oscars when does it start

The 2026 Oscars ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, March 15, 2026 , and the main broadcast starts at 7 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. Pacific on ABC, with red carpet coverage beginning about half an hour earlier.

Quick Scoop: Oscars – When Does It Start?

For this year’s show (the 98th Academy Awards):

• Date: Sunday, March 15, 2026.

• Start time (ceremony): 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.

• Red carpet: Kicks off roughly 30 minutes before the ceremony, with some outlets (like E!) starting extended coverage even earlier in the afternoon.

• Where it happens: Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Think of it like this: if you’re on the U.S. East Coast, settle in by around 6:30 p.m. ET for red carpet and be ready for the show at 7; on the West Coast, that’s around 3:30 p.m. PT for arrivals and 4 p.m. PT for the main event.

TL;DR: The Oscars start at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 15, 2026 , with red carpet coverage just before that.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.