A recent report from The Sun suggesting that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering canceling the 2025 Oscars ceremony has been debunked by Film Academy sources. The U.K. tabloid’s story went viral after being picked up by the Drudge Report, claiming that the Academy was consulting a group of A-list celebrities, including Tom Hanks, Emma Stone, Meryl Streep, and Steven Spielberg, about whether to proceed with the ceremony on 2 March.
The article, headlined “OSCARS THREAT: Oscars 2025 on verge of being cancelled as bosses secretly plot major changes to ceremony after LA wildfires,” stated that a “secret ‘contingency strategy’” was in place for the Oscars ceremony to be called off, though it incorrectly listed the Oscars date as 3 March.
Sources within the Academy have categorically denied the claim. The Academy’s 55-person board of governors, which includes members who have lost their homes in the wildfires, is the only group responsible for determining how the Academy should proceed. According to the Academy’s official statement, the current decision—announced on Monday—is that the Oscars ceremony will take place on 2 March as scheduled. The board has extended the Oscar nominations voting window and postponed other events, such as the Nominees Luncheon and the Scientific and Technical Awards.
There is no movement within the Academy or the Academy’s leadership to cancel the 2025 Oscars ceremony. Instead, the sentiment is to continue with the event, albeit in a way that would help raise funds for fire relief efforts. The Oscars ceremony has never been canceled, even during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was only slightly postponed and held in a more pared-down format.
Academy sources maintain that the ceremony will go ahead, and no significant changes to the planned event are being made.