It’s Oscar Sunday in Los Angeles, a day when Hollywood’s finest gather for a thrilling Academy Awards ceremony. This year, the spotlight is on Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler, as anticipation builds to see who will take the top honors.

The prestigious event is set at the Dolby Theatre, amidst a spell of unusually warm weather for the city. Here’s your essential guide to the evening’s festivities.

How to watch and stream the Oscars and red carpet

The 98th Academy Awards are slated to kick off at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, or 4 p.m. Pacific Time. The ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC, with a streaming option available on Hulu.

After the last trophy is awarded, the celebrations continue with the “On the Red Carpet: After the Awards” special, offering a peek into the glamorous after-parties filled with Hollywood’s elite.

What to expect from the 2026 Oscars

Conan O’Brien is back as the host for a second consecutive year. Despite the ongoing conflict in Iran and the rising geopolitical tensions, O’Brien promises an entertaining evening reminiscent of legendary hosts like Bob Hope and Johnny Carson. “Let’s have fun with it, is my attitude,” he remarked to the press earlier this week.

In light of recent events, including the U.S. and President Donald Trump initiating conflict with Iran, security measures at the Oscars are set to be tighter than ever, ensuring a safe celebration for all attendees.

“Of course, every year we monitor what’s going on in the world,” Raj Kapoor, executive producer of the show, said earlier in the week. “We have the support of the FBI and the LAPD, and it’s a close collaboration.”

Two of the five best song nominees will be performed: “I Lied to You,” from “Sinners,” with Miles Caton, Raphael Saadiq and others; and “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters.”

Theatrical looks to best streaming, again

“KPop Demon Hunters,” a Sony Pictures production that was sold to Netflix, was the most-watched movie of 2025. (It has 325 million views and counting, making it Netflix’s most-streamed movie ever.) But it seems all but certain that the night’s final award won’t go to a streaming release; Apple’s “CODA” remains the only to achieve that. Instead best picture is likely to go to an anomaly in today’s movie industry: big-budget original films from a personal vision.

“Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” were both theatrical releases shot on film. And both came from Warner Bros., the legacy studio that’s agreed to merge with David Ellison’s new media colossus, Paramount Skydance. The $111 billion deal, which awaits regulatory approval, has rattled an industry already reconciling itself to the acquisitions of MGM (by Amazon) and 20th Century Fox (by The Walt Disney Co.).

Elegy may mark Sunday’s Oscars. The in memoriam segment is expected to include, among many others, remembrances of Robert Redford, Diane Keaton and Robert Duvall. O’Brien, who had hosted a party attended by Rob and Michele Reiner the night before their deaths, has promised a “very powerful” tribute.

New this year is a best casting category. Another innovation is a requirement that Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members watch all nominees before voting. On the academy’s streaming platform – even Oscar voting is streamed – voters had to check a box attesting to having watched each nominee before voting in a category.

Few sure things in the acting categories

Whether those changes will have any effect on some of the night’s closest races remains to be seen. Coming into the show, best actor is one of the most hard-to-call categories. Chalamet had been seen as the front-runner for his performance in “Marty Supreme.” But a swaggering meta campaign, that drew headlines, of all things, a perceived slight of ballet and opera, may have helped put Jordan into the lead. (In Chalamet’s favor, the uproar only started as voting was ending.)

While Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet”) is widely expecting to win best actress, a first for Irish performers, the supporting categories are highly competitive. Amy Madigan (“Weapons”) is the slight favorite in best supporting actress, but Teyana Taylor (“One Battle After Another”) and Wunmi Mosaku (“Sinners”) are in the mix, too.

Despite almost no campaigning, Penn is viewed as the best supporting actor favorite. That award, could easily also go to Stellan Skarsgrd (“Sentimental Value”) or Delroy Lindo (“Sinners”).

Though the Oscars often feel largely removed from their times, a crop of nominees that explicitly grapple with the current political moment will be center stage. That includes not just “One Battle After Another,” which opens with a raid on an immigration detention facility, but movies like Kleber Mendona Filho’s Brazilian political thriller “The Secret Agent” and Jafar Panahi’s Iranian revenge drama “It Was Just an Accident.”

The war in Iran has particular meaning to Panahi, whose film is nominated for best international feature and for best screenplay. The esteemed Iranian filmmaker and last year’s Palme d’Or winner has made films clandestinely in his native Iran despite repeated imprisonment, travel ban and even home arrest. While promoting the film, Panahi was sentenced to a year in prison. At least one of his cowriter nominees, Mehdi Mahmoudian, was unable to leave Iran to attend Sunday’s awards.

Twenty three years ago, the Academy Awards were also held amid war in the Middle East. The 2003 Oscars took place just three days before the Iraq War began. Many in Hollywood protested the war. “Chicago” won best picture.

The 98th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, begins at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. and will be followed by a special preview of “The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose.”

Once all the awards have been handed out, it’s time to party! Watch “On the Red Carpet: After the Awards” to get a glimpse into the most star-studded parties of the night.On Monday, it’s America’s best after party! “Live With Kelly and Mark: After the Oscars” is live from the Oscars stage at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood at 9 a.m.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.