The Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the people behind the Academy Awards® ceremony each spring, has announced that there will be twice as many nominees for Best Picture than before. President Sid Ganis announced at a press conference today in Beverly Hills, California, that there will be ten movies vying for the prestigious Best Picture Oscar® when the ceremony is held on March 7, 2010.

"After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year," said Ganis. "The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one Best Picture winner – but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009."

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. The Oscar ceremony honoring movies for 2009 will be held at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, California, and will be televised live by on ABC.