98th Academy Awards
Award ceremony for films of 2025
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The 98th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories honoring films released in 2025. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC and streamed on Hulu, was produced by Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, and was directed by Hamish Hamilton.[4] Comedian Conan O'Brien hosted the show for the second consecutive year.[5]
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Jesse Palmer[1]
| 98th Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
Official poster | |
| Date | March 15, 2026 |
| Site | Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Hosted by | Conan O'Brien |
| Preshow hosts | Tamron Hall Jesse Palmer[1] |
| Produced by | Raj Kapoor Katy Mullan |
| Directed by | Hamish Hamilton |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | One Battle After Another |
| Most awards | One Battle After Another (6) |
| Most nominations | Sinners (16) |
| TV in the United States | |
| Network | ABC Hulu |
| Duration | 3 hours, 40 minutes[2] |
| Ratings | 17.86 million 8.4% (Nielsen ratings)[3] |
In related events, the Academy held its 16th Governors Awards ceremony at the Ray Dolby Ballroom of the Ovation Hollywood complex in Hollywood on November 16, 2025.[6] The Academy Scientific and Technical Awards were presented by host Sofia Carson on April 28, 2026, in a ceremony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.[7]
One Battle After Another won the most awards, with six. including Best Picture and Best Casting, becoming the inaugural recipient for the latter category.[8] Entering into the gala, Sinners received sixteen nominations, which was the most by a film in Oscar history. It went on to win four awards. Other winners included Frankenstein with three; KPop Demon Hunters with two; and All the Empty Rooms, Avatar: Fire and Ash, F1, The Girl Who Cried Pearls, Hamnet, Mr Nobody Against Putin, Sentimental Value, The Singers, Two People Exchanging Saliva, and Weapons with one each.[8] The telecast drew 17.86 million viewers in the United States.
Winners and nominees
The nominees for the 98th Academy Awards were announced on January 22, 2026, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, by actress Danielle Brooks and actor Lewis Pullman.[9] Sinners led with a record-breaking sixteen nominations, the most in Oscar history; One Battle After Another came in second with thirteen.[10] The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 15.[11]
Michael B. Jordan became the second actor to win an Oscar for a dual role after Lee Marvin for Cat Ballou (1965).[12] At the age of 30, Timothée Chalamet became the youngest actor to earn three acting nominations since Marlon Brando who earned his third nomination for William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (1953), and also the youngest person to be nominated for both acting and producing in the same year.[13] The 40-year span between Amy Madigan's first nomination, for her supporting role in Twice in a Lifetime (1985), and her recent, for Weapons, set the record for the longest gap between Oscar nominations for an actress.[14] Ruth E. Carter became the most-nominated Black woman, across any category, with her fifth nomination for Best Costume Design.[15] Best Cinematography winner Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first female and black winner in the category as well as the first Filipino recipient; she also was the first woman of color to be nominated in the category.[16][17] The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva's joint win for Best Live Action Short Film marked the first occurrence of a tie since the 85th ceremony in 2013.[18]
Awards
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Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).[19]
Governors Awards
The Academy held its 16th annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 16, 2025, during which the following awards were presented:[6]
Academy Honorary Awards
- Debbie Allen – "A trailblazing choreographer and actor, whose work has captivated generations and crossed genres".[20]
- Tom Cruise – For his "incredible commitment to [the] filmmaking community, to the theatrical experience, and to the stunts community".[20]
- Wynn Thomas – "Production designer [who] has brought some of the most enduring films to life through a visionary eye and mastery of his craft".[20]
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
- Dolly Parton – A "beloved performer [who] exemplifies the spirit of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award through her unwavering dedication to charitable efforts".[20]
Films with multiple nominations and awards
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Presenters and performers
The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers:[a]
| Name | Role | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Bearden | Conductor Musical director |
Orchestral |
| Conan O'Brien Josh Groban |
Performers | "I Won" during the opening monologue |
| Miles Caton Misty Copeland Eric Gales Buddy Guy Brittany Howard Christone "Kingfish" Ingram Jayme Lawson Li Jun Li Bobby Rush Raphael Saadiq Shaboozey Alice Smith |
Performers | "I Lied to You" from Sinners |
| Los Angeles Master Chorale | Performers | "Storybook Love" from The Princess Bride and "Amazing Grace" during the "In Memoriam" segment |
| Barbra Streisand | Performer | "The Way We Were" from The Way We Were during the Robert Redford tribute |
