The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will require voting members to watch every nominated film in every category before casting final Oscar ballots, Forbes reports.

The rule change tightens voting mechanics ahead of the next ceremony and reframes how studios, publicists, and campaign strategists allocate resources during the final stretch of awards season.

What does the mandate change?

Under prior protocol, Academy voters could cast ballots in categories where they had not screened every nominated work. The new requirement closes that flexibility at the final-round stage.

Members must confirm they have viewed all nominees in a category before their vote counts. The shift moves the Academy closer to a viewing-verified model across its largest voting pool.

Who does it affect?

The mandate applies to the full voting membership across the Academy's branches — actors, directors, writers, producers, cinematographers, composers, editors, and other craftspeople who participate in the final round.

The change also reshapes the campaigns run by distributors and prestige labels, which have historically depended on targeted screenings and trade-press coverage to reach voters who skip certain categories.

What shifts on the campaign trail?

Studios typically host For Your Consideration events in the weeks between nominations announcement and final ballot deadline. The new rule raises the stakes for those screenings.

Members can no longer substitute reputation, guild buzz, or trade coverage for actual viewing. Campaigns that previously concentrated resources on a small group of competitive categories now face pressure to ensure voters see films across the full ballot, including technical races they might otherwise ignore.

How does the change alter the race?

Films with limited theatrical runs or niche release patterns have historically relied on voter familiarity with their stars or directors to pick up votes from members who had not screened them. The mandate weakens that shortcut.

Conversely, contenders with broad grassroots appeal across Academy branches gain a clearer path. Members are now expected to engage with every nominated work before voting, rewarding films with genuine cross-branch support over pure name recognition.

What stays the same?

The nominations process itself remains unchanged. Branch-specific voting continues to produce the nominee slate in each category, and the new rule governs only the final round where the full membership selects winners.

The Academy's preferential ballot and ranked-choice mechanics in major categories also remain in place, leaving the counting system untouched while closing the viewing loophole.

Why it matters at awards time

The Oscars remain the highest-profile film prize and a global box-office amplifier, with Best Picture routinely lifting winners' downstream revenue. A rule that pushes broader viewing tends to reward films with genuine voter engagement.

Campaigns built primarily through trade advertising and limited qualifying runs now carry higher risk. Members are expected to complete the homework before their ballot counts.

Industry response

Forbes' reporting signals that the Academy is moving to protect the credibility of its final-round results after years of criticism that some voters cast ballots without watching every nominee. The change reframes voting as a viewing-verified exercise.

Distributors will need to budget more aggressively for screenings, digital screeners, and FYC events aimed at voters across every branch — not just the acting, directing, and producing tiers.

Bottom line

A procedural update with outsized implications. By requiring members to watch every nominee before voting, the Academy raises the bar for engagement and reshapes how campaigns target coverage in the home stretch of the season.