In the future, it will not be easy to be a voting member. – For my part, I say no thanks, if someone asks.
The Academy has announced new rules that require voting members to have seen all nominated films in order to participate in the voting to select the Oscar winners.
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New rules for the 2026 distribution
- The Academy’s Board of Directors has approved new rules and guidelines for the Oscars in 2026.
- Members must now have seen all films nominated in a category in order to vote in it.
- In the past, anonymous members have admitted to Entertainment Weekly that they hadn’t seen many of the nominated films or performances.
Stricter registration requirements
In a significant change to voting rules, members must now “watch all nominated films in each category to be eligible to vote in the final round,” according to a press release.
Previously, the Academy did not require all members to have seen all films before voting, although there were screening requirements for certain categories such as documentaries and short films.
A spokesperson for the Academy tells Entertainment Weekly that members’ screenings are tracked via the internal Academy Screening Room service, where they can watch the films.
“There will also be a form to register off-platform views that must be completed before final voting,” the statement continued. “If a film has not been seen, the voting button for that category will be unavailable (greyed out). For special categories, the same display requirements apply as before in preliminary rounds. But from this year, the display requirement also applies in the final round for all categories.”
Members have admitted not to have seen movies
Many Oscar members have long been open about the fact that they haven’t seen every nominated film before voting — including several who spoke anonymously to EW before the 2025 ceremony.
One director said,
“I’m disappointed because I haven’t seen The Substance or I’m Still Here yet. I didn’t manage to finish the first Dune movie, so I’m not eager to watch another three hours of Dune. There’s still time to reevaluate, but I really struggled.”
A casting executive added,
“I haven’t seen The Brutalist yet. I plan to see it, but from what little I’ve seen, it’s similar to The Pianist, and [Adrien Brody] already got his Oscar for it. So maybe someone else deserves a chance [for Best Actor].”
Other rule changes
- New award for casting: The new Achievement in Casting category will have an initial round of voting to select a shortlist of 10 films. Prior to the nominations, members of the casting industry will be invited to a presentation of the shortlisted entries, including a Q&A session with the nominees.
- Generative AI: The use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking will “neither help nor harm” a film’s chances of being nominated, but each industry will consider how much human creative effort is behind it.
- New stunt category from 2028: As previously announced, Oscar will also introduce a new category for Achievement in Stunt Design from 2028.
These are the latest in a series of changes the Academy has implemented to increase the integrity and quality of voting.
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