Some big European awards news in that the European Film Awards are set to move from its traditional December spot to January. While the month step-change doesn’t seem like a big move, it is huge as it positions itself right in the middle of awards season.
According to an official press release, after the 37th edition in December 2024, the 38th edition will take place mid-January 2026 and will celebrate the best European films from the previous year. The date change is a next step in the repositioning and rebranding process of the event and the work of the European Film Academy. With the European Film Awards moving a month later to the beginning of the calendar year, European nominees and winners will be featured much more visibly within the international awards season including the Oscars.
As the nominations for the European Film Awards will continue to be announced by mid-November each year, the date change will create a larger window for nominated films to be promoted. Academy members eligible to vote will be able to watch the films on the Academy VOD platform, or in cinema screenings if the nominated films are released during this period or a part of programmes the Academy organizes itself, the Month of European Film.
With its new date, the European Film Awards will take their place within the international awards corridor among the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs and the Oscars. The ceremony of the European Film Awards will take place in the weekend after the Golden Globes, and prior to the closing of the nomination voting for the Oscars. European films vying for one of the European Film Awards will be able to optimize promotion and marketing in Europe and beyond its borders for the international awards season, increasing their visibility in the same period of the year.
The European Film Academy has taken its decision after ample consideration and ongoing conversations with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and BAFTA, as well as the management of festivals such as Sundance, Göteborg, Rotterdam, and the Berlinale, that all take place shortly after the future European Film Awards weekend.
