Despite rumors to the contrary, the 93rd Academy Awards have not been canceled, but a delay has been ordered. This afternoon the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors announced the 2021 Oscars will no longer take place on February 28, 2021. Instead, the ceremony will be telecast on ABC on April 25, 2021, almost two months later.
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AMPAS also revealed the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will open on April 30, 2021. It was previously scheduled to debut this December.
In a statement from the Academy, Academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson noted, “For over a century, movies have played an important role in comforting, inspiring, and entertaining us during the darkest of times. They certainly have this year. Our hope, in extending the eligibility period and our Awards date, is to provide the flexibility filmmakers need to finish and release their films without being penalized for something beyond anyone’s control. This coming Oscars and the opening of our new museum will mark an historic moment, gathering movie fans around the world to unite through cinema.”
Karey Burke, president of ABC added, “We find ourselves in uncharted territory this year and will continue to work with our partners at the Academy to ensure next year’s show is a safe and celebratory event that also captures the excitement of the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.”
AMPAS has also changed 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.
The 2022 Academy Awards were scheduled to take place on Feb. 22, 2022, but the Academy has opened the door for a new date.
The Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards presentation, which was scheduled for a June 20, 2020 ceremony in Beverly Hills, has been postponed to a later date still to be determined.
The Academy’s Governors Awards, an annual celebration held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood, will not take place this fall. Additional information about the ceremony and selection of honorees will be provided at a later date.
Academy key dates for the 2020/2021 Oscar season are as follows:
| 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 Oscar | Sunday, April 25, 2021 |
| Museum Public Opening | Friday, April 30, 2021 |
The new date means the Oscars will now take place over 14 months after the 2020 ceremony which was held unusually early on February 9, 2020. It also means the HFPA will likely move the Golden Globes and major guild honors such as the SAG Awards, DGA Awards and Independent Spirit Awards, among others, will find new dates as well. It’s unclear if the Grammy Awards will also move, but we’d bet against it.
Last week, the Academy announced that new diversity standards would be put into effect for the Oscars and that in 2022, it would permanently move to 10 Best Picture nominees.