Oscars Shake-Up: Academy Awards Announce Historic Rule Changes for 2027 Ceremony

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has approved a comprehensive slate of new and updated rules for the 99th Oscars, scheduled for 2027. These significant changes reflect the Academy's evolving standards regarding eligibility, authorship, and global inclusion, marking one of the boldest statements in the awards show's nearly century-long history. The revisions address a dramatically changing industry landscape, particularly concerning the increasing international presence in filmmaking and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.

Headlining these updates is a notable shift in the acting categories, where performers may now receive multiple nominations in the same category if both their performances rank among the top five vote-getters. This pivotal change finally aligns the acting races with the rest of the ballot, effectively neutralizing some instances of presumed “category fraud” where campaign teams strategically pushed a performance into a supporting role to avoid a vote split. Historically, if a performer had two roles in contention within the same category, only the higher-vote-getter would be nominated. This rule mechanism dates back to the Academy Awards' earliest days, with the last notable acting rule change occurring in 1945, limiting each performance to a single nomination. The new framework removes the concept of a