Next year's Oscars ceremony could reportedly be delayed by four months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The prestigious ceremony normally takes place in February and even though it is expected to be safe for it to go ahead, a delay may be necessary due to the lack of films being released this year.

The spread of COVID-19 has shut down cinemas around the world, forcing studios to either delay the release of blockbuster movies or release them through on-demand services.

"The ongoing coronavirus crisis has caused waves in the industry and has decimated plans for so many releases this year," a source told The Sun. "The Oscars organisers have been in talks for weeks about whether the ceremony can go ahead given so many releases have been pushed back.

"There would be a mutiny if changes weren't made and the industry could be totally ravaged if film studios held back their offerings until the 2022 ceremony to be eligible.

"What they're proposing is pushing back the ceremony, which was going to take place on February 28, to either late May or early June. Doing this means films forced to postpone their release dates can put them out later this year or in early 2021 knowing they will still be eligible for the Oscars.

"Film studios have been informed of the plans and are now drawing up their release dates accordingly. But with everything still so up in the air, it's all rather tentative at the moment."

The Oscars is currently scheduled to go ahead on February 28, 2021.