Awards-season dates come in three kinds, and mixing them up makes the calendar unreadable. There are nomination announcements (who got in), voting windows (when members actually vote), and ceremony broadcasts (the night you watch). Viewers should track ceremonies, prediction-watchers should track nominations, and anyone in the industry should watch the voting windows.
Here is the calendar from now through March, based on Deadline's season calendar updated September 18, with the usual caveat that dates can shift.
First, learn the three kinds of dates
Nomination announcements are the earliest news pegs. Who made the cut and who got snubbed sets the prediction race on that day. Grammy nominations land November 16, Oscar nominations January 21.
Voting windows are when members cast ballots. They are not televised, but they decide everything. Oscar nomination voting runs January 11–15 and final voting runs February 25–March 4. These windows are when campaigning is most intense.
Ceremony broadcasts are the nights people actually watch. The VMAs were September 27, the Golden Globes are January 10, the Grammys February 7, and the 99th Oscars March 14.
The calendar, month by month
September: 9/27 MTV Video Music Awards (ceremony).
October: 10/22 Billboard Latin Music Awards; 10/30 Daytime Emmy Awards.
November: 11/8 Critics Choice Documentary Awards; 11/10 Governors Awards; 11/16 Grammy nominations; 11/18 CMA Awards.
December: 12/4 Critics Choice nominations; 12/7 Golden Globe nominations; 12/10 The Game Awards.
January: 1/3 Critics Choice Awards (ceremony); 1/7 BAFTA nominations; 1/8 WGA nominations and AFI Awards; 1/10 Golden Globes (ceremony); 1/11–15 Oscar nomination voting; 1/21 Oscar nominations; 1/30 DGA Awards.
February: 2/7 Grammy Awards (ceremony); 2/13 Writers Guild Awards; 2/25 final Oscar voting opens; 2/27 Producers Guild Awards; 2/28 Actor Awards (SAG-AFTRA).
March: 3/4 final Oscar voting closes; 3/6 Film Independent Spirit Awards; 3/14 the 99th Oscars (ceremony).
Why the season drags across the calendar
The gap between nominations and ceremony is a month or two by design, not delay. Voters need a full ballot window after nominations, campaigns concentrate their spending in that window, and the telecasts have to avoid each other plus football season and broadcast schedules. "Globes in January, Oscars in March" is one long causal chain, not a pile of separate events.
How to use this calendar
If you just want to watch: circle four nights, 1/10 Globes, 2/7 Grammys, 2/28 Actor Awards, 3/14 Oscars. If you follow predictions: watch 11/16 Grammy nominations and 1/21 Oscar nominations, the race takes shape on those two days. If you work in or cover the industry: the voting windows (1/11–15 and 2/25–3/4) are when the campaign activity peaks.
Dates follow Deadline's season calendar; the exact day of any given announcement still belongs to the organization running it.
Sources: Deadline's 2026–27 awards season calendar (updated Sept 18, 2026); Variety's season calendar. All dates subject to each organization's official announcement.