| Lauren Han Ejae Audrey Nuna Rei Ami |
Performers | "Prologue (Hunter's Mantra)" and "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters |
Ceremony information
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In March 2025, the Academy hired television producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, for the third year in a row, to oversee production of the 2026 ceremony, with comedian and former talk show host Conan O'Brien as host of the event for the second consecutive year. Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney, long-time collaborators of O'Brien, also returned as producers for a second time; Sweeney also served as a writer.[28] "We are thrilled to bring back Conan, Raj, Katy, Jeff, and Mike for the 98th Oscars," stated AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer and then-AMPAS president Janet Yang in a press release. "[Last] year, they produced a hugely entertaining and visually stunning show that celebrated our nominees and the global film community in the most beautiful and impactful way. Conan was the perfect host — skillfully guiding us through the evening with humor, warmth and reverence. It is an honor to be working with them again."[29] In response, Kapoor and Mullan stated in a press release, "We are both so honored to be returning in our roles for the 98th Oscars. We can't wait to work with Conan and his entire team as we continue to explore even more special and heartfelt opportunities to celebrate next year's nominees and the impact of film around the world."[30]
Several others participated in the production of the ceremony and related events. Musician Michael Bearden was the musical director for the telecast; production designers Alana Billingsley and Misty Buckley designed a new stage for the show.[31] According to Buckley and Billingsley in an article publisher by Vanity Fair, the stage was designed to resemble a garden courtyard made out of glass, metal, and stone adorned with handmade trees and plants. The stage was also equipped with moving components, including mechanized LED panels that could move around the stage and reveal new spaces.[32] Comedian and journalist Amelia Dimoldenberg served as the social media and red carpet correspondent for the Oscars' online outlets.[33] Choreographer Mandy Moore oversaw both performances of the Best Original Song nominees including a production of "I Lied to You" from Sinners which featured cameos from Buddy Guy, Shaboozey, Brittany Howard, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Bobby Rush, Alice Smith, Eric Gales, and Misty Copeland.[34] Josh Groban, Jane Lynch, Sterling K. Brown, and Jim Downey appeared in scripted sketches, the latter reprising his role from One Battle After Another.[35]
Introduction of Best Casting award and other rule changes
Beginning with this ceremony, AMPAS introduced a new competitive award that would honor casting directors. The award was announced in a February 2024 press release with Academy CEO Kramer and then-AMPAS president Yang stating, "Casting directors play an essential role in filmmaking, and as the Academy evolves, we are proud to add casting to the disciplines that we recognize and celebrate."[36] Nominees would be initially voted in a preliminary round to determine a shortlist consisting of ten films. Each of the shortlisted films would have its respective casting director showcase their work in bake-off via written notes highlighting the process, film reel clips, and a Q&A with members of the Casting branch. The members in that branch would narrow down the roster to five nominees, and the entire membership would then vote for the winner.[37] A category to award achievement in casting had previously been rejected by the Academy in 1999.[38]
Additional rule changes approved by the AMPAS Board of Governors in April 2025 included:[39][40]
- Voters must now watch each of the nominated films in each category in order to vote for the winners of said category. Academy members could fulfill this requirement by watching the nominees on the Academy's streaming platform or uploading a ticket stub or any form of documentation stating that the member watched the film.
- In accordance with recommendations by the Academy’s Science and Technology Council regarding usage of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the filmmaking process, the group determined that the tools neither helped nor harmed a film's chances for receiving a nomination. The Academy and its branches would judge each achievement "taking into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship when choosing which movie to award."
- In the Best Picture category, films released in the first six months of the year must have shown proof of submission for Producers Guild of America (PGA) mark certification or awards-only determination by September 10, 2025; films released in the remaining months of the year must submit proof of submission for the PGA by November 13.
- For Best Animated Short Film, all Academy members were invited to participate in the nominations round.
- The Best Cinematography category would first have a preliminary short list featured ten to twenty films which would later be narrowed down to five nominees.
- For International Feature Film, eligibility rules regarding creative control now were updated in consideration of filmmakers with refugee or asylum status. The submitting country must confirm that creative control of the film was largely in the hands of citizens, residents, or individuals with refugee or asylum status in said submitting country.
Box office performance of Best Picture nominees
When the nominations were announced, eight of the ten films nominated for Best Picture had earned a combined gross of nearly $750 million at the American and Canadian box offices at the time. Sinners was the highest-grossing film among the Best Picture nominees with $280 million in domestic box office receipts. F1 came in second with $189.6 million; this was followed by Marty Supreme ($80.6 million), One Battle After Another ($71.6 million), Bugonia ($17.7 million), Hamnet ($15.3 million), Sentimental Value ($4.3 million), and The Secret Agent ($2.6 million). The box office figures for Frankenstein and Train Dreams were unavailable due to distributor Netflix's policy of refusing to release such figures.[41]
Critical reviews
Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "With Conan O'Brien returning as host in 2026, the ceremony was much in the spirit of his first go in 2025, except this was all in all a livelier, funnier show." He also gave high marks toward the Best Original song performances and the presentation of the "In Memoriam" segment.[42] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone complemented the "surprise wins, timely jokes, poignant speeches," host O'Brien's "right amount of bratty irreverence" and the Redford tribute by Streisand, describing it as "the kind of Oscar magic that could only happen on this award show".[43] Ben Travers of IndieWire opined that the show "felt like the first in a long time that were made with cinephiles top of mind," adding that O'Brien "brought his signature silliness and deft professionalism to a ceremony that thrived by giving film fans what they want".[44]
Variety chief film critic Owen Gleiberman called the show "a tasteful and overly safe show sustained by just enough suspense". He described the production design as "pleasingly bland and comfortable and a bit generic, like the show itself" and criticized the lack of "more explicit salute" to Best Picture winner One Battle After Another.[45] Television critic Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter complimented O'Brien's hosting and "stirring history-making wins," but pointed out the technical issues.[46] Television critic Judy Berman of Time criticized prioritizing "devastating news headlines or late-night-style topical zingers or impassioned hand-wringing of any variety" over "a celebration of film artistry do what art does better than almost anything else". However, she did reserve praise for O'Brien's hosting performances and several of the winners' acceptance speeches.[47]
Ratings and reception
The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 17.86 million people over its length, which was a 9% decrease from the previous year's ceremony.[48] The show also had 8.4% of households watching the ceremony based on Nielsen estimates, which was lower than the previous ceremony.[3] Additionally, it garnered a lower 18–49 demo rating with a 3.92 rating among viewers in that demographic.[49]
In July 2026, the broadcast was nominated for six awards at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards.[50]
"In Memoriam"
The annual "In Memoriam" tribute honored the following individuals.[51]
- Rob Reiner – actor, filmmaker
- Michele Singer Reiner – producer
- Isiah Whitlock Jr. – actor
- Homayoun Ershadi – actor
- Tom Stoppard – screenwriter, playwright
- Jackie Burch – casting director
- Stuart Craig – production designer
- Terence Stamp – actor
- Sally Kirkland – actress
- Lalo Schifrin – composer, musician
- T. K. Carter – actor
- Allie Light – documentary filmmaker
- Don Rogers – sound
- Arthur Cohn – producer
- Rosanna Norton – costume designer
- Lee Tamahori – director
- Claudia Cardinale – actress
- Béla Tarr – director
- Tatsuya Nakadai – actor
- Peter Kwong – actor
- Udo Kier – actor
- Christine Choy – documentary filmmaker
- Eduardo Serra – cinematographer
- Mark Peploe – writer
- Leslie Dilley – production designer
- Roger Allers – animator
- Loren Carpenter – animator, co-founder of Pixar
- Joel Sill – music supervisor
- Mary Cybulski – script supervisor
- David Steinberg – manager
- Andrew Karpen – executive
- Jeremy Larner – writer, author
- Giorgio Armani – fashion designer
- Michèle Burke – makeup artist
- Billy Williams – cinematographer
- Robert D. Benton – writer, director
- Diane Ladd – actress
- Diane Keaton – actress
- Catherine O'Hara – actress
- Stanley R. Jaffe – producer, executive
- Frederick Wiseman – documentary filmmaker
- Pauline Collins – actress
- Michael Madsen – actor
- Arthur Hamilton – songwriter
- Marcel Ophuls – documentary filmmaker
- Marvin Levy – publicist, marketing executive
- Mohammad Bakri – actor, director
- Kirk Francis – production mixer
- Don Hall – sound editor
- Skip Brittenham – lawyer
- Con Pederson – visual effects
- Drew Struzan – poster artist
- Nancy Seltzer – publicist
- Richard Kahn – marketing executive, past Academy president
- Frank Price – executive
- Don Zimmerman – film editor
- Wiliam Steinkamp – film editor
- Greg Cannom – makeup artist
- Theodor Pištěk – costume designer
- Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa – actor
- Susie Figgis – casting director
- Alan Bergman – songwriter, lyricist
- Gianni Quaranta – production designer
- Graham Greene – actor
- Val Kilmer – actor
- Robert Duvall – actor
- Robert Redford – actor, filmmaker
During the tribute, segments were dedicated particularly to Rob Reiner, Diane Keaton, Catherine O'Hara, and Robert Redford, with special presentations by Billy Crystal, Rachel McAdams, and Barbra Streisand, respectively.[52] Crystal's tribute to Reiner was joined by Kathy Bates, Annette Bening, John Cusack, Cary Elwes, Christopher Guest, Carol Kane, Michael McKean, Demi Moore, Jerry O'Connell, Mandy Patinkin, Kevin Pollak, Meg Ryan, Fred Savage, Kiefer Sutherland, Wil Wheaton, and Daphne Zuniga.[53]
