Oscars Delayed Until April 2021: Only Fourth Time Show Has Been Postponed In Its History

The Oscars ceremony has been delayed until April 2021, two months after the yearly celebration of the accomplishments of those in the film world was set to have aired. This is only the fourth time the show has been postponed in its 93-year history. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the official announcement on its Instagram page on June 15. The postponement was due to the coronavirus pandemic’s effects on the movie industry.

In the post, the Academy revealed that the event — typically aired at the end of February — would be pushed back. The organization also pushed back its shortlist announcement to February 9 and the official nominations to March 15. In years past, the nomination announcements have aired during the live broadcast of ABC’s Good Morning America.

This comes on the heels of the Academy’s announcement that streamed films would be eligible for awards in 2021.

The Oscars have been postponed before. The Hollywood Reporter noted that in 1938, the ceremony was bumped due to flooding in Los Angeles. The show was delayed for two days following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. In 1981, the Oscars were postponed one day after an attempt was made on President Ronald Reagan’s life.

The awards will reportedly still be held at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California and will air on ABC. At this moment, there are no plans for the show to pre-tape the awards. It is still scheduled to air as a live broadcast.

The Oscars’ official site quoted Academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson, who released the following statement regarding the importance of adapting to society’s new normal while still recognizing achievements in film-making.

“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 the statement.

Fans of the annual awards show were more than a bit surprised by the aforementioned news. Many agreed in the comments section of the Academy’s Instagram post that the changes were for the best, while others appeared confused as to how any movies would make the list as there have been no major film releases since March of this year.

“But there were like no movies this year and release dates are still changing,” said one fan.

“Bad idea…Instead of giving next year’s film festivals a way to recoup their losses with quality films, you’re forcing studios to release in January/February just for awards purposes,” stated a second user.