The 88th annual edition of the Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. In the 90 days leading up to Oscar Sunday, a slew of precursor prizes will be handed out. While the last of these will be the Indie Spirit Awards, which are due to take place just 24 hours before the Oscars, those nominations will be announced on Nov. 24.
Prior to the Jan. 8 deadline for Oscar nomination ballots, the Golden Globes, Critics' Choice and BAFTA Awards also will have announced nominations as will the actors, producers, writers and art directors guilds. And the major critics groups already will have weighed in with their top picks too.
Below, we detail these key dates.
Note: Winners events are in gold while nomination announcments are italicized.
OCTOBER
Oct. 13 – Indie Spirits Awards: Submissions Close
Oct. 22 – SAG Awards: Submissions Close
NOVEMBER
Nov. 13 – WGA Awards: Film Submissions Close
Nov. 14 – Governors' Awards
Nov. 18 – SAG Awards: Nomination Ballots Mailed
Nov. 24 – Indie Spirit Awards: Nominations Announced
Nov. 26 – Golden Globes: Nomination Ballots Mailed
Nov. 30 – Gotham Indendent Film Awards
DECEMBER
Dec. 1 – National Board of Review: Winners Announced
Dec. 1 – Annie Awards: Nominations Announced
Dec. 1 – PGA Awards: Film Nominations Open
Dec. 1 – WGA Awards: Film Nominations Open
Dec. 2 – New York Film Critics Circle: Winners Announced
Dec. 2 – DGA Awards: Film Nominations Open
Dec. 7 – Critics Choice Awards: Nomination Ballots Online
Dec. 7 – Golden Globes: Nomination Ballots Due
Dec. 7 – SAG Awards: Nomination Ballots Due
Dec. 9 – SAG Awards: Nominations Announced
Dec. 9 – BAFTA Awards: Nominations Open
Dec. 10 – Golden Globes: Nominations Announced
Dec. 11 – Critics Choice Awards: Nomination Ballots Due
Dec. 14 – Critics Choice Awards: Nomination Ballots Announced
Dec. 16 – SAG Awards: Final Ballots Mailed
Dec. 21 – Golden Globes: Final Ballots Mailed
Dec. 30 – Oscars: Nomination Ballots Mailed/Online
JANUARY
Jan. 2 – PGA Awards: Film Nominations Close
Jan. 4 – PGA Awards: Film Nominations Announced
Jan. 4 – BAFTA Awards: Nominations Close
Jan. 4 – WGA Awards: Film Nominations Close
Jan. 4 – PGA Awards: Voting Opens
Jan. 5 – Art Directors Guild: Nominations Announced
Jan. 6 – WGA Awards: Film Nominations Announced
Jan. 6 – Golden Globes: Final Ballots Due
Jan. 7 – WGA Awards: Voting Opens
Jan. 8 – BAFTA Awards: Nominations Announced
Jan. 8 – Oscars: Nomination Ballots Due
Jan. 10 – Golden Globes
Jan. 11 – DGA Awards: Film Nominations Ballots Due
Jan. 12 – DGA Awards: Film Nominations Announced
Jan. 12 – Cinema Audio Society: Nominations Announced
Jan. 13 – DGA Awards: Documentary & TV Nominations Announced
Jan. 14 – Oscars: Nominations Announced
