After attempting to steal what little Golden Globes thunder remained by scheduling themselves on the exact same date, the Critics Choice Awards were delayed (understandably) by Omicron variant fears. A new date has been announced: March 13th, 2022. That's well timed in terms of Oscar (two weeks prior) but poorly timed in terms of celebrity strategy as it's the exact same day as the BAFTA ceremony!
Now it's possible things will work out for both shows as some celebrities will not want to cross the ocean (in either direction) due to COVID but it's still a worrisome choice; Celebrity presence is crucial to the success of live awards ceremonies. On the other hand, the calendar was filling up so the show had to go somewhere. If Sunday was the only day of the week to do it (why is that the only day of the week? the Oscar were on Mondays for decades!) there were very few options remaining. February 20th was the Olympics closing ceremony. February 27th was already claimed for SAG Awards. March 6th belongs to the Film Independent Spirit Awards. But what was wrong with, say, March 20th, the week before the Oscars? What do you make of the move?