Oscars postponed by 2 months due to Covid-19, to be awarded on April 25

For the fourth time in its history, the Oscars are being postponed. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the ABC Television Network said Monday that the 93rd Academy Awards will now be held April 25, 2021, eight weeks later than originally planned because of the pandemic's effects on the movie industry.

The Academy's Board of Governors also decided to extend the eligibility window beyond the calendar year to Feb. 28, 2021, for feature films, and delay the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures from December until April 30, 2021.

"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, said Academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson in a joint statement.

Karey Burke, the president of ABC Entertainment, 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."

The film academy has been grappling with how to handle the pandemic's near shutdown of the theatrical exhibition and film production and festival business since mid-March. With theaters shuttered, release dates pushed and major festivals like Cannes canceled, the academy in April made the unprecedented decision to allow films that did not have a theatrical run to be eligible for the awards but only for one year.

"This coming Oscars and the opening of our new museum will mark a historic moment, gathering movie fans around the world to unite through cinema," the statement read.

Laura Dern with the award for Supporting Actress for her performance in Marriage Story.

 

CNN reported that the last time the Oscars were postponed was in 1981 when the ceremony was delayed 24 hours because of an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

The Academy also announced that the Governors Awards gala, which was to take place in fall, has been postponed to a later, unspecified date. The December opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures was pushed to April to coincide with the Oscars.

The organisation has also recently release date eligibility rules. A feature film must now have a qualifying release date between January 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021.

The submission deadline for speciality categories (animated feature film, documentary feature, documentary short subject, international feature film, animated short film and 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.