Academy sets 94th Oscar ceremony for March 2022

The 94th Academy Awards will take place at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 27, 2022, and once again distributors will be allowed to set qualifying runs in cinemas, drive-ins, or on streaming platforms.

Making the announcement on Thursday (May 27), the Academy said the eligibility period for Oscars consideration will return to the standard December 31 deadline.

The ceremony was originally set for February 27, 2022. It is understood the Academy wanted to steer clear of the Beijing Winter Olympics that take place from February 4-20, 2022, but did not want to go as late as this year’s April 25 ceremony.

Feature contenders must have a qualifying release date between March 1 and December 31, 2021, giving rise to a compressed 10-month period in which to release contenders. The date range is down from last season’s 14-month cycle (which ended up being January 1, 2020-February 28, 2021), and less than the usual 12-month January 1-December 31 period.

The Academy’s board agreed on Wednesday that due to ongoing effects of the pandemic, last year’s changes to eligibility requirements will remain in effect.

This means films intended for theatrical release that debut first on streaming, VoD “or other broadcast” will qualify so long as they are made available on the Academy Screening Room within 60 days of launch, and meet other eligibility criteria.

The alternative, more traditional, eligibility route requires a film to open in at least one of six qualifying US cities, depending on cinema availability. Scroll to the bottom for more detail on physical screening requirements.

The 94th Oscar nominations will be announced on February 8, 2022, and the Governors Awards are scheduled for January 15, 2022.

The full timetable appears below:

The Academy’s eligibility criteria covering theatrical screenings state that a film must play for seven consecutive days in a commercial venue and screen at least three times a day, with at least one presentation starting between 18:00 and 22:00.

The film must meet all other eligibility criteria, and the Academy Screening Room is optional.

The six qualifying cities are: Los Angeles County; the five boroughs of New York City; Bay Area (counties of San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, San Mateo and Contra Costa); Chicago (Cook County, Illinois); Miami (Miami-Dade County, Florida); and Atlanta (Fulton County, Georgia).

Drive-in theatres are included as a qualifying commercial venue in the above cities, and films must run for seven consecutive days with at least one screening per day.

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