The Academy of Oscars announced today that it is amending its rules to force its members to watch all the films that are candidates in one category if they want to vote on it.

Until now, voters have simply had to certify “swearing in their honor” that they have seen the movies. But in fact some chose films without watching them, simply because they were in the news.

“Members of the Academy will now have to watch the films that are candidates in each category so they can vote in the final round of the Oscars,” he explained in a statement.

The new regulation will be applied to the next awards, 98th, scheduled for March 15, 2026.

For films claiming the Oscar for Best Film, the studios each year make wide advertising campaigns, with private and public screenings, present them at festivals, sometimes in the presence of the contributors answering public questions, to ensure that their members will see them. But this is not done for all categories of awards.

The Academy did not specify how it would determine whether its members have seen all the films of a category. According to the Hollywood Reporter, he may watch which movies everyone sees thanks to the streaming platform intended for his members only. Those who saw the film elsewhere, at a festival or in a cinema, will have to fill in a questionnaire that states when and where it happened, the magazine says.

The Academy has announced other changes to its rules, such as the use of artificial intelligence in a movie (as it was this year with The Brutalist and Emilia Perez films) does not exclude it from the awards.