The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is expected to open in April 2021. (rendering ©Renzo Piano Building Workshop/©Academy Museum Foundation/image from L’Autre Image)

On June 15, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the ABC Television Network announced the 93rd Oscars ceremony will move to Sunday, April 25, 2021, as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The show, which will air live on ABC, was originally scheduled for Feb. 28, 2021. Coinciding with the Oscars celebration, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, initially scheduled to open to the public on Dec. 14, 2020, will now open on April 30, 2021, also as a result of the health crisis.

In addition, dates also have shifted for the Academy Awards eligibility period, submission deadlines and related awards-season events. The eligibility period for Academy Awards consideration has been extended beyond the standard Dec. 31 deadline. A feature film must now have a qualifying release date between Jan. 1, 2020, and Feb. 28, 2021. The submission deadline for specialty categories (Animated Feature Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, International Feature Film, Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film) is Dec. 1, 2020. The submission deadline for general entry categories, including Best Picture, Original Score and Original Song, is now Jan. 15, 2021.

“For over a century, movies have played an important role in comforting, inspiring and entertaining us during the darkest of times. They certainly have this year. 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,” Academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano and featuring six floors of exhibition spaces, education and special event spaces, a conservation studio, a restaurant, a museum store, the 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater and the 288-seat Ted Mann Theater, will move its opening to April 30, 2021.

“With the unprecedented and devastating pandemic happening around the world and our commitment first and foremost to the health and safety of our visitors and staff, we have made the difficult decision to wait a few more months to open our doors,” said Bill Kramer, director of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. “Thankfully, with COVID-19 safety protocols in place, exhibitions continue to be installed. We look forward to April 2021 when Los Angeles and the world will be able to join together as the Academy celebrates the Oscars and the opening of its long-dreamed-of museum.”

The intent going forward is to ultimately return to awarding excellence for films released in the January-December calendar year, the Academy said.

For information, visit oscars.org and academymuseum.org.