The race has been utterly chaotic and unpredictable so far – so what can we expect from the night itself?
Image: Pic: Reuters
When and where?
The 97th Academy Awards will be held today at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
The red carpet will begin at 3.30pm Eastern time, which is 8.30pm UK time, followed by the ceremony at 7pm Eastern time, which is midnight in the UK. It will be a late night for the UK’s movie lovers, but worth staying up to see who takes home a gong on the night.
Traditionally the last awards ceremony of awards season, this year’s Oscar ceremony follows the devastating wildfires which tore through Los Angeles in early January.
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The Academy twice extended their voting period, postponing the announcement of nominations, but remained steadfast on the 2 March ceremony, arguing that the show must go on as a symbol of resilience.
Accordingly, this year’s Oscar theme is “celebration of connection”, and will aim to unite the global film community following scenes of destruction so close to home.
Image: Conan O’Brien. Pic: AP
Who’s hosting?
Comedian and late-night show host Conan O’Brien will present for the first time.
Previous stints writing for The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live stand him in good stead, and while he’s unlikely to roast any of the esteemed A-listers in attendance, his irreverential style offers scope for some potential off-the-cuff fun.
He follows in the footsteps of Jimmy Kimmel, three-for-one trio Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes and several years of hostless Oscar ceremonies.
Image: Cynthia Erivo (L) and Ariana Grande at the Golden Globes. Pic: AP
Who’s performing?
Usually, the best original song nominees perform on the night – but not this year.
The Academy have said they wanted to “move away from live performances”, and instead focus on songwriters.
Others have suggested criticism around the clunkiness of some Emilia Perez lyrics (two of the narco-musical’s numbers have made it into the category) may have led to a performance re-think.
Plus, the songs from Wicked weren’t even eligible for best song because they were inherited from the Broadway musical and so not original to the movie.
Image: Flying the flag for the UK, Raye. Pic: AP
But while there’s a little confusion around the choice, there’s one thing everyone agrees on: It would be criminal to have Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the house and not having them belt out a number – so they’re scheduled to sing on the night.
Other performances include singer Doja Cat, Blackpink and White Lotus star Lisa, rapper Queen Latifah and British singer Raye.
There will also be a musical tribute to late producer and composer Quincy Jones and a special appearance by the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Image: (R-L): Cillian Murphy, Emma Stone, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Robert Downey Jr. Pic: Reuters
What awards are given out?
There are 23 categories to award during the three-hour ceremony (this will go up to 24 next year when a casting category is added).
No wonder winners are encouraged to keep to 45 seconds in their acceptance speeches, after which point music is played to subtly encourage them off-stage.
Image: Rachel Zegler will present an award. Pic: Retuters
Who’s presenting?
The latest stars to be announced as presenters include Dave Bautista, Harrison Ford, Gal Gadot, Andrew Garfield, Samuel L Jackson, Margaret Qualley, Alba Rohrwacher, Zoe Saldana and Rachel Zegler.
Last year’s four best actor category winners Robert Downey Jr, Cillian Murphy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Emma Stone will return to hand out awards.
Previously announced presenters include Joe Alwyn, Halle Berry, Sterling K Brown, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Ana de Armas, Lily-Rose Depp, Elle Fanning, Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Goldie Hawn, Scarlett Johansson, John Lithgow, Connie Nielsen, Amy Poehler, June Squibb, Ben Stiller, Oprah Winfrey and Bowen Yang.
Image: Pic: Neon
Who do we reckon will win?
It’s one of the most hotly contested competitions in years, and clear front-runners few and far between.
Many feel the best supporting actor categories are the closest to being locked in, with Kieran Culkin the favourite to take best supporting actor and Zoe Saldana the most likely Emilia Perez star to take home a gong following the movie’s self-destructing campaign.
Best actor is largely seen as a fight between Adrien Brody for The Brutalist (it would be his second Oscar win) and Ralph Fiennes for his turn as an affable cardinal in Conclave.
Best actress is expected to be a battle between Demi Moore for The Substance and Mikey Madison for Anora.
Best director could well be handed to Anora’s Sean Baker or The Brutalist’s Brady Corbet, while the most prestigious gong of the night – best picture – is expected to go to Anora or Conclave.
Image: Fernanda Torres stars in I’m Still Here. Pic: Altitude
Any surprises on the cards?
