Jun 15, 2020

Due to the coronavirus, the 2021 Oscar will be postponed at a later date

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this morning that the 93rd Oscars ceremony will move to Sunday, April 25, 2021, as a result of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. The awards had originally been scheduled for February 28, 2021.

The new dates have to potential to upend a lot of other end-of-year film awards like the Golden Globes and the Annies since so much of the awards season revolves around the Oscar dates. It remains to be seen how other awards will respond to the Academy date changes.

Dates also have shifted for the Academy Awards eligibility period and submission deadlines. The eligibility period for Academy Awards consideration has been extended beyond the standard December 31 deadline: a feature film must now have a qualifying release date between January 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021. The submission deadline for specialty categories (animated feature film, documentary feature, documentary short subject, international feature film, animated short film, live-action short film) is December 1, 2020. The submission deadline for general entry categories, including best picture, original score and original song, is now January 15, 2021.

Here are the new Academy key dates for the 2020/2021 Oscar season: Preliminary voting begins: Monday, February 1, 2021 Preliminary voting ends: Friday, February 5, 2021 Oscar Shortlists Announcement: Tuesday, February 9, 2021 Nominations voting begins: Friday, March 5, 2021 Nominations voting ends: Wednesday, March 10, 2021 Oscar Nominations Announcement: Monday, March 15, 2021 Oscar Nominees Luncheon: Thursday April 15, 2021 Finals voting begins: Thursday April 15, 2021 Museum Gala: Saturday, April 17, 2021 Finals voting ends: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 Oscars ceremony: Sunday, April 25, 2021

Coinciding with the Oscars celebration, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, initially scheduled to open to the public on December 14, 2020, will now open on April 30, 2021, also as a result of the health crisis. The first major show at the museum will be a retrospective of animation director Hayao Miyazaki, the first major exhibition of his work presented in the United States.