The 98th Academy Awards is now clearly outlined through official Academy and ABC updates. The ceremony honors films released in 2025, and the key parts of the event are already confirmed, including the date, venue, host, nominees, and live broadcast details.
When and Where the 98th Oscars Will Happen
The Academy has set the 98th Oscars for Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The ceremony is scheduled to air live on ABC at 7 p.m. ET and stream on Hulu.
The official live red carpet show is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. The Academy has also said the show will air in more than 200 territories worldwide.
Who Is Hosting the 2026 Academy Awards
Conan O’Brien is returning to host the 98th Oscars. Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan are back as executive producers, while Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney are also returning as producers.
In a later production update, the Academy said Rob Paine would return as co-executive producer, Hamish Hamilton as director, and Taryn Hurd and Sarah Levine Hall as producers.
The 2026 Oscars Lineup Is Officially in Place
The nominations were announced on January 22, 2026, by Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman. The Academy confirmed that 24 categories will be awarded this year, with five nominees in each category except Best Picture, which has 10.
The Best Picture nominees are Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle after Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams.
The Biggest Acting and Song Categories to Watch
In Actor in a Leading Role, the official nominee list includes Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme, Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle after Another, Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon, Michael B. Jordan for Sinners, and Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent.
Actresses in a Leading Role include Jessie Buckley for Hamnet, Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue, Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value, and Emma Stone for Bugonia.
In Music, the nominated original songs are Dear Me, Golden, I Lied To You, Sweet Dreams Of Joy, and Train Dreams.
Music Will Be a Major Part of This Year’s Show
The Academy’s March 10 announcement confirmed a KPop Demon Hunters performance featuring EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, and REI AMI performing the nominated song Golden.
The show will also feature a Sinners performance of I Lied To You by Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq, joined by Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey, and Alice Smith.
Josh Groban and the Los Angeles Master Chorale are also scheduled to appear.
The Stage Will Be Shared by a Wide List of Major Stars
The Academy has released several presenter announcements for the ceremony. Among the names officially confirmed are Nicole Kidman, Jimmy Kimmel, Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, Rose Byrne, Ewan McGregor, Delroy Lindo, Wagner Moura, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Hathaway, Paul Mescal, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Evans, Demi Moore, Kumail Nanjiani, Maya Rudolph, Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin, Mikey Madison, and Zoe Saldaña.
Matt Berry has also been named as the announcer for the show.
Here Is How the Academy Chooses the Winners
The Academy says members from each of its 19 branches vote to determine nominees in their own categories, while all active members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees.
For the final round, the Academy said voting began on February 26, 2026, and concluded on March 5, 2026. It also said all rounds of Oscars voting are conducted by secret online ballot and tabulated by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
With the host confirmed, the nominees locked, the production team set, and the performance and presenter lineups officially announced, the 98th Academy Awards already looks like a major event with very little left unclear.