In best actor, Timothee Chalamet, in his ongoing pursuit for greatness, could swoop in and take the prize over Brody and Fiennes. At 29 he’d become the youngest ever winner.
In best actress, Brazilian star Fernanda Torres – despite being previously pretty much unknown in the US – has become the name on everyone’s lips for her lead role in I’m Still Here.
With many voters not watching the film until late in the day, it’s likely to have been fresh in their minds come voting week, and as a word-of-mouth hit might have swayed voters in their final hours.
If Torres were to win, she’d achieve a feat that evaded her mother, actress Fernanda Montenegro, who was up for the prize in 1999. Montenegro was pipped to the post by Gwyneth Paltrow, who famously sobbed her way through her emotional acceptance speech.
I’m Still Here could cause an upset in best picture too. Up for best international feature, best actress and best picture, if it took the latter prize – traditionally the biggest win of the night – it would be a Parasite-like surprise coup for the foreign language film, and only the second time a non-English language film has ever taken the gong following Bong Joon-ho’s shock win.
Sky News will be liveblogging the whole night – from red carpet arrivals through to the ceremony – and will follow up with a hosted livestream from the Vanity Fair and Sir Elton John after-party red carpets, catching the Oscar-winners as they party the night away.
Anora has dominated the Academy Awards, winning five gongs including best picture.
The film’s star, Mikey Madison, who plays a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, took home the best actress award – a win that was not a total upset, but many had expected Demi Moore to scoop the prize for her performance in The Substance.
Anora filmmaker Sean Baker was named best director, and used his acceptance speech to make a plea for audiences to support cinemas, which he said were “a vital part of our culture” and at risk of being lost.
Both also thanked sex workers who consulted on the film, saying they could never have made it without them.
Anora also won the Oscarsfor best original screenplay and best editing. Winning all four awards he was up for, Baker tied with Walt Disney’s record for the most Oscar wins by a single person in a single night – although Disney won his awards for multiple works, rather than a single film as Baker has done.
Adrien Brody won the best actor Oscar for playing Hungarian architect Lazlo Toth in architectural epic The Brutalist.
It was his second Academy Award win in the category some 22 years after his first, for The Pianist back in 2003.
Image: Adrien Brody won the best actor award – his second Oscar – for his performance in The Brutalist. Pic: Reuters
Accepting his award in a lengthy speech, he paid tribute to his partner Georgina Chapman, who he said had “re-invigorated” his “self-worth” and “sense of value”.
Best cinematography also went to The Brutalist directror Brady Corbet’s three-and-a-half-hour epic, which also took home the prize for best original score.
Papal thriller Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes, took just one award, for best adapted screenplay.
Image: Kieran Culkin won best supporting actor. Pic: Reuters
Kieran Culkin took the first award of the night, best supporting actor, for his role in comedy drama A Real Pain, while the best supporting actress prize was won by Emilia Perez star Zoe Saldana, her first Oscar win and nomination.
One of the highest-grossing actresses ever, she cried out “Mommy, mommy”, on stage, explaining her entire family was there with her. She became tearful at the end of her speech as she spoke of being “a proud child of immigrant parents”.
Image: Zoe Saldana was named best actress. Pic: Reuters
Announced by Mick Jagger, best song went to Emilia Perez’s El Mal (which translates as “Evil”), while the prize for costume design went to Wicked’s Paul Tazewell – who became the first black man to receive the award. The Wizard Of Oz prequel also won best production design.
Brazilian director Walter Salles won best international feature for Portuguese-language film I’m Still Here, set in the 1970s in the midst of the Brazil’s brutal military dictatorship.
A word-of-mouth hit, the film’s Brazilian star Fernanda Torres has gone from a relative unknown to a much-talked-about actress in the US in the last few months.
Image: Star of I’m Still Here, Fernanda Torres. Pic: Reuters
Make-up and hairstyling was awarded to body horror The Substance, a film which showcased extreme prosthetics, make-up and gore throughout. It was the film’s only win of the night.
The documentary categories went to The Only Girl In The Orchestra and No Other Land – made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective – for short film and feature film respectively.
Accepting the prize, it’s makers Basel Dra and Yuval Abraham made a political plea to the US: “The foreign policy in this country is helping to block [the path of peace]. Why? Can’t you see that we are intertwined? There is another way. It’s not too late for life, for the living.”
