Although the US economy will be long opened up by then, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has pushed next year’s Oscars back by two months. The coronavirus pandemic has already forced the delay of dozens of movies.
The Academy announced the delay on Monday. The awards ceremony, originally due to take place on Sunday, February 28, will now be held on Sunday, April 25. Nominations will be announced in March.
The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns hit Hollywood hard. Production only resumed in Los Angeles county on Friday, and many movie theaters across the US remain closed. AMC Theaters, the world’s largest cineplex operator, lost more than $2.2 billion last quarter, and only plans on reopening its screens in July, albeit with social distancing precautions in place.
Dozens of high-profile releases have been delayed, including ‘Wonder Woman 1984’, ‘The Matrix 4’, and ‘No Time to Die’. Two dozen theatrical releases have been canceled, among them ‘Hamilton’ and ‘Greyhound’.
The Oscars have become known as a yearly opportunity for movie stars to deliver passionate speeches about liberal causes and social justice hot-buttons. Criticized by activists for disproportionately featuring white actors and directors, the Academy has this year heeded the complaints of the woke. Six new additions to the Academy’s board mean that the 54-person group now has 26 women and 12 racial minorities represented.
Furthermore, the Academy will also establish an Office of Representation, Inclusion and Equity, and will mandate “unconscious bias” training for all board members, executives and staff.
However, the Oscars is no longer the attention magnet it once was. Ratings for this year’s awards plummeted to an all-time low, beating the previous low point in 2018. Whether the push for diversity will save or sink the venerable awards show will be made clear next year, albeit two months later than planned.
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