2021 Awards Season Calendar: Voting, Nominations and Ceremonies Leading to the Oscars

All awards and nominations lead to the coveted Academy Awards ceremony. As the industry’s leader in awards analysis, predictions and the entertainment business, you can find the key upcoming dates for this year’s awards season.

All critical dates are in bold. Oscar nominations will be announced on March 15, 2021, with voting set to take place for six days beginning on March 5. The 93rd annual Academy Awards (The Oscars) are scheduled to air live on ABC on Sunday, April 25, from multiple locations, including the Dolby Theatre.

Oscar nomination voting will begin before critical groups, and guilds such as the Critics Choice winners (March 7), PGA nominations (March 8), DGA nominations (March 9), ASC nominations (March 9) and BAFTA nominations (March 9) get to reveal their selections. The ACE Eddies nominations will also be announced after voting has concluded (March 11). This is significant as in years like 2012 when nominations are occurring before major guilds weigh-in, we tend to see many surprises on Oscar nomination morning (such as Ben Affleck from “Argo” and Kathryn Bigelow from “Zero Dark Thirty” snubbed and shockers like Benh Zeitlin from “Beasts of the Southern Wild” included).

Check out the key dates below and bookmark the page.

FEBRUARY 2021

• Feb 12 – Writers Guild of America Voting Ends (WGA)
• Feb 16 – Final Screen Actors Guild Voting Begins (SAG)  
• Feb 16 – Writers Guild of America Nominations (WGA) 
• Feb 17– Directors Guild of America Voting Opens (DGA) 
• Feb 18– Make-Up & Hairstylists Guild Nominations (IATSE Local 706)
• Feb 19 – Final Writers Guild of America Voting Begins (WGA)
• Feb 23 – Final Golden Globe Voting Ends (HFPA) 
• Feb 25 – Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala
• Feb 25 – Producers Guild of America Nomination Voting Begins (PGA) 
• Feb 26 – American Film Institute AFI Awards (AFI)
• Feb 28 – Golden Globe Awards (HPFA) – TELEVISED

MARCH 2021

• March 1 – Golden Reel Award Nominations (MPSE)
• March 2 – Art Directors Guild Nominations (ADG)
• March 2 – Cinema Audio Society Nominations (CAS)
• March 2 – Phoenix Film Critics Society (PFCS)
• March 3 – Annie Award nominations (The Annies)
• March 4 – Costume Designers Guild nominations (CDG)
• March 5 – Hollywood Critics Association Awards (HCA)
• March 5 – Academy Awards Nomination Voting Begins (The Oscars)
• March 5 – Final Writers Guild of America Voting Ends (WGA) 
• March 5-14 – Miami International Film Festival
• March 7 – Critics’ Choice Awards (CCA) – TELEVISED
• March 8 – Producers Guild of America Nominations (PGA) 
• March 9 – American Society of Cinematographers Nominations (ASC)
• March 9 – Cinema Eye Honors Awards (CEHA)
• March 9 – Directors Guild of America Nominations (DGA) 
• March 9 – Final Directors Guild of America Voting Begins (DGA) 
• March 9 – EE British Academy Film Awards Nominations (BAFTA) 
• March 10 – Academy Awards Nomination Voting Ends 
• March 11 – American Cinema Editors Nominations (ACE)
• March 11 – Producers Guild of America Nomination Voting Ends (PGA)
• March 12 – Detroit Film Critics Society Nominations (DFCS)
• March 12 – Producers Guild of America Nominations (PGA)
• March 12 – Final Producers Guild of America Voting Begins (PGA)
• March 13 – USC Scripter Awards (The Scripters)
• March 14 – Detroit Film Critics Society Awards (DFCS)
• March 15 – 93rd Academy Award Nominations (Oscars) – 
• March 16–20 – South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW)
• March 19  – Final Producers Guild of America Voting Ends (PGA) 
• March 21 – Writers Guild of America Awards (WGA) 
• March 24 – Producers Guild of America Awards (PGA) 
• March 30 – Final Screen Actors Guild Voting Ends (SAG)
• March 31 – April 10 – Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF)

