The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences just announced that the 93rd Academy Awards—originally scheduled to take place on February 28, 2021—will be postponed by two months, to April 25, 2021.
In addition to a change of date, the Academy also announced an extended eligibility window. To qualify for nominations, films will have had to have been released between January 1, 2020 and February 21, 2021.
"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,” said Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson in an official statement. "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."
The above-mentioned Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which was previously set to open on December 14, 2020, will now be open to the public on April 30, 2021, a few days after the awards ceremony.
The news reflects a wider postponement trend within Hollywood: Wonder Woman 1984, Tenet, The Matrix 4 and other big-budget films set to drop in theaters this summer have been pushed back.
As for what the actual Oscars ceremony will even look like, that has yet to be determined. Will we be treated to the very first virtual Academy Awards night? We shall see.