For the first time in history, the Oscars are introducing the Best Casting Decision nomination
In a rather rare event, the American Film Academy announced a new Oscar nomination. It is stated that a new category “Best Casting Solution” will be added to the list of awards starting in 2026.
Starting with films released in 2025, the Oscars will present the Best Casting Decision award, which will be given to casting directors for the film chosen by Academy members.
“Casting directors play an important role in the film industry, and as the Academy evolves, we are proud to add casting to the disciplines we recognize and celebrate,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang in a statement. “We congratulate the members of our Casting Directors’ Branch on this exciting development and thank them for their dedication and diligence during this process.”
This is the first time in the last twenty-four years that a new category has been introduced at the Oscars since the Best Animated Feature award was introduced in 2002. The previous time a new category was added was in 1981, when the Best Makeup Award was established.
With Oppenheimer nominated for the most awards this year (13), followed by Poor Things (11), Killers of the Flower Moon (10) and Barbie (8), it’s easy to assume that if the Best Casting Award were available this year, these films would certainly be nominated.
