Academy postpones 2021 Oscars, will announce new diversity rules

This week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the Oscars ceremony will be postponed until April 2021, and the eligibility requirement for films has been extended until February 28, 2021.

This change could have a big effect on ad revenue for ABC, which regularly hosts the Oscars. It may also cause studios to change films’ release windows. Instead of releasing a blockbuster in December to build momentum ahead of awards season, studios could opt to release it in January or February.

This marks the fourth time the Oscars ceremony has been postponed. It was previously delayed following the LA flooding in 1938, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, and the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagain in 1981.

Also, the Academy will announce new inclusion requirements as it undergoes another round of self-examination. A task force will determine the new rules, which will be announced this July and will take effect starting in 2022. In a statement, CEO Dawn Hudson said that the Academy “will amend — and continue to examine — our rules and procedures to ensure that all voices are heard and celebrated.”