Los Angeles   - The Oscars are making way for the Winter Olympics next year as the ceremonies to award the top US film prizes were moved from February to March.

The 82nd Academy Awards are to be held on March 7 in Los Angeles, after the February 12-28 Olympics in Vancouver, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Wednesday.

The nominations for the awards, which were announced on January 22 this year, would be moved to February 2 next year, the academy said.

"In terms of the nominating process, that puts another week in the schedule for members to see movies," Leslie Unger, an academy spokeswoman, told People, a celebrity and lifestyle magazine. (dpa)