Academy promises that Oscars are not canceled, despite rumors

The show must—and will—go on. The Academy promised today, via The Hollywood Reporter, that they were still very much planning to put a bow on this unpredictable award season, despite rumors that the Oscars may be canceled altogether amidst the ongoing wildfire crisis in Los Angeles. 

It’s easy to see how the falsehood may have gained traction. It started with a tabloid report in U.K. newspaper The Sun titled “OSCARS THREAT Oscars 2025 on verge of being cancelled as bosses secretly plot major changes to ceremony after LA wildfires.” The article went on to claim that “Official Academy Award committees,” including, for some reason, Tom Hanks, Emma Stone, Meryl Streep and Steven Spielberg, were meeting to discuss the show’s fate.

Insiders assure that no such committee exists. The only body in charge of decisions about the show is the Academy’s 55-person board of governors, which most recently determined that the ceremony would—for now—maintain its planned March 2 date. The announcement of the nominees has been postponed (twice) and will not take place virtually on January 23. The annual nominees’ luncheon has been canceled outright, which may have contributed to some of the confusion. 

Conversations like this are happening around basically all major events in Los Angeles right now. Some, like The Weeknd, have chosen to postpone planned shows and releases, while others, like the Grammys, will go on as scheduled with a new focus on fundraising and “honoring the bravery and dedication of first responders who risk their lives to protect ours.” Even if the situation worsens, the Oscars are unlikely to be canceled entirely. The ceremony has never gone dark once in its 97-year history, despite pared-back ceremonies around the pandemic. Even if they were involved, Tom Hanks and co. would never let that happen.