The 2026 Oscar Awards ceremony is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time / 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, March 15, 2026.

Quick Scoop: When Do the Oscar Awards Start?

If you’re just here for timing, here’s the key info in one place:

  • Date: Sunday, March 15, 2026
  • Start time (ET): 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time
  • Start time (PT): 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time
  • Location: Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles
  • Red carpet coverage: Typically begins about 30 minutes earlier (around 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT) on major U.S. broadcasts.

Think of it as Hollywood’s biggest Sunday night party, kicking off right as U.S. prime time gets going.

Time Zones and How That Affects You

Here’s how that start time roughly translates:

  • US Eastern (New York, Miami): 7:00 p.m. Sunday
  • US Pacific (Los Angeles): 4:00 p.m. Sunday
  • GMT/UTC: Around 11:00 p.m. Sunday (since 4 p.m. PT corresponds to about 23:00 GMT in March).

If you’re outside the U.S., you’d adjust from 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT to your local time. Many international broadcasters synchronize with the live U.S. feed.

Red Carpet vs. Main Ceremony

When people ask “when do the Oscar awards start,” they sometimes mean different parts of the show:

  1. Red carpet pre-shows
    • Usually begin 30–90 minutes before the main ceremony.
    • Typical official window is about 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT.
  1. Main awards ceremony
    • The official “Oscars start time” is 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT for 2026.

If you only care about the awards themselves, tune in at the main start time. If you love fashion and arrivals, aim for the early red carpet coverage.

Recent Trend: Earlier Start Times

In recent years, the Academy has shifted toward a slightly earlier start compared with older ceremonies that often started later in the evening U.S. time.

  • 2025 and 2026 both emphasized an earlier prime-time slot to keep the telecast more accessible and (hopefully) less exhausting for East Coast viewers and global audiences.

This trend is part of a broader push to keep the Oscars feeling lively and to hold onto viewers in a crowded streaming era.

At-a-Glance: 2025 vs 2026 Oscar Start Times

[4][2] [2][4] [9][3][7] [1][3][7][9]
Year Ceremony (Academy Awards) Date Start time (ET) Start time (PT)
2025 97th Oscars March 2, 2025 Prime-time evening (around 7 p.m. ET, plus pre-show at 6:30 p.m.)Approx. 4 p.m. PT (with pre-show 3:30 p.m. PT)
2026 98th Oscars March 15, 2026 7:00 p.m. ET4:00 p.m. PT
**TL;DR:** The 2026 Oscars start at **7 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, March 15, 2026** , with red carpet shows kicking off earlier in the evening.

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