2026 Oscars: Casting Category Codified, Cinematography Gets Shortlist, Members Must Watch All Nominated Films to Vote

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has approved the new rules for the 98th Oscars, including how the new casting category will work, the cinematography branch being added to the Oscar shortlists in December, key dates for the season and much more.

The Oscars shortlists will be revealed on December 16, 2025, nominations will be announced on January 22, 2026 with 98th Academy Awards taking place on March 15.

In a sweeping procedural change, Academy members must now watch all nominated films in each category to be eligible to vote in the final round for the Oscars. The Academy will track viewing via the members-only Academy Screening Room streaming app and if a member has watched a nominated film at a designated screening, film festivals, or other venue, members will have to fill out a form declaring when and where they watched a film.

In one of the biggest changes to Oscar ballots, designated nominees will also be included on the final ballot. Previously only the film name was visible. For nominees like Thomas Newman and Diane Warren, always nominated but never winners, this could provide an edge they didn’t have before during winner voting.

Eligibility and voting for the inaugural Academy Award for Achievement in Casting have been established and codified. There will be a preliminary round of voting to determine a shortlist of 10 films, and prior to 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 Branch Executive Committee will then meet to discuss and determine which casting directors – not to exceed two in number – are primarily responsible for the casting and who have received onscreen credit. Producers and directors may be consulted in determining the contribution of potential nominees. Under exceptional circumstances (e.g., specialized casting, essential casting in multiple locations) the Branch Executive Committee will consider and determine the eligibility of one additional credited individual.

The casting directors associated with the ten films on the shortlist for nominations shall be requested to provide the committee with the following:

Written descriptions of the casting process unique to their films and of their personal involvement in that process. A template for the statement with the guidelines regarding length and scope will be provided by the Branch Executive Committee.

Photo grid of the cast and/or the full cast list.

Achievements shall be judged within the parameters defined by the Executive Committee and on the basis of significant engagement and collaboration with a film’s director and producers in the creative consideration, and selection of the actors who comprise the acting ensemble of the film.

​​​Cinematography will also join the shortlist circle; there will now be a preliminary round of voting for the Cinematography award to determine a shortlist of between 10 and 20 films.

In the rules for film eligibility, the following language regarding Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been introduced, as recommended by the Academy’s Science and Technology Council:

“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.”

The Academy also updated and clarified formatting and language in the campaign promotional regulations for the 98th Oscars. The campaign promotional regulations specify how motion picture companies and individuals directly associated with Oscars-eligible motion pictures may promote such motion pictures, achievements and performances to Academy members and how Academy members may promote Oscars-eligible motion pictures, achievements and performances.

Substantive changes to the campaign promotional regulations include:

Oscar-qualifying film festivals, like the San Francisco International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival and South by Southwest Film Festival, may now have access to approved mailing houses to share information about festival programming with Academy members.

Public communications (including any social media posts, reposts, shares and comments) may not disparage the techniques used in or subject matter of any motion picture. Any Academy member, motion picture company or individual directly associated with an eligible motion picture found to be in violation will be subject to penalization.

Other rule and campaign changes include:

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.

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. This comes just weeks after the Academy’s statement about the capture Hamdan Ballal, Documentary Feature Oscar winner for No Other Land, came under fire for not mentioning his name directly.

“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.

Academy key dates, including submission deadlines and voting periods, for the 2025 Oscars season are as follows: