Call for Entries for the 53rd Annie Awards were announced today. Next year’s ceremony is set for Saturday, February 21, 2026, at UCLA’s Royce Hall. For up-to-the-minute event details and deadlines, please visit the Annie Awards website at: https://www.annieawards.org.
Honoring excellence in the field of animation, the 53rd Annie Awards cover 37 categories including Animated Feature, Animated Feature-Independent, TV/Media Production, Sponsored Production, Short Subject, and Student Films, along with Achievement and Honorary awards.
This year’s Rules and submission details can also be found on the Annies website – https://www.annieawards.org. Entries submitted for consideration will be from animated productions that were released publicly in the United States and worldwide between January 1, and December 31, 2025. Exceptions, which can submit with or without a U.S. release are short subjects, special projects, sponsored productions, student films and films in competition from Annie Award qualifying festivals.
Submissions begin August 4 and run through November 9, 2025. Fees range from $200 to $325 per submission, calibrated based on when the entry funds are received. Submitters are encouraged to file early to receive the best rates.
August 4, 2025, also kicks off ASIFA-Hollywood’s Honorary Juried Award Nominations, now through October 13, 2025, and its Annual Membership Drive which will continue through January 26, 2026.
From September 1 through October 13, 2025, ASIFA-Hollywood is also conducting its Call for Judges. All judges must apply for this Annie cycle, whether they have applied in the past or are enrolling for the first time. To be considered for a nominating committee, judges do not need to be a member of ASIFA-Hollywood but must have an established career in animation and exemplary professional credentials in at least one of the Annie Award categories. Individuals in the animation community, who are interested in being a nomination committee judge, will find the application at members.asifa-hollywood.org/judge-application.
The following are important deadlines during” the 53rd Annie Awards season:
• Call for Judges & Juried Award Submissions – Monday, September 1, 2025.
• Deadline for Call for Judges – Monday, October 13, 2025.
• Deadline for Final Annie Awards Submissions – Sunday, November 9, 2025.
• Nominations and Juried Award recipients announced – Monday, January 5, 2026.
• Online balloting begins – Friday, February 6, 2026.
• Deadline to cast Annie Awards ballots – Saturday, February 14, 2026.
• The 53rd Annie Awards – Saturday, February 21, 2026
ASIFA-Hollywood is the world’s foremost professional organization dedicated to promoting the Art of Animation and celebrating the people who create it. Today, ASIFA-Hollywood, the largest chapter of the international organization ASIFA, supports a wide range of animation activities and preservation efforts through its membership. Current initiatives include the Animation Archive, Animation Aid Foundation, Animation Educators’ Forum (AEF), film preservation, open-source support, special events, screenings and the annual Annie Awards™.
Created in 1972 by veteran voice talent June Foray, the Annie Awards™ have grown in scope and stature for over five decades.
For up-to-the minute details and information on the 53rd Annie Awards™, please visit https://www.annieawards.org. For information on ASIFA-Hollywood, please visit www.asifa-hollywood.org.
