LOS ANGELES , California ( CNN ) -- The number of movies nominated for the best picture Oscar will double next year , a move apparently aimed at bolstering sagging ratings for the Academy Awards broadcast . Danny Boyle exults in an Oscar win for `` Slumdog Millionaire '' earlier this year . `` Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going allow academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories , but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize , '' Sid Ganis , president of the Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , said . Doubling the nominations would make it more likely a viewer 's favorite movie is in the running for the top honor , which may make them want to watch the show , said Steve Pond , author of `` The Big Show : High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards . '' `` This clearly is a reaction to declining ratings , '' Pond said . `` Even though this last show the ratings were up ... over the last 10 years or so the ratings have been down . '' Oscar producers realized they `` can juice the show up all you want , but people watch the Oscars when there are movies competing that they have an interest in , '' Pond said . The best picture nominations often consist of movies that `` the vast majority of people have not seen , '' he said . The problem `` came to a head with 'The Dark Knight , ' `` which sold more than $ 1 billion in tickets worldwide , but was snubbed by the academy in the best picture category last year , he said . The Batman sequel won best movie at the MTV Movie Awards and was chosen favorite movie by the People 's Choice Awards . It also made many critics ' top 10 lists . If the nomination field had been expanded last year , the film might have made the best picture list , `` which clearly would have been some kind of bump in the ratings , '' Pond said . This would also counter the impression among TV viewers that the awards show is `` for movie snobs who do n't like the movies I like , '' he said . The decision to double the number of features films nominated is a return to the way the Oscars were awarded in its early decades , when as many as 12 movies were considered in the field of finalists , Ganis said . `` 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 , '' Ganis said . `` 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 . '' Nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards will be announced on February 2 , 2010 . The awards show is set for March 7 at Hollywood 's Kodak Theatre . A best picture nomination often serves as a marketing boost for films , driving DVD sales for those films no longer in theaters .
NEW : Nominating more films `` a reaction to declining ratings , '' says expert . Academy Awards to nominate 10 best picture possibilities next year . Academy has been nominating just five films for more than six decades . `` The Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots , '' says its president .