On Monday, April 21, The Academy’s Board of Governors launched a sweeping checklist of their newly authorized awards guidelines and marketing campaign promotional laws for the 98th Academy Awards set for Sunday, March 15, 2026.
One of many extra fascinating features of the brand new guidelines is what number of immediately deal with the a number of scandals swirling round final yr’s Oscar marketing campaign. As an example, in response to all of the claims of Greatest Image nominees from “The Brutalist” to “A Full Unknown” utilizing some kind generative synthetic intelligence, the Academy’s Science and Expertise Council has authorized new eligibility language that reads: “With regard to Generative Synthetic Intelligence and different digital instruments used within the making of the movie, the instruments neither assist nor hurt the possibilities of attaining a nomination. The Academy and every department will choose the achievement, considering the diploma to which a human was on the coronary heart of the artistic authorship when selecting which film to award.”
Equally, in what looks like an allusion to the Greatest Image nominees announcement having so many “Nominees to be decided” that the Academy made a t-shirt to tout it, there may be now a rule for movies launched from January 1, 2025, via June 30, 2025, to have to indicate proof of submission for Producers Guild of America (PGA) mark certification or awards-only dedication no later than September 10, 2025. For movies launched from July 1, 2025, via December 31, 2025, producers should present proof of submission to the PGA no later than November 13, 2025.
Lastly, in consideration of how current contenders like “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” had been submitted by the identical nation their dissident filmmakers took asylum in, the Greatest Worldwide Characteristic Movie class has up to date the eligibility requirement relating to artistic management to be able to be inclusive of filmmakers with refugee or asylum standing. The brand new wording is as follows: “The submitting nation should affirm that artistic management of the movie was largely within the arms of residents, residents, or people with refugee or asylum standing within the submitting nation.”
On the facet of marketing campaign promotional laws adjustments, a brand new rule that public communications (together with any social media posts, reposts, shares, and feedback) might not disparage the strategies utilized in or subject material of any movement image, goes hand in hand with the aforementioned AI strategies dialog that sprouted up this previous awards season.
In the meantime, the “subject material” a part of the rule is extra evergreen, and not going a direct response to among the flack a movie like “Emilia Pérez” obtained. The final line of the rule says any Academy member, movement image firm, or particular person immediately related to an eligible movement image discovered to be in violation will probably be topic to penalization.
As for the much less referential guidelines and laws, the Greatest Animated Brief Movie is now out there for all Academy members to decide into voting for, so long as they see all 15 movies on the shortlist. Talking of shortlists, there’ll now be one for Greatest Cinematography that includes 10 to twenty movies decided within the preliminary spherical of voting.
The brand new Achievement in Casting class can even be a part of the preliminary spherical of voting, the place a shortlist of 10 movies will probably be decided. The class can even have a bake-off, much like the Make-up and Hairstyling, Sound, and Visible Results nominees, the place Casting Administrators Department members will probably be invited to view a presentation of the shortlisted achievements, together with a Q&A with the designated nominees.
Lastly, the Music classes submission deadlines have additionally been break up now, with Greatest Authentic Tune having a deadline of Wednesday, October 15, 2025, 5 p.m. PT, and Greatest Authentic Rating having a deadline of Monday, November 3, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT. And on the marketing campaign laws facet, Oscar-qualifying movie festivals can now have entry to authorized mailing homes to share details about competition programming with Academy members.
And if it wasn’t clear to members earlier than, the Academy has made a definitive procedural change, telling them that they have to now watch all nominated movies in every class to be eligible to vote within the closing spherical for the Oscars. All designated nominees can even be included on the ultimate poll.
The 98th Oscars will air dwell on ABC on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
See the most recent submission deadlines and extra key dates, together with voting intervals, for the 98th Academy Awards under:
Thursday, August 14, 2025: First submission deadline for Animated Brief Movie, Documentary Characteristic Movie, Documentary Brief Movie, and Stay Motion Brief Movie classes
Wednesday, September 10, 2025: First submission deadline for Normal Entry classes, Animated Characteristic Movie, Greatest Image, and RAISE kind
Wednesday, October 1, 2025: Submission deadline for Worldwide Characteristic Movie
Monday, October 6, 2025: Pupil Academy Awards
Thursday, October 9, 2025: Remaining submission deadline for Animated Brief Movie, Documentary Brief Movie, and Stay Motion Brief Movie classes
Wednesday, October 15, 2025: Submission deadline for Music (Authentic Tune) classes
Thursday, October 16, 2025: Remaining submission deadline for Documentary Characteristic Movie
Monday, November 3, 2025: Submission deadline for Music (Authentic Rating) classes
Thursday, November 13, 2025: Remaining submission deadline for Normal Entry classes, Animated Characteristic Movie, Greatest Image, and RAISE kind
Sunday, November 16, 2025: Governors Awards
Monday, December 8, 2025: Preliminary voting begins 9 a.m. PT
Friday, December 12, 2025: Preliminary voting ends 5 p.m. PT
Tuesday, December 16, 2025: Oscars Shortlists Announcement
Saturday, January 10 and Sunday, January 11, 2026: Casting, Make-up and Hairstyling, Sound, and Visible Results nominating screenings (bake-offs)
Monday, January 12, 2026: Nominations voting begins 9 a.m. PT
Friday, January 16, 2026: Nominations voting ends 5 p.m. PT
Thursday, January 22, 2026: Oscars Nominations Announcement
Tuesday, February 10, 2026: Oscars Nominees Occasion
Thursday, February 26, 2026: Finals voting begins 9 a.m. PT
Thursday, March 5, 2026: Finals voting ends 5 p.m. PT
Sunday, March 15, 2026: 98th Oscars
Tuesday, April 28, 2026: Scientific and Technical Awards