The 2021 Oscars may be postponed, according to Variety.
The 93rd Academy Awards are meant to be taking place on 28 February next year, but several anonymous sources are indicating the ceremony might be moved.
AMPAS is looking at postponing next year’s #Oscars amid the COVID-19 crisis https://t.co/504ntLWnZG pic.twitter.com/ulHzirfeW2
— Variety (@Variety) May 19, 2020
Rules around the theatrical runs that determine eligibility have already been relaxed for next year because of the shut-down of cinemas across the US.
A press release from the Oscars’ Board of Governors last month stated: “for the 93rd Awards year only, films that had a previously planned theatrical release but are initially made available on a commercial streaming or VOD service may qualify in the Best Picture, general entry and specialty categories for the 93rd Academy Awards”. Other criteria also have to be met.
The Academy will decide when to end the change once US cinemas reopen. They will also then expand the number of areas where films can have their Oscar-qualifying theatrical runs to include venues in the City of New York; the Bay Area; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; and Atlanta, Georgia.