New Voting Rules For 2026 Oscars Puts Members On Notice To Actually Watch The Nominated Films

No rest for the weary at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. After six weeks of announcements following the 97th Academy Awards, the Oscars organization laid out its new rules for the upcoming 98th edition of the ceremony this morning. The biggest news may be an obvious one to many: to vote on a category, a member must have screened all of the nominees.

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Previously, members only had to view a film on the portal or submit a seen elsewhere form with a date, time, and venue for participation in specific category selections, such as the Animation, Documentary, Shorts, or International Film sections. This will likely not change the outcomes of any races (BAFTA has something similar), but may weed out the minority of members who have admitted that they let their assistants or colleagues vote in some categories on their ballots. Members can still obviously mislead the organization, sure. The hope is that it will get some lazy voters among the 10,000+ to take their responsibilities more seriously.

Additionally, there are now firm details in the voting process for the first-ever Achievement in Casting Oscar. A preliminary round of voting will determine a shortlist of 10 films, and before nominations voting, Casting Directors Branch members will be invited to view a “bake-off” presentation of the shortlisted achievements, including a Q&A with the designated nominees.

The following language regarding Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been recommended by the Academy’s Science and Technology Council, as to whether a film should be eligible or not:

“With regard to Generative Artificial Intelligence and other digital tools used in the making of the film, the tools neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination. The Academy and each branch will judge the achievement, taking into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship when choosing which movie to award.”

It’s unclear why this language was introduced or how this broad statement impacts anything, but it seems to clear the way for filmmakers to use AI where necessary. There was controversy over A.I. being used for audio dialogue for some scenes from “The Brutalist” this past year.

Other new rules are as follows:

*For consideration in the Best Picture category, films released from January 1, 2025, through June 30, 2025, must have shown proof of submission for Producers Guild of America (PGA) mark certification or awards-only determination no later than September 10, 2025. Films released from July 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025, must have shown proof of submission to the PGA no later than November 13, 2025.

*In the Animated Short Film category, voting privileges in the nominations round will be extended to all Academy members who opt in to participate. Members must view all 15 shortlisted films to be eligible to vote in the category. This change should expand the pool of voters to determine the winner.

​*In the Cinematography category, there will now be a preliminary round of voting for the Cinematography award to determine a shortlist of between 10 and 20 films. Along with the Casting Oscar, this now increases the shortlisted categories to 12. Key below-the-line categories such as Production Design and Costumes are still not participating in the shortlist process.

*In the International Feature Film category, the eligibility requirement regarding creative control has been updated to be inclusive of filmmakers with refugee or asylum status. The new language is as follows: “The submitting country must confirm that creative control of the film was largely in the hands of citizens, residents, or individuals with refugee or asylum status in the submitting country.”

*For the Music categories, there will now be a separate, earlier deadline of Wednesday, October 15, 2025, 5 p.m. PT for song submissions. Original Score submissions will be due no later than Monday, November 3, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT.

Additionally, it should be noted that instead of the traditional Oscars Luncheon, that event is now listed by The Academy as “Oscars Nominees Event.” Set for February 10, the nominee photo op could return to a dinner at the Academy Museum, which occurred this past March after the luncheon was canceled because of the Los Angeles wildfires.

Here are the key calendar dates announced by the Academy for the 98th Academy Awards.

The 98th Oscars will air live on ABC on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET