Next year’s Oscars ceremony will now be held in April instead of February, in the latest ripple effect of the coronavirus crisis on the entertainment industry.
At one time, it looked as though the ceremony, which is typically held in late February or early March, was set to go on as planned.
However, as the pandemic continues to jeopardise long-term plans and major events, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, announced on Monday that it would postpone the 2021 ceremony from its scheduled date of 28 February.
Instead, it will now take place on 25 April.
The Academy is also extending the eligibility period for films past 31 December, until 28 February. It’s unclear what effect this will have, given that traditionally, many of the films that end up receiving Oscar nominations tend to come out towards the end of the year anyway.
“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 penalised for something beyond anyone’s control,” Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement.
The Academy, which has been experimenting with changes to the Oscars’ date and format amid years of flagging ratings for the show, also stressed that the “exceptional changes” were purely due to the coronavirus crisis, and “the intent going forward is to ultimately return to awarding excellence for films released in the January-December calendar year”.
In addition to shifting the schedule for the awards, the Academy also pushed the opening date for its long-awaited museum in Los Angeles, from 14 December to 30 April.
The Academy had already changed this year’s Oscars eligibility requirements to temporarily allow films without a theatrical release to compete — a step they’ve long resisted in previous years.
Since the pandemic shut down cinemas throughout much of the world, the vast majority of films have been released directly on streaming platforms or as on-demand rentals/purchases for moviegoers to watch at home.
Hollywood executives have been grappling with how to map out the rest of the year’s big film releases, as public health experts have warned that cinemas and other large-scale gathering places will likely remain unsafe for the foreseeable future. Even if cinemas reopen, it’s likely many film fans may not feel safe returning right away.
Industry officials initially seemed to be pinning their hopes on July, lining up major releases like Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and Disney’s live-action Mulan remake.
But on Friday, Warner Bros postponed the release of Tenet by two weeks, to 31 July, and moved Wonder Woman: 1984 from August to October.
As for the entertainment industry’s other major awards shows, this year’s Tonys, normally held in June, were postponed indefinitely, since all Broadway shows went dark in March.
US television’s biggest night, the Emmys, is still scheduled for 20 September. But as that date approaches, it seems increasingly likely that the ceremony will be held remotely, as is the case for the upcoming UK TV Baftas.