Like many awards shows, the Golden Globes already announced it would push its telecast to line up with Oscar’s new pandemic-delayed April date. The Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted ceremony is locked in for a Sunday, February 28th broadcast. What was unclear is where the eligibility regarding film qualifications would lie. You won’t be surprised at the inevitable outcome.
Movies will need to be released in theaters by no later than February 28 to qualify for the 2020 Golden Globes. This is the same date the Oscars picked, giving studios and distributors an extra two months to get their contenders either in theaters, launched as a PVOD title or distributed via a streaming service. This new deadline is also applicable to non-English language films (we’re still waiting for the HFPA to change the title of their Foreign Language Film honor to something less problematic).
Notably, television programs will continue to be subject to the December 31, 2020 awards eligibility year-end date, with series first released in 2021 being eligible for the 2022 Golden Globes.
The deadline to submit both film and television entries for Golden Globe award consideration is November 30, 2020. That gives the studios a three-month window to get their films seen by the public.
There is more hope that awards season can get into somewhat of a traditional grove with the announcement that Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” will screen at the Venice, Toronto and New York Film Festivals as well as a special Telluride screening in Los Angeles on Sept. 11 and that Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” is headed to theaters overseas in August and in the U.S. by Labor Day (where possible).
The 78th Golden Globes will be held on February 28, 2021, between 5-8 p.m. PT/8-11 p.m. ET on NBC.