After months of cinematic debates, relentless online discourse and more campaigning than a federal election, awards season has finally reached its grand finale: the 2026 Oscars.
Today, Hollywood’s biggest stars are descending on the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 96th annual Oscars — the most extravagant, unpredictable and occasionally unhinged night in film. Will the night deliver historic wins, chaotic speeches or another meme-worthy moment that will dominate the internet for weeks? Probably all three.
If you’re able to tune in for yourself on this fine Monday (here’s how to watch it in Australia), we’ll see you there! If not, then you’re in luck because we’re live-blogging the whole damn thing, from the red carpet fits and viral moments to the big winners, shocking snubs and everything in between. So if you’d rather keep up with the chaos here than sit through three hours of orchestra play-offs and polite clapping, you’re in the right place.
What you need to know
- The nominees: The race for the biggest prizes at this year’s Academy Awards is packed with a mix of blockbuster spectacles and indie favourites. In Best Picture, films including Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners and Train Dreams are all competing for Hollywood’s biggest prize. Meanwhile, the acting races feature major stars like Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan, Emma Stone and Rose Byrne. It’s gonna be a doozy of a night!
- The host: Hosting this year’s Academy Awards is legendary late-night comedian Conan O’Brien, who returns to emcee Hollywood’s biggest night for the second year in a row.
Who’s nominated in the big 4 categories?
The biggest races at this year’s Academy Awards feature a mix of blockbuster spectacles, prestige dramas and international standouts. In the Best Picture category, the nominees are Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners and Train Dreams. Notably, Sinners dominated the noms overall with a record-breaking 16 nods, making it one of the most talked-about films of the year.
The Best Actor race is equally competitive, with Timothée Chalamet nominated for Marty Supreme, Leonardo DiCaprio nominated for One Battle After Another, Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon, Michael B. Jordan for Sinners and Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent. Meanwhile, the Best Actress category includes Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value) and Emma Stone (Bugonia).
Behind the camera, the Best Director nominees are Chloé Zhao (Hamnet), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value) and Ryan Coogler (Sinners), rounding out a field packed with some of the industry’s most celebrated filmmakers.
Together, these categories set the stage for one of the most competitive Oscars in years, with multiple films, especially Sinners, One Battle After Another and Sentimental Value, competing across several major awards.
The Oscars 2026 Live Blog
Conan O’Brien’s opening monologue
Host Conan O’Brien kicked off the ceremony, and truly nothing was off limits. The monologue started strong when he said security was tight because there were concerns about “attacks from both the opera and ballet communities” in reference to Timothée Chalamet’s recent scandal.
“They’re just mad you left out jazz,” he told the actor, who laughed along in the front row next to his partner Kylie Jenner— who will no doubt be nominated next year for her cameo in The Moment.
The gag continued right until the end of the monologue when Josh Groban performed an opera number as Conan acted out how he would accept an Oscar.
The comedian also joked that he was “the last human host of the Academy Awards”, and reminded everyone of Turning Point USA’s cursed “All-American Halftime Show” last month by saying there was an alternate Oscars hosted by Kid Rock “at the Dave & Buster’s down the street”.
He joked that it was Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos’ first time in a theatre, said Hamnet and Bugonia “sound like off-brand lunch meat”, and received the biggest reaction when he addressed the fact that this was the first time since 2012 that there are no British actors nominated for Best Actor or Best Actress.
“A British spokesperson said, ‘Yeah, well, at least we arrest our pedophiles,” he said. Ooft.
Amy Madigan wins Best Supporting Actress
The race was tight between Weapons’ Amy Madigan and One Battle After Another’s Teyana Taylor, but Amy officially took out the Best Supporting Actress role for her iconic role as Aunt Gladys.
