The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has adopted a new rule for Oscar voting: members who have not seen all the nominated films in a category cannot vote in that category. TheWrap first reported the change, which reshapes the mechanics of the final round of balloting for Hollywood's most closely watched awards.

Under the previous system, the Academy relied on an honor-based confirmation that members had viewed the nominated films before voting in the final round. The new requirement makes viewing a hard condition of participation in deciding the winners.

What does the rule actually require?

The change targets the final voting stage, where Academy members choose winners from the slate of nominees. The headline condition is simple: see all the nominated films, or sit out the vote in that category. As TheWrap framed it: "If You Don't See All the Nominated Films, You Can't Vote."

The practical effect falls on categories with large voting pools. Best Picture ballots go to the Academy's full membership of roughly 10,000 voters, which makes the viewing burden — and the enforcement question — most consequential in that race.

What changes in the race?

For campaigners, the rule raises the value of guaranteeing access. Studios already flood voters with screeners, host screenings and run FYC events during the December-to-February voting window. A hard viewing requirement turns screener delivery from a courtesy into a precondition for ballot eligibility in each category.

For members, the rule adds friction. A voter who misses even one documentary short or one international feature nominee would, on paper, forfeit the right to vote in that category. That could compress participation in the lower-profile categories, where viewing completion is already uneven across the membership.

The rule also aligns the Oscars with a broader accountability push in awards voting, after years of criticism that some members voted without having watched every contender. Whether the Academy verifies viewing through tracking, attestation or another mechanism will determine how sharp the enforcement edge becomes in practice.

Why does it matter now?

Best Picture races are frequently decided by margins small enough that turnout shifts matter. If the rule keeps even a modest share of the 10,000-member electorate from voting in a category, the composition of the voting pool — not just its size — changes, and campaigns will adjust their screening strategies accordingly.

The change is procedural on its face, but it touches the core question of every awards season: who actually votes, and on what basis. A mandatory-viewing rule answers it with a condition rather than an expectation.