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.
