibility window and release requirements for the 2022 awards season. Among those, the DGA announced that to be eligible for the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film Award, films released after Jun 15th 2021 must have an exclusive seven-day theatrical run before hitting any other platform (such as streaming or premium video on demand).

This could mean films that currently have a simultaneous release with a streaming platform could be in hot water, such as the upcoming summer blockbuster Black Widow, and the much anticipated Denis Villeneuve awards contender Dune, which are to be released on Disney+ and HBO Max, respectively.

The team behind Dune, including director Denis Villeneuve and production company Legendary Pictures, have already expressed their disdain to release the mega sci-fi on the streaming service. Villeneuve spoke with Variety, saying that Dune won’t be financially successful, along with feeling it hinders the film’s artistic integrity. Dune star Timothee Chalamet seemingly stood in support of Legendary when he wore a hoodie with the production’s logo after he appeared on SNL, seemingly in support of the smaller production company’s desire to keep the film to theatrical release only.

We’ve already seen how In The Heights was potentially hurt by its release on HBO Max, could this further motivate Warner Bros to push for a theatrical only release on Villeneuve’s massive awards contender?

The 2022 DGA Awards are currently scheduled to take place on March 12th, 2022, with no date yet for when nominations will be announced.