- 2013 onwards
- Directed by a male auteur
- Released from September to November in the US
- Premiered no earlier than the Venice Film Festival
- At least 4 Academy Award nominations [Ad Astra pending]
- Previously Academy Award nominated lead actor
- Serious, not comedic
- At least a score of 80 on Rotten Tomatoes & Metacritic [Interstellar excluded, but that's still 70+ on both]
- Academy Awards nominations for Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, & Best Production Design [Ad Astra pending]
- Academy Award Nomination for Best Visual Effects [Arrival excluded, Ad Astra pending] resulting in a win the vast majority of the time [4/5 thus far]