The Oscars Postponed By 2 Months Due To COVID-19

And the Oscar goes to… will have to wait a bit longer.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 93rd Academy Awards has been postponed two months to April 25, 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.The deadline for eligibility, which is the date a film must be released in order to qualify for the next year’s Oscars, has also been extended from Dec. 31 through Feb. 28.

(Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

“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,” Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement.

Adding, “This coming Oscars and the opening of our new museum will mark an historic moment, gathering movie fans around the world to unite through cinema.”

The format of the 93rd Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, which normally telecasts on ABC, has not yet been determined.

“We find ourselves in uncharted territory this year and will continue to work with our partners at the Academy to ensure next year’s show is a safe and celebratory event that also captures the excitement of the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures,” ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke said in a statement.

(Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

The Academy also broke the news that the Governors Awards gala, which takes place in the fall annually, has been postponed to a later date.

This isn’t the first time the Academy Awards have been delayed. The Oscars has been delayed three times before – first in 1938 due to flooding in Los Angeles, a second time following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, and after an assassination attempt on Pres. Ronald Reagan in 1981.

Inside The 2020 Oscars: What You Didn’t See On TV

Inside The 2020 Oscars: What You Didn’t See On TV

Inside The 2020 Oscars: What You Didn’t See On TV

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