Changes Are Coming To The Oscars

Also, the 92nd Oscar ceremony in 2020 will air on the much earlier date of Sunday, February 9, presumably to battle complaints that the show's usual late-February or early-March date feels a little late.

They have also announced that a new category is being designed around achievement in popular film, and that they are planning a more globally accessible, three-hour telecast. In addition, some winners will now be announced during commercial breaks, then edited for airing later in the broadcast (Something the Grammys has been doing).

Kohn said the academy seems to be inaccurately attributing their ratings drop-off to movies like "Moonlight" appearing in the best-picture category as opposed to the kind that make more money at the box office. Those (in the case of films like Black Panther, say) those nerdy, nerdy eyeballs, and the rooting interests they represent. The eligibility dates for Oscar releases and the voting period, meanwhile, will remain the same.

In a statement, it said: "We have heard from many of you about improvements needed to keep the Oscars and our Academy relevant in a changing world".

The Academy Awards will introduce a new "popular film" category and a shorter award ceremony for 2019.

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Does that mean even less Academy recognition for similar films now that they may have a separate category?

All jokes aside, here's another thing that rubs this writer the wrong way about the new "Popular Film" category: it's inherently condescending toward whatever ends up winning that year. Naturally, many are speculating that this will be the Academy's way of recognizing cultural and financial phenomenon Black Panther without actually giving it a nod for the prestigious award. Next year's Oscars, however, will still air on Sunday, February 24.

The Academy is making some changes to the Oscars. "In creating this award, the Board of Governors supports broad-based consideration of excellence in all films". When they institute the Popular Film category, will they bring Best Picture back down to 5 nominees? But they've sought to address it, in years past, by zipping through the technical awards (which are held and taped days before the main Oscars telecast) and hectoring presenters to keep their acceptance speeches pithy.

What we do know, though, is that the Academy has just taken a major step in the direction of focusing more on blockbusters, which are often viewed as a kind of art form unto themselves.

The Academy Awards have suffered from low ratings in recent years. Some branches of the academy might not be too happy with having their categories shifted off the live telecast, so who decides which categories get moved aside, and will it be the same categories every year?