Best sound and best visual effects went to Dune: Part Two, directed by Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve.
A night where independent and unusual filmmaking was rewarded, best animated feature went to Latvian computer-generated film Flow, while best animated short film was won by Iranian entry The Shadow Of The Cypress. Both international productions are dialogue-free.
Live action short film went to I’m Not A Robot, a study in an AI-fueled identity crisis.
Image: Tributes were paid to a host of late industry greats, starting with Gene Hackman. Pic: AP/Chris Pizzello
A video montage honoured Academy members who have passed away over the last year, including British stars Dame Maggie Smith and Dame Joan Plowwright and Donald Sutherland, and US performers James Earl Jones, Kris Kristofferson and David Lynch.
There was also a moving segment honouring late music producer Quincy Jones, led by Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg and featuring rapper Queen Latifah.
Sky News is livestreaming the Vanity Fair and Sir Elton John after-party red carpets following the ceremony. Catching the Oscar-winners as they party the night away, join us there from 6am.
A surprise Bond tribute, a win that means one actor could become a father again (twice), and an urgent chewing gum disposal – the 2025 Oscars had plenty of talking points aside from the wins.
Adrien Brody was named best actor, with his film The Brutalist taking home three awards in total, while Emilia Perez, Wicked and Dune: Part Two each picked up two.
But we don’t tune in to the Oscars just for the wins. We tune in for the fashion! And the mad moments on stage.
So here’s everything else that went on during the ceremony.
Way to make an entrance
Image: Pic: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
As openers go, it was quite the arrival. In a send-up of body horror The Substance, host Conan O’Brien emerged from Demi Moore’s spine to make it to the ceremony.
“Conan, everyone’s waiting,” a nervous runner shouted as he knocked on the comedian’s dressing room door – but O’Brien had to dive back in to Moore’s back as he was missing a shoe.
The “four-time Oscar viewer”, as O’Brien was introduced, then launched into an opening monologue which included the usual roasts of some of the nominees in the audience.
The biggest collective “ooh” came when he referenced the swearing in Anora – comparing it to that of Emilia Perez star Karla Sofia Gascon’s publicist in recent weeks, after old tweets posted by the actress emerged in the wake of her Oscar nomination.
Gascon, who has been absent from red carpets following the controversy, was then shown in the audience. “If you’re going to tweet,” O’Brien asked her, “remember my name is Jimmy Kimmel”.
Adrien Brody needed to get rid of his chewing gum
Image: Pic: AP/ Chris Pizzello
After being named best actor for his performance in The Brutalist, Adrien Brody gave a poignant speech, acknowledging how acting “looks very glamorous and at certain moments it is”, but can also be a “fragile profession” and that he has learned the importance of perspective.
However, just seconds after his name was announced, as he was walking to the stage, Brody seemed to realise he was chewing gum. Which probably isn’t a good look for an Oscar winner giving a poignant speech.
So what do you do? No doubt in a bit of a panic, Brody chose to turn round, take it out – and throw it at his partner, Georgina Chapman. Which was all caught on camera before he turned round again and walked on stage.
He then gave a long speech, which led to producers attempting to play him out – but Brody told them to turn it off. Now, playing the music is a little rude, but his response? “I’ve been here before… It’s not my first rodeo.” Not great.
He went on to speak about wanting to fight against “systematic oppression, and antisemitism and racism”, adding that people should “not let hate go unchecked”.
Best speech goes to…
Image: Pic: AP/Chris Pizzello
Hailing Kieran Culkin‘s award acceptance speeches is almost getting boring now, but you’ve got to give it to him. He’s been a highlight of the awards season.
The actor, who picked up the best supporting actor gong for his performance in A Real Pain, started off by paying tribute to his fellow nominee and former Succession co-star Jeremy Strong, who was up for his performance in The Apprentice, as well as his A Real Pain co-star and director Jesse Eisenberg.
“Thank you for this movie, you are a genius,” he said to Eisenberg. “I will never say this again, so soak it up.”
So far, so fine. But Culkin went on to tell a story about how his wife, Jazz Charton, with whom he has two children, saying she had promised him a third after his previous Emmy win for Succession. And then a fourth if he ever won an Oscar.
