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Will a revitalised Globes have a knock-on effect? The Baftas and the Oscars have implemented category tweaks and voting changes over the years but those have tended to be incremental. An intriguing move from the Baftas this year has been to shift their nomination announcement to after that of the Academy Awards for the first time in decades.
Bafta have also tweaked the qualification requirements for the Outstanding British Film category, which has always existed rather awkwardly alongside Best Film (last year, papal nailbiter Conclave handily won both).
In the multinational world of film production and financing, nailing down what exactly constitutes a British film will always be a moving target. The current rules state that either the director or writer needs to be British for a film to qualify, although producers who believe their film is British enough via other criteria can make an appeal.
Over the pond, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have continued to diversify their membership since #OscarsSoWhite was trending a decade ago. But perhaps the most surprising change to their 2026 rules is something the general public may have already assumed. This is the first year that Academy members must actually watch all the relevant nominees before they can be eligible to cast their vote in that category.
It sounds rather basic – surely you need to have seen all the Best Supporting Actress movies to make an informed decision? – but until now it wasn’t a requirement. At least they got round to it before the Oscars centenary in 2028.
At such a volatile time for the movies in general – where both multiplexes and arthouse cinemas face uncertain futures, and film studios with decades of history are being gobbled up by streamers – all these awards feel more important than ever.
They are the yardsticks by which the industry measures itself. The fact that all the major awards organisations seem to be raising their standards? It can only be a good thing. Let’s just hope that they stay flexible and maintain the momentum.
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