On March 15th, celebrities—including the cast of KPop Demon Hunters—might be heading to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to accept awards. And those awards will be golden!
With the 2026 Oscars, hosted by Conan O’Brien, being a big opportunity for recognition among their fellow artists, the Academy has revealed a new and unexpected rule.
As in, it’s flat-out shocking that this wasn’t already a thing.
If members want to vote for Leonardo DiCaprio in “One Battle After Another,” Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners,” or any other actor nominated for Best Actor, they’ll need to watch all the nominated films. Their official ballots won’t be available until they confirm they’ve seen every film in all 24 competitive categories.
If voters are considering supporting Emma Stone for Best Actress for her work in Bugonia, they should also be sure to watch Jessie Buckley in Hamnet, Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You, Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue, and Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value.
If the movie F1 hopes to win Best Picture, everyone involved needs to watch all ten nominated films.
After the Oscars announced a new rule last April requiring voters to watch all nominated films in a category, one Twitter user jokingly celebrated, saying, “We did it, film Twitter! The Oscars are finally making people actually watch the movies before they vote.”
As a dedicated Academy voter, I know we’re supposed to watch all the potential Oscar winners through the official screening portal. But honestly, if I catch a film at a festival, a premiere, or even in a regular theater, I can simply check a box saying I’ve already seen it – which is really convenient!
Which means that, yes, there are some sinners.
According to the Los Angeles Times, one Academy voter confessed to lying about which films they had watched. Meanwhile, Deadline published an email from an anonymous filmmaker who admitted to not voting at all, stating their time was too valuable to spend on movies they wouldn’t enjoy or support. They hadn’t even watched half of the nominated films.
While some Academy Awards rules are simple to bypass, others are quite strict. Let’s take a look at some of the surprising regulations for the 98th Academy Awards before the envelopes are even opened.
In a surprising announcement, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences stated in April 2025 that Oscar voters are now required to watch every film they vote on in any of the 24 competitive categories.
Some people have already found a way around the rules. If you don’t watch the film using the official Academy platform, you can simply confirm that you’ve already seen Bugonia, One Battle After Another, and Frankenstein.
But there are some who still appreciate the sentimental value of the award season finale.
Before the 2022 awards show, Kirsten Dunst mentioned to Variety that she had already watched all the nominated films, explaining that she’s a voting member of the Academy.
Reflecting current trends, the Academy’s 2025 statement also touched on the use of AI and other digital tools in filmmaking, clarifying that using them wouldn’t improve or hurt a film’s chances of receiving a nomination.
Modern filmmaking technology helped the three-time award-winning film The Brutalist. Specifically, it allowed filmmakers to refine the Hungarian accents of Best Actor winner Adrien Brody and his co-star, Felicity Jones, making them sound more genuine.
Okay, so the Academy says a computer isn’t going to win an Oscar anytime soon, which, honestly, is a relief! They put out a statement basically saying they’ll be looking at how much a person was actually involved in making the movie when they decide who gets awards. Like, they need to know a real, creative human was driving the whole thing, not just algorithms! It’s good to hear they’re protecting the art, you know? I mean, I love innovation, but a robot director just…doesn’t feel right.
According to Conan O’Brien, who’s back to host, he didn’t have much freedom in how he could handle the famous eight-and-a-half-pound trophy.
Conan O’Brien explained on his podcast, Conan Needs a Friend, that a joke he pitched – dressing the Oscar statue like a stereotypical housewife offering leftovers – didn’t work because the Oscar statue is always nude. He shared this detail in a March 2025 episode.
He also had another idea that didn’t quite work out. “I briefly imagined it just happening on a couch,” he said. “Like, we’d put it on a huge couch and I’d be vacuuming, asking, ‘Could you please lift your feet? Or maybe even get up and help with the dishes?'”
In a word, no.
Someone from the Academy told me, ‘Oscar can never lie down.’ It really struck me – it felt like they were talking about a sacred relic, something as important as one of Saint Peter’s bones.
While receiving an Oscar is an unforgettable honor, the actual trophy itself costs the Academy very little – just a few pennies to make.
To protect the value of the gold-plated Oscar statuette, a rule was created in 1951. Winners aren’t allowed to sell their awards; instead, they must offer to sell them back to the Academy for just $1.
The rule also covered anyone who received an Oscar as a gift or inheritance, including the winners’ heirs and future owners. This meant the rule applied not just to the original winner, but to anyone who later possessed the award.
In theory, anyway.
Julia Roberts’ acceptance speech after winning for her role in Erin Brockovich was memorable. In 2001, she playfully told the orchestra conductor, “You’re doing a great job, but you’re rushing me with the music, so why don’t you sit down? I might not get another chance to be up here again.”
Her main problem, though, was with actress Greer Garson, who starred in Mrs. Miniver. Garson gave a five-and-a-half-minute acceptance speech in 1943 that was so long, the Academy Awards decided to limit future speeches to 45 seconds.
Like many records, this one wasn’t meant to last. Brody surpassed Garson’s speech length, talking for five minutes and forty seconds when he accepted his second award in 2025.
If you need to use the restroom during the three-and-a-half-hour event, you’re welcome to go. However, leaving your seat might cause you to miss important award announcements.
During broadcasts, TV producers want to avoid showing empty seats, so when celebrities leave their seats, temporary replacements quickly fill them. If a star is delayed returning from a commercial break, they might find their seat already taken.
Emma Stone had to watch from the lobby TV as her Poor Things castmates accepted three of their four awards at the 2024 ceremony.
She excitedly told people nearby, “We won! I was so shocked I couldn’t stay seated.” According to USA Today, she also apologized for briefly stepping away, explaining they’d been in the restroom and had just missed the announcement. She then expressed frustration that they weren’t currently allowed to enter.
Fortunately, she was able to sprint to her spot in time to accept her Best Actress honors.
In the early days of the Oscars, guests were expected to wear the very formal white tie attire. However, in 1969, choreographer Gower Champion changed things up when he was hired for the show. He loosened the dress code, allowing attendees to wear black tie instead.
Celebrities are now expected to show up looking polished in designer brands like Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent. However, the Academy is also asking them to prioritize sustainability by choosing vintage, recycled, or borrowed clothing.
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2026-03-15 11:18