“Love of my life, ye of little faith,” he told her, on stage. “I held my hand and you shook it… no pressure, I love you, I am really sorry I did this again, let’s get cracking on those kids.”
Firefighters get their moment
Image: Members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department joined host Conan O’Brien on stage. Pic: AP/Chris Pizzello
Ahead of O’Brien’s opening monologue, a video showing clips of films about California and Los Angeles, such as La La Land and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, were shown in a tribute following the wildfires that tore through the county of LA in January.
During his opener, the host also managed a deft change of tone from his jokes to reference the tragedy.
“The people of Los Angeles have clearly been through a devastating ordeal,” he said. While awards shows can seem indulgent, he added, “the Oscars also shines the light on people you never see, technicians craftspeople, costume people.”
Later on, members of the fire service who tackled the blazes were introduced on stage and received a standing ovation from the stars in the audience.
O’Brien called them “heroes”, before inviting them to make jokes about comic book musical Joker 2, which was badly reviewed by critics, and Bob Dylan’s singing voice.
Bond tribute – but still no news
Image: Margaret Qualley performs during the James Bond tribute. Pic: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
First, the Oscars announced they would not be featuring original song performances during the ceremony this year, a break from tradition saying they wanted to focus more on songwriters.
Then, earlier this week, they announced Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo would be performing, actually, with stars including Doja Cat, British singer-songwriter Raye and Lisa of Blackpink on the bill, too.
Grande and Erivo naturally took things to the Emerald City at the start of the ceremony, but later on we found out what was planned for the others – a tribute to James Bond.
Introduced by former Bond star Halle Berry following a montage of 007 clips, Lisa belted out Live And Let Die by Wings, rapper Doja Cat sang Dame Shirley Bassey’s Diamonds Are Forever, while Raye performed Adele’s Skyfall – with the number also including a dance performance starring The Substance actress Margaret Qualley.
After the major news of the Amazon creative control takeover in February, were producers about to make the announcement Bond fans have been waiting for since Daniel Craig’s farewell in 2021 – the next 007 reveal? With such a long section dedicated to the nation’s favourite spy, especially given he hasn’t appeared on screen for five years, it certainly appeared that way.
But no. This was a tribute for Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, who have ran the franchise since the mid-1990s after taking over from their father Albert “Cubby” Broccoli. The pair were announced as the recipients of the Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award, an honorary Academy Award, at the Governors Awards last year.
So stand down, everyone. Looks like we’ve got longer to wait yet to find out what’s next for Bond.
Records broken
Image: Paul Tazewell, winner of the award for best costume design. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
If you wanna be a record breaker… dedication’s what you need. And with Anora’s five wins, including four personally for filmmaker Sean Baker, the director has equalled or broken a record held by none other than Walt Disney, depending on which way you look at it.
He equals Disney’s record for four wins for one person in one night, set in 1952 – but as Disney’s wins were for separate projects, Baker takes the record for most wins for one person for the same film.
Elsewhere, Wicked’s costume designer Paul Tazewell received a standing ovation as he became the first black man to win the award, and Latvia also picked up its first-ever Oscar, best animated feature film, for Flow.
Morgan Freeman pays tribute to Gene Hackman
Image: Morgan Freeman paid tribute to Gene Hackman. Pic: AP/Chris Pizzello
Following the news of Hollywood legend and Oscar winner Gene Hackman’s death earlier this week, a tribute to the star led the ceremony’s annual In Memoriam segment.
In an emotional speech, Morgan Freeman paid tribute to his friend, whom he worked with on Unforgiven and Under Suspicion.
Hackman was a “generous performer”, he said, who “won the hearts of film lovers around the world”.
He had always wanted to do “good work” in film, Freeman told the audience. “You’ll be remembered for that, and so much more”.
The section then continued with on-screen tributes to stars including Dame Maggie Smith, Kris Kristofferson, Donald Sutherland, Joan Plowright, David Lynch and James Earl Jones, who all died in 2024.
Later on, there was also a separate tribute to legendary music producer Quincy Jones, who also died last year, led by Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg.
Hollywood’s biggest stars have begun arriving at the Oscars in Los Angeles.
Demi Moore, Timothee Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Zoe Saldana and Kieran Culkin are among the A-list nominees, with the race to win this year’s top prizes wide open.