Academy’s New Rules for 99th Oscars – Big Change in International Feature

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The Academy has released the new rules for the 99th Oscars with one really big change, which I am so happy about, as I’ve urged them to do this on multiple occasions, and that is to give the prize in International Feature to the director and not the country. That is fantastic.

This matters because a film is often entered in the International Feature and Best Picture categories. But that just means if it wins, the Director doesn’t get the Oscar. If the Director does get the Oscar, at least to my mind, that functions as a major win rather than taking away from a major studio film’s chances. I know lots of people don’t agree with me on this but the Oscars can help save Hollywood and the film business by awarding films that were produced and made by American film companies.

Other rules include that actors can be nominated for multiple performances in the same category if they place in the top five votes. Previously, they could not. It had to be one or the other. They also added “demonstrably performed by humans with their consent will be considered eligible.” Meaning, no AI is eligible for acting prizes.

Here are the rules:

AWARDS RULES AND CAMPAIGN PROMOTIONAL REGULATIONS
APPROVED FOR 99TH OSCARS®

Additional Submission Key Dates Announced

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Academy’s Board of Governors has approved awards rules, inclusion standards and campaign promotional regulations for the 99th Academy Awards®.

For Academy Awards consideration, a feature film must have a qualifying theatrical release between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2026.

Substantive awards rules changes include:

In the Acting category, actors may be nominated for multiple performances in the same category if those performances place in the top five votes, which aligns with achievements in other award categories.
Additionally, in the Acting category, only roles credited in the film’s legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent will be considered eligible.

In the Casting category, the number of statuettes awarded will increase from a maximum of two to a maximum of three statuettes.

In the Cinematography category, the preliminary voting round will produce a shortlist of 20 films rather than 10-20.

In the International Feature Film category, there are now two ways to submit a film for consideration. In addition to a film being submitted as an official selection by a country or region via the Academy-approved Selection Committees, a non-English language film can now be submitted for consideration by winning a qualifying award at an international film festival as specified in the International Feature Film Award Qualifying Festival List. Qualifying festivals for the 99th Oscars® are the Berlin International Film Festival (Golden Bear for Best Film), Busan International Film Festival (Busan Award – Best Film Award), Cannes Film Festival (Palme d’Or), Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize), Toronto International Film Festival (Platform Award) and Venice International Film Festival (Golden Lion).

Additionally, in the International Feature Film category, the film will be credited as the nominee rather than the country or region, and the award will be accepted by the director on behalf of the film’s creative team. The director’s name will be listed on the statuette plaque after the film title and, if applicable, the country or region.

In the Makeup and Hairstyling category, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch members must attend at least one of the two final branch meetings (roundtables) to be eligible to vote in the preliminary round.
In the Original Song category, the rules clarify a song’s eligibility when based on its placement in the end credits. For songs submitted as the first new music cue once the end credits begin, the video clip must include the last 15 seconds of the film before the credits begin.

In the Visual Effects category, all Academy members must view the three-minute Before and After reels from the Visual Effects Bake-Off to be eligible to vote in the final round.
In the Writing categories, the rules codify that screenplays must be human-authored to be eligible.

For Governors Awards recipients, a minimum of three disciplines must be represented in a given Awards year.

Under Eligibility (Rule Two) regarding Generative Artificial Intelligence, the Academy reserves the right to request more information about the nature of the use and human authorship.
Awards submission deadlines and additional key dates are as follows:

Thursday, August 13, 2026: First submission deadline for Animated Short Film, Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film and Live Action Short Film categories

Thursday, September 17, 2026: First submission deadline for General Entry categories, Animated Feature Film, Best Picture and Representation and Inclusion Standards Entry (RAISE) form

Wednesday, September 30, 2026: Submission deadline for International Feature Film

Thursday, October 8, 2026: Final submission deadline for Animated Short Film, Documentary Short Film and Live Action Short Film categories

Wednesday, October 14, 2026: Submission deadline for Music (Original Song)

Thursday, October 15, 2026: Final submission deadline for Documentary Feature Film

Wednesday, November 4, 2026: Submission deadline for Music (Original Score)

Thursday, November 12, 2026: Final submission deadline for General Entry categories, Animated Feature Film, Best Picture and Representation and Inclusion Standards Entry (RAISE) form

January 8 – 10, 2027: Casting, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound and Visual Effects voting events (bake-offs)

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