Major Oscars rule change makes Academy members now watch every movie before voting

The Academy is tightening its procedures around Oscars voting, with a new set of rules approved Monday by the group’s Board of Governors.

In a significant change to its pre-voting standards, the Academy will now require members to “watch all nominated films in each category to be eligible to vote in the final round for the Oscars,” according to a press release.

Tightening its rules, the Academy previously did not require voters in all branches to have seen all films ahead of voting, though some viewing standards applied to specific categories such as the Documentary and Short brackets.

When reached for comment, an Academy representative tells Entertainment Weekly in a statement that proof of views are currently tracked on Academy Screening Room, an internal service where voting members can screen titles.

“There is also a ‘seen elsewhere’ form that members will need to submit before finals voting,” the statement continues. “If you haven’t viewed a title, it will still appear on your ballot, but it will be greyed out. For the specialty categories, we will still require viewing in prelims and noms as usual. For this year, we will now require viewing in finals voting for all categories and all voting members.”

Many Academy members have long been open about not having seen multiple films heading into the final round of voting — including several voters who spoke with EW anonymously ahead of the 2025 ceremony.

“I’m bummed because I haven’t seen The Substance or I’m Still Here yet. The first Dune, I couldn’t get through; I’m not rushing for another three hours of Dune. There’s still time to re-evaluate, but I really struggled,” one director told us, while a casting director added: “I haven’t seen The Brutalist yet. I’m planning to see it, and from what little I saw [already], it’s similar to The Pianist, and [Adrien Brody] already got his Oscar for that. So, maybe someone else deserves a chance [for Best Actor].”

Other changes to the Academy’s rules and eligibility requirements include category rules for the new Achievement in Casting category.

The new category will proceed with 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.”

Another notable alteration includes an indication that generative AI used in the making of any film will “neither help nor harm” the chances of achieving a nomination, though “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 previously announced that, in addition to the forthcoming inaugural Casting category honor, the 100th Oscars ceremony will additionally include an Achievement in Stunt Design competitive category that’s set to roll out in 2028.

Check out more from EW’s The Awardist, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year’s best in TV, movies, and more.

Hot off the Academy’s 2025 ceremony, which saw Anora win Best Picture, the group revealed that first-time host Conan O’Brien will return to host 98th telecast as well.

The 2026 Oscars air Sunday, March 15, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC.