When Are The Oscars 2026: Road to the 98th Academy Awards

Riley Calderon

Published: March 2, 2026 6:46 AM ET

When Are The Oscars 2026: Road to the 98th Academy Awards

For readers asking when are the oscars 2026: the 98th Oscars ceremony will take place on March 15, 2026, beginning at 7 p. m. ET / 4 p. m. PT at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The show will air live and stream live on Sunday, March 15, 2026.

When Are The Oscars 2026 Details

The broadcast will be hosted by Conan O'Brien for a second consecutive year. In a January interview the television host and comedian teased “a lot of possibilities” for the upcoming show, and added, “Early on, you just generate possibilities for the show: 'What might we do?' You have to wait and see which movies are nominated, what's in the zeitgeist, so there'll be a lot of ideas that come in late. Sometimes those are the best ideas. ” Executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan announced additional presenters on Thursday, including Javier Bardem, Chris Evans, Chase Infiniti, Demi Moore, Kumail Nanjiani and Maya Rudolph. Producers said they will announce more talent joining the show in the coming weeks. Last year’s acting winners Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin, Mikey Madison and Zoe Saldaña will return to present at this year’s ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced earlier this month.

Venue and street closures

Nominees convened at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on Feb. 10 for the annual Oscars luncheon, where they took the official class photo and mingled. The luncheon doubled as a reunion, bringing filmmakers and actors back together as nominees traded congratulations and soaked in the moment. To accommodate press risers and pre-show stages along the Oscars red carpet, all lanes of Hollywood Boulevard are closed from Orange Drive to Highland Avenue from 12: 01 a. m. on Thursday, March 5, until 6 a. m. on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. MTA will begin re-routing bus traffic and subway trains will bypass the Ovation Hollywood station after the last regularly scheduled train on Saturday, March 14, until the first scheduled train after 6 a. m. on Monday, March 16. Between Sunday, March 1, and Oscars Sunday, March 15, additional streets and sidewalks will be closed for varying periods. Details and maps of affected areas are available from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Thirteenth District City Council field offices and on the Academy's website.

Hosts and presenters announced

Conan O'Brien returns as host. Producers and executive producers have assembled a presenting roster that includes returning winners Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin, Mikey Madison and Zoe Saldaña, plus the newly announced Javier Bardem, Chris Evans, Chase Infiniti, Demi Moore, Kumail Nanjiani and Maya Rudolph. Producers said additional presenters will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Nominations and leading films

2026 Oscar nominations were revealed in January. The 98th Academy Awards will celebrate the top films from the past year, spanning titles from "Hamnet" to "Marty Supreme, " "Sinners" and more. "Sinners" led the field with 14 nominations, breaking the record for the most Oscar nominations ever, a title previously held by "Titanic, " "La La Land" and "All About Eve, " which each had 14. Close behind, "One Battle After Another" received 13 nominations. "Marty Supreme, " "Frankenstein, " and "Sentimental Value" each earned nine nominations. "Hamnet" is up for eight nominations. Following the nominations announcement on Jan. 22, Chris Connelly and Kelley Carter broke down the biggest snubs and surprises.

Museum season and WAMG history

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is running an Oscars Season at the Academy Museum program now through March 22. The season offers in-gallery tours, Oscar Nominee Spotlights, exclusive store merchandise, special pricing for The Oscars Experience presented in the East West Bank Gallery, Oscar-winning film screenings, and the Official Oscars Watch Party—an evening to view the broadcast and celebrate this year’s nominees and iconic Oscars moments. A retrospective note in the build-up recalled that on March 19, 1953 the Oscars presentation was first televised when the NBC TV and radio network carried the 25th Oscars ceremonies live from Hollywood with Bob Hope as master of ceremonies; 73 years later the 98th Oscars will air live and stream live on Sunday, March 15, 2026. A longtime independent site that began 16 years ago by applying for press credentials described its evolution from pre-dawn Nomination Morning coverage to earning pressroom status, where journalists interview winners immediately after they leave the stage. The piece closed with the line "From Marc. "

Reactions and predictions

Discussion and debate have followed nominations and awards-season voting. Forum comments included a range of reactions and predictions: "I knew Chalamet wouldn’t become the first person EVER to win back-to-back SAG awards. " Another comment read, "Chalamet has no industry support. He lost BAFTA and SAG. Marty Supreme went 0/11 at the BAFTA and 0/3 at SAG. He won’t win the Oscar. " A separate post noted, "Chalamet has the AACTA, but going into Oscar night with that alone isn’t enough to win. " One poster observed, "At AACTA, Timmy’s race was against Hugh Jackman, Russle Crowe and Joel Edgerton, not Michael B Jordan who wasn’t even nominated. " Other forum entries included sharper lines such as, "Timothee Chalamet being snubbed like the black man he always wanted to be Only to lose to an actual Black man. One last hurrah for Black History Month!" and, "Timmy Supreme has wafted like a fart in the wind since nomination day. " A user listed music categories and winners in the same thread and others weighed veteran performances: "I can’t believe Leo hasn’t won anything despite being in the Best Picture frontrunner. I really liked his performance so it’s a shame he received nothing for it. " Multiple contributors circled the race: "I think i’m going to stick with Timothée for the oscar... I thought Timothée’s performance was far better... The race is definitely now between MBJ and Timmy though. Everyone else is out. " Another summed up the unpredictability: "So we either have a winner to not win bafta or sag or a winner that wasnt even nommed for the aacta. Either way it will be quite a unique year. "

With the ceremony set for March 15 at 7 p. m. ET / 4 p. m. PT at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, nominees, presenters, museum programming and street plans are all in place as the industry heads into Oscars week.