The 98th annual Academy Awards are upon us, setting the stage for a thrilling contest between the vampire sensation “Sinners” and the satirical political thriller “One Battle After Another.”

This year, the Oscars spotlight several Australian talents, notably Rose Byrne, who is in the running for Best Actress.

Returning for his second consecutive year as host, Conan O’Brien will guide the evening’s festivities. Additionally, the artists behind the hit song “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” will deliver a live performance during the event.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Who are the Australians up for an award?

Australia’s standout contender at this year’s Oscars is Rose Byrne, who is vying for the Best Actress award thanks to her remarkable performance in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.”

Byrne has already secured the Best Actress title at four major pre-Oscar ceremonies, including the prestigious Golden Globes.

Byrne is up against Jessie Buckley in Hamnet, Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue, Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value and Emma Stone in Bugonia.

Jacob Elordi, meanwhile, is up for best supporting actor thanks to his role in Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein, one of nine nods for the Netflix film.

Australian-born musician Nick Cave, meanwhile, is up for best original song. Cave was nominated for the title song to Clint Bentley’s film Train Dreams, which stars Australian actor Joel Edgerton.

Edgerton, the central pillar of Train Dreams, was not nominated, although the picture earned four nominations, including best picture.

Australian costume and production designer Fiona Crombie has also been nominated for an Oscar in the best production design category for her work on Hamnet.

What films have the most Oscar nominations?

Sinners, a horror film directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B Jordan, has earned a record-breaking 16 nominations at this year’s Oscars.

One Battle After Another is close behind with 13 nominations. The film, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, stars Leonardo DiCaprio and is loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland.

Both films are up for the night’s top honour — best picture — alongside Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value and Train Dreams.

One Battle After Another, starring DiCaprio as a one-time radical activist now parenting a teenager, was seen as the frontrunner for best picture after stacking up trophy after trophy at recent ceremonies.

But Sinners, which weaves its supernatural themes with a celebration of blues music and Black culture in the Segregation-era US South, made a late surge with a win this month at the Actor Awards.

Both Jordan and DiCaprio are also vying for the best actor award. Timothée Chalamet could also clinch the award for his titular role in Marty Supreme, with Ethan Hawke nominated for Blue Moon and Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent.

What time is the Oscars ceremony?

This year’s Oscars ceremony will start at 10am AEDT and run for around three hours.

If you’re in Australia, red carpet coverage will begin from 9:30am AEDT on Channel 7 and 7Plus before the main ceremony kicks off, with an encore screening at 9pm AEDT.

What’s new about this year’s Oscars?

This year’s Academy Awards includes a new award recognising achievement in casting.

Casting directors Nina Gold, Jennifer Venditti, Cassandra Kulukundis, Gabriel Domingues and Francine Maisler are competing for the honour.

The Academy also took steps this year to try to ensure voters have actually watched the movies they are voting on.

The online balloting system, for the first time, tracks whether a voter has streamed each movie. Voters, however, can check a box to say they watched the movie elsewhere outside the Academy website.

Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes are chosen by about 10,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

— With additional reporting by Reuters and the Australian Associated Press.

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