The countdown is on for Hollywood’s biggest night, with the 98th Academy Awards set to celebrate the best films and performances of the past year.
The ceremony will honour the standout achievements in cinema from 2025, bringing together some of the biggest names in the global film industry for an evening of awards, performances and star-studded moments.
The 98th Academy Awards will take place in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026.
As always, the ceremony will be held at the iconic Dolby Theatre, where filmmakers, actors and creatives will gather to recognise the year’s most acclaimed films and performances.
For viewers in Ireland, the Oscars will air live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, with red carpet coverage beginning at 11pm on Sunday (March 15) and the ceremony itself starting at midnight.
There is strong Irish representation among this year’s nominees.
Jessie Buckley has been nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Hamnet, where she plays Agnes Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare. If she wins, the Kerry-born actress would become the first Irish woman to win the Best Actress Oscar.
Buckley previously received an Academy Award nomination in 2022 in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in The Lost Daughter.
Hamnet has also earned recognition for its screenplay, with Coleraine-born author Maggie O’Farrell nominated alongside director Chloé Zhao for adapting O’Farrell’s bestselling novel. The story explores the emotional events that inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Elsewhere, Ireland’s presence continues behind the scenes, with the Irish animated short Retirement Plan earning a nomination and special effects supervisor Richard Baneham recognised for his work on Avatar: Fire and Ash.
The ceremony will feature several live musical performances celebrating this year’s nominated songs.
Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the voices behind the fictional group HUNTR/X, will perform “Golden” from the animated film KPop Demon Hunters. The performance will open with a blend of traditional Korean instruments and dance, reflecting the cultural influences behind the film.
A separate segment will pay tribute to the film Sinners, with Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq performing the nominated song “I Lied to You.” They will be joined by a large group of performers including Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey and Alice Smith.
The ceremony will also include appearances from Josh Groban and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
A number of major stars will present awards during the night.
Among them is Irish actor Paul Mescal, who will take to the stage alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Hathaway, Will Arnett and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
They join a previously announced group of presenters including Adrien Brody, Javier Bardem, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Chase Infiniti, Mikey Madison, Demi Moore, Kumail Nanjiani, Maya Rudolph and Zoe Saldaña.
Conan O’Brien will return to host the ceremony for the second year in a row.
His first stint as host last year was widely praised and helped draw nearly 20 million viewers, with audiences responding positively to his energetic opening monologue, musical number and comedic sketches.
One of the biggest talking points this year is Sinners, which has made history by receiving 16 nominations, the most ever for a single film at the Oscars. The Ryan Coogler-directed vampire drama, starring Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers, surpasses the previous record of 14 nominations held by All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land.
Meanwhile, Paul Thomas Anderson’s political action-comedy One Battle After Another follows closely behind with 13 nominations.
Other big names in the running include Timothée Chalamet, who is hoping to win after two previous Oscar nominations, and Jessie Buckley, who is considered one of the leading contenders in the Best Actress race.
Several changes have been introduced for the 2026 ceremony.
The most notable is the introduction of a new category for Best Casting, which recognises the work of casting directors in assembling a film’s cast.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has also implemented a new rule requiring voters to watch all nominated films in a category before casting their final vote, in an effort to make the process more thorough and transparent.
The Academy has also clarified its guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking, stating that films using AI-assisted tools can still qualify for awards, provided human creativity remains central to the work.
For viewers in Ireland, the 98th Academy Awards will be broadcast live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from 11pm on Sunday, March 15, with the ceremony beginning at midnight.
For anyone who misses the overnight broadcast, RTÉ will air a highlights programme on Monday, March 16 at 9.30pm on RTÉ2.
Timothée Chalamet — Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio — One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke — Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
Wagner Moura — The Secret Agent
Benicio Del Toro — One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi — Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo — Sinners
Sean Penn — One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård — Sentimental Value
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
Elle Fanning — Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas — Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan — Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners
Teyana Taylor — One Battle After Another
Arco — Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman
Elio — Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina and Mary Alice Drumm
KPop Demon Hunters — Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain — Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago and Henri Magalon
Zootopia 2 — Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Yvett Merino
Butterfly — Florence Miailhe and Ron Dyens
Forevergreen — Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears
The Girl Who Cried Pearls — Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
Retirement Plan — John Kelly and Andrew Freedman
The Three Sisters — Konstantin Bronzit
Hamnet — Nina Gold
Marty Supreme — Jennifer Venditti
One Battle After Another — Cassandra Kulukundis
The Secret Agent — Gabriel Domingues
Sinners — Francine Maisler
Frankenstein — Dan Laustsen
Marty Supreme — Darius Khondji
One Battle After Another — Michael Bauman
Sinners — Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Train Dreams — Adolpho Veloso
Avatar: Fire and Ash — Deborah L. Scott
Frankenstein — Kate Hawley
Hamnet — Malgosia Turzanska
Marty Supreme — Miyako Bellizzi
Sinners — Ruth E. Carter
Hamnet — Chloé Zhao
Marty Supreme — Josh Safdie
One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson
Sentimental Value — Joachim Trier
Sinners — Ryan Coogler
Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
The Alabama Solution — Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman
Come See Me in the Good Light — Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro and Stef Willen
Cutting Through Rocks — Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni
Mr. Nobody Against Putin — David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin, Helle Faber and Alžběta Karásková
The Perfect Neighbor — Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu and Sam Bisbee
All the Empty Rooms — Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones
Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud — Craig Renaud and Juan Arredondo
Children No More: “Were and Are Gone” — Hilla Medalia and Sheila Nevins
The Devil Is Busy — Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir
Perfectly a Strangeness — Alison McAlpine
F1 — Stephen Mirrione
Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen
Sentimental Value — Olivier Bugge Coutté
Sinners — Michael P. Shawver
Brazil — The Secret Agent
France — It Was Just an Accident
Norway — Sentimental Value
Spain — Sirāt
Tunisia — The Voice of Hind Rajab
Butcher’s Stain — Meyer Levinson-Blount and Oron Caspi
A Friend of Dorothy — Lee Knight and James Dean
Jane Austen’s Period Drama — Julia Aks and Steve Pinder
The Singers — Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt
Two People Exchanging Saliva — Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata
Frankenstein — Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey
Kokuho — Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu
Sinners — Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry
The Smashing Machine — Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein
The Ugly Stepsister — Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg
Bugonia — Jerskin Fendrix
Frankenstein — Alexandre Desplat
Hamnet — Max Richter
One Battle After Another — Jonny Greenwood
Sinners — Ludwig Göransson
“Dear Me” — from Diane Warren: Relentless (Diane Warren)
“Golden” — from KPop Demon Hunters
“I Lied to You” — from Sinners (Raphael Saadiq & Ludwig Göransson)
“Sweet Dreams of Joy” — from Viva Verdi! (Nicholas Pike)
“Train Dreams” — from Train Dreams (Nick Cave & Bryce Dessner)
Frankenstein — Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
Hamnet — Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton
Marty Supreme — Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis
One Battle After Another — Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
Sinners — Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne
F1
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirāt
Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Jurassic World Rebirth
The Lost Bus
Sinners
Bugonia — Will Tracy
Frankenstein — Guillermo del Toro
Hamnet — Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell
One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson
Train Dreams — Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
Blue Moon — Robert Kaplow
It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi
Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
Sentimental Value — Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier
Sinners — Ryan Coogler
