The Academy Awards introduces new rule, similar to the BAFTA Awards

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has regulated new rules on April 21, 2025, for the Academy Awards. These rules will be followed for the 2026 nominations. The list of rules has left a few confused, questioning the past actions of the Academy Awards. While few of the rules have a direct effect on the voting procedure, few of the rules might change the way of filmmaking in the future. The new rules implemented by the Academy are similar to those of the BAFTA awards.

The Academy, through its official social media handles, introduced the new rules to the public. One of the new major rules makes it compulsory for the Academy members to watch all the nominated films included in the category before they start voting. This new rule has stirred a discussion among the citizens. Many have questioned the authenticity of the previous wins, asking whether the previous films won because of the vibe they presented. One Instagram user commented in confusion, “So wait…academy members were allowed to vote without having seen all the nominated movies until just now?”

This new rule from the Academy Awards was taken because of the rising concern that the academy members were skipping a few films. To avoid the foul play, the academy came up with this new rule to uphold the fairness of the award. Because of this new rule, now the academy members need to confirm that they have watched all the movies under the category for them to have eligibility to vote. It seems like the Academy Awards finally took notice of the unfairness caused by the previous rules. The imposed new rule will surely give more authenticity to the award, and the academy member will be more informed to judge a film.

Another concern that rose in the previous Academy Awards was the usage of AI in the film. The new Academy Award has framed the rule for the utilization of AI in the film. The academy stated, “The usage of digital tools will neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination.” According to the Academy, films will not be disqualified because of such technologies being utilized. The Academy will decide how much human creativity has been utilized in the film along with technologies before choosing the award.

The new rules in the Academy Awards have set the mark of the beginning of impartiality and fairness for the awards.