APRIL 2021

• April 3 – Make-Up & Hairstylists Guild Awards (IATSE Local 706)
• April 4 – Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) – televised
• April 6 – Visual Effects Society Awards (VES)
• April 7 – African-American Film Critics Association Awards (AAFCA)
• April 9 – Final Directors Guild of America Voting Ends (DGA)
• April 10 – Art Directors Guild Awards (ADG)
• April 10 – Directors Guild of America Awards (DGA)
• April 11 – EE British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) – televised
• April 13 – Costume Designers Guild Awards (CDG)
• April 15 – Casting Society of America Artios Awards (CSA)
• April 15 – Final Academy Awards Voting Begins 
• April 16 – Annie Awards (The Annies)
• April 17 – Cinema Audio Society Awards (CAS)
• April 18 – American Cinema Editors Awards (ACE)
• April 18 – Dorian Awards (GALECA)
• April 18 – Golden Reel Awards (MPSE)
• April 18 – American Society of Cinematographers Awards (ASC)
• April 20 – Final Academy Awards Voting Ends 
• April 22 – Film Independent Spirit Awards – TELEVISED
• April 25 – 93rd annual Academy Awards (Oscars) 

Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars from Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis. Following Academy Awards history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Oscar predictions are updated regularly with the current year's contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year long: Draft, Pre-Season, Regular Season and Post Season. Eligibility calendar and dates of awards will determine how long each phase lasts and will be displayed next to revision date.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit THE COLLECTIVE

PRECURSOR LEADERS: Awards Circuit Winners Chart (2020-2021)

Academy Awards Predictions (All Categories)

From the previous Awards Circuit column:

Always expect the unexpected, especially in this unpredictable awards season.

I’ve been wondering if we might see the “WTF nomination” on Oscar-noms morning. I’m talking about an actor who is catapulted into the race without any previous mentions from the most crucial televised awards shows — BAFTA, Critics Choice, the Golden Globes and SAG. Not many can achieve it, but it’s usually telling of a film’s support within the Academy when that occurs. Some “WTFs” in the past decade have been Javier Bardem (“Biutiful”), Bradley Cooper (“American Sniper”), Laura Dern (“Wild”), Marina de Tavira (“Roma”), Jonah Hill (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), Max von Sydow (“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”) and Jacki Weaver (“Silver Linings Playbook”).

With Critics Choice, the Globes and SAG already announced, and the long list of BAFTA showing the shortlist of acting contenders, can this extraordinary year produce one or even two Oscar-morning surprises?

2021 Golden Globes Predictions (Film)

2021 SAG Awards Predictions (Film)

About the Academy Awards (Oscars)

The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, is Hollywood’s most prestigious artistic award in the film industry. Since 1927, nominees and winners are selected by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). 17 branches are represented within the near 10,000 person membership. The branches are actors, associates, casting directors, cinematographers, costume designers, directors, documentary, executives, film editors, makeup and hairstylists, marketing and public relations, members-at-large, members-at-large (artists’ representatives), music, producers, production design, short films and feature animation, sound, visual effects and writers.

• The Oscars are scheduled for Sunday, April 25, 2021.

About the Golden Globes

The Golden Globes Awards, hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, is held annually with 93 members since 1944. The group recognizes excellence in film and television across drama and comedy or musical categories. Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” holds the record for the most awards won by a single film with seven. Milos Forman’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and Alan Parker’s “Midnight Express” is next in line with six each. Robert Altman’s “Nashville” has the record for most nominations received by a film with 11 while Colin Higgins’ “Foul Play,” Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather Part III” and Mike Nichols’ “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” share the record for receiving the most nominations and not winning a single award at seven.

• The Golden Globes are scheduled for Feb. 28, 2021.

About the SAG Awards

The Screen Actors Guild Awards, hosted by SAG-AFTRA, is an annual award show that has become one of the most important and key indicators for the Oscars. Four films have won the most SAG awards with three: 1999’s “American Beauty,” 2002’s “Chicago,” 2011’s “The Help” and 2017’s “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Three movies have been nominated for the most SAG awards with five: 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love,” “Chicago” and 2008’s “Doubt.”

• The SAG Awards are scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 4, 2021