The 98th Academy Awards, honoring the best in cinema from 2025 in style, full of surprises, and unforgettable moments, will be celebrated on March 15, 2026. This prestigious event will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.Fans across the world wait with bated breath for the drama and surprises that the red carpet has in store, as the biggest stars in the industry gather for the biggest night in cinema history.

Ceremony essentials

The show kicks off with a red-carpet preview at 6:30 p.m. ET on ABC and E!, offering glimpses of high fashion and early arrivals. O’Brien takes the stage at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT), guiding a three-hour broadcast filled with musical numbers, tributes, and award handouts. Street closures around Hollywood Boulevard begin March 5 for setup, impacting local traffic until March 18. The MTA is making adjustments around Ovation Hollywood to ensure the event runs smoothly.

98th Academy Awards (Oscars 2026): Full List of Categories and Nominees

The 98th Academy Awards will honor the best films of 2025 and will take place on March 15, 2026 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Best Picture

‘Bugonia’‘F1’‘Frankenstein’‘Hamnet’‘Marty Supreme’‘One Battle After Another’‘The Secret Agent’‘Sentimental Value’‘Sinners’‘Train Dreams’

Best Director

Chloé Zhao – ‘Hamnet’Paul Thomas Anderson -‘One Battle After Another’Ryan Coogler – ‘Sinners’Joachim Trier – ‘Sentimental Value’Josh Safdie – ‘Marty Supreme’

Best Actor (Leading Role)

Timothée Chalamet – ‘Marty Supreme’Leonardo DiCaprio – ‘One Battle After Another’Ethan Hawke – ‘Blue Moon’Michael B. Jordan -‘Sinners’Wagner Moura – ‘The Secret Agent’

Best Actress (Leading Role)

Jessie Buckley – ‘Hamnet’Rose Byrne – ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’Kate Hudson – ‘Song Sung Blue’Renate Reinsve – ‘Sentimental Value’Emma Stone – ‘Bugonia’

Best Supporting Actor

Benicio del Toro -‘ One Battle After Another’Jacob Elordi -‘ Frankenstein’Delroy Lindo -‘Sinners’Sean Penn-‘ One Battle After Another’Stellan Skarsgård- ‘Sentimental Value’

Best Supporting Actress

Elle Fanning- ‘Sentimental Value’Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas- ‘Sentimental Value’Amy Madigan – ‘Weapons’Wunmi Mosaku- ‘Sinners’Teyana Taylor-‘ One Battle After Another’

Best Animated Feature

‘Arco’‘Elio’‘KPop Demon Hunters’‘Little Amélie or the Character of Rain’‘Zootopia 2’

Best International Feature Film

The Secret Agent — BrazilIt Was Just an Accident — FranceSentimental Value — NorwaySirāt — SpainThe Voice of Hind Rajab — Tunisia

Best Film Editing

‘F1’‘Marty Supreme’‘One Battle After Another’‘Sentimental Value’‘Sinners’v

Best Production Design

‘Frankenstein’‘Hamnet’‘Marty Supreme’‘One Battle After Another’‘Sinners’

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

‘Frankenstein’‘Kokuho’‘Sinners’‘The Smashing Machine’‘The Ugly Stepsister

Best Original Score

‘Bugonia’‘Frankenstein’‘Hamnet’‘One Battle After Another’‘Sinners’

Best Original Song

“Dear Me” — ‘Diane Warren: Relentless’“Golden”—’KPop Demon Hunters’“I Lied to You” — ‘Sinners’“Sweet Dreams of “Joy”—’Viva Verdi!’“Train Dreams” — ‘Train Dreams’

Best Sound

‘F1’‘Frankenstein’‘One Battle After Another’‘Sinners’‘Sirāt’

Best Animated Short Film

‘Butterfly’‘Forevergreen’‘The Girl Who Cried Pearls’‘Perfectly a Strangeness’

Best Live Action Short Film

‘Butcher’s Stain’‘A Friend of Dorothy’‘Jane Austen’s Period Drama’‘The Singers’‘Two People Exchanging Saliva ‘

Host and presenters

Conan O’Brien is back with his signature wit and is fresh from a successful stint as host in 2025. His monologue was a hilarious roast of the nominees while still paying tribute to the films. He has the appeal of the young audience from TikTok as well as the old guard.Presenters include a mix of recent winners and icons. Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin, Mikey Madison, and Zoe Saldaña present following their 2025 wins. Javier Bardem brings the global heat, Chris Evans brings the charm, and Chase Infiniti, Demi Moore, Kumail Nanjiani, and Maya Rudolph provide the laughs. It will be fun to see the banter during the big categories.

Iconic Afterparty: Vanity Fair at LACMA

Post-ceremony, the Vanity Fair Oscar Party shifts to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in the David Geffen Galleries, a multiyear first after Beverly Hills. Global Editorial Director Mark Guiducci hails it as ideal for Hollywood’s artist-mogul-tech fusion. Red carpet livestreams from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. PT on VanityFair.com and YouTube, hosted by Quenlin Blackwell, Jake Shane, and Brittany Broski for celeb interviews and fashion scoops.Inside, no cameras ensure privacy amid DJ sets, live acts, and upscale eats like black truffle lasagna, Thomas Keller chicken pot pie, and late-night In-N-Out. Premium bars flow with cocktails. Invite-only guests include Oscar winners, presenters like Brody and Saldaña, and O’Brien for cameos.

Where to watch it?

Stream ABC on Disney+ in select areas or catch the Academy Museum’s Official Oscars Watch Party from 3 p.m., with live feeds, receptions, and photo ops for $125. Creative cocktail attire fits the vibe, including a museum book.