COVID-19 has still been impacting the movie industry in various ways with films getting shifted release dates or being moved to streaming at the last minute. With so many changes going on right now, next year’s Oscars ceremony needs to make changes itself to accommodate them. Today it was announced that the 93rd Academy Awards will be hold on April 25th 2021 as opposed to their typical February air date.

It's true! Next year's #Oscars will happen on April 25, 2021.

Here's what else you need to know:

– The eligibility period for the Oscars will be extended to February 28, 2021
– Nominations will be announced on March 15, 2021
– @AcademyMuseum will open on April 30, 2021 pic.twitter.com/cTsqOfsf8k

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) June 15, 2020

This is the fourth time in movie history that the Oscars had to postpone their annual ceremony.  The Oscars also changed the eligibility for films, giving them until to February 28th, 2021 to qualify. The nominations are expected to be announced on March 15th, just well over a month before the ceremony. The Academy also announced that their upcoming Academy Museum, which was initially set to open at the end of this year now has a new opening date. The museum will now open on April 30th, 2021, nearly a week after the ceremony is scheduled.

Academy Award President David Rubin and Chief executive Dawn Hudson, released a statement regarding the new changes. “Our hope, in extending the eligibility period and our Awards date, is to provide the flexibility filmmakers need to finish and release their films without being penalized for something beyond anyone’s control”. With everything going on right now, this could hopefully give upcoming filmmakers an opportunity to get recognized at the Academy Awards during a rather difficult year for the film industry. Only time will tell if more changes need to be made, but hopefully by next year movie lovers everywhere will be able to witness a celebration of the films that made 2020 a little better.