The 2026 Academy Awards (the 98th Oscars) will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, airing at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.

Quick Scoop: When Are the Academy Awards 2026?

  • Date: Sunday, March 15, 2026.
  • Venue: Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles.
  • Time: 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT broadcast in the U.S. on ABC.
  • Edition: 98th Academy Awards, honoring films released in 2025.

Key Details & Latest News

  • The ceremony continues the recent trend of March dates to avoid overlap with the Winter Olympics and other major events.
  • Conan O’Brien is set to return as host for the second year in a row, bringing a comedy-forward tone to the night.
  • The 2026 Oscars introduce new rules, including stricter requirements that voters watch all nominated films in the categories they vote on, to improve fairness and transparency.
  • A new casting-focused award (often described as a Best Casting or Best Achievement in Casting-type category) and expanded consideration of AI-related tools in film production are part of the updated rule set, reflecting how rapidly the industry is changing.

Fans on awards forums and subreddits are already treating March 15, 2026 as the “next big night,” with discussion threads moving straight from the 2025 season into speculation about what might dominate the 98th Oscars.

Timeline Around Oscar Night 2026

Here’s the broader calendar framing “when are the Academy Awards 2026” in the season context:

  • Shortlists and bake-off screenings: December 2025 and early January 2026 for technical branches like makeup, sound, and visual effects.
  • Nominations announcement: Thursday, January 22, 2026.
  • Oscar Nominees event/luncheon: Tuesday, February 10, 2026.
  • Final voting: Late February to March 5, 2026, wrapping 10 days before the live ceremony.
  • Ceremony: Sunday, March 15, 2026 – live worldwide, including in more than 200 territories.

Forum & Trending Context

If you’re following this as a trending topic or forum discussion :

  • Movie and awards communities are already debating which 2025 releases will peak perfectly for that March 15 date, versus those that might arrive too early in the year and risk “awards fatigue.”
  • There’s particular buzz around how the new rules on AI tools and stricter viewing verification for voters might influence which films gain momentum by the time the ceremony airs.

TL;DR: If you’re planning a watch party or live reactions thread, circle Sunday, March 15, 2026 at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT —that’s when the 98th Academy Awards hit the Dolby Theatre and the airwaves.

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