Film
The 8 Oscars night moments you need to see (and where to see them)
Oppenheimer won all the awards, Ken won our hearts
Is it too early to say that the Oscars are back?
Sure, maybe we should wait to see who actually wins before making any declarative statements. But after years of some less-than-thrilling races – admit it, you still haven’t watched Nomadland or Coda – the nominations are encouraging. It’s reflective of what turned out to be a bounce-back year for movies in general. Barbenheimer led the charge at the box office, contributing to the highest overall box office numbers since before the pandemic, and both movies – that’s Barbie and Oppenheimer, in case you were stuck under a rock for all of 2023 – will be duking it out for Best Picture. But it’s hardly a two-picture race. Yorgos Lanthimos’ bizarre brilliant, Frankenstein-ish Poor Things is gaining momentum coming out of the Golden Globes. Killers of the Flower Moon seems like Martin Scorsese’s best shot at a second Best Director statuette after The Departed, while The Holdovers, Past Lives, American Fiction and Anatomy of a Fall are all worthy longshots.
If it’s been a while since you paid much attention to the Academy Awards, this looks like the year to make sure you catch it in real time – and not just after one actor assaults another onstage. Here’s all the pertinent information you need to make sure you don’t miss it.
Recommended:
🏆 The Oscars winners 2024 list in full
👍 The 50 most deserving Oscar winners of all-time
👎 The 20 worst Oscar winners in history
When are the 2024 Oscars?
The 96th Academy Awards go down Sunday, March 10, 2024 – around the same time as last year. The Oscars were typically held in late February before Covid (and then the Winter Olympics) pushed the date out, but early March appears to be the new norm.
Where are the Oscars being held this year?
The ceremony returns to the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, which has served as the show’s host venue since 2002.
Who is hosting the 96th Academy Awards?
Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel goes back-to-back once again, returning for his fourth gig as host after MC’ing in 2023 and in 2017 and 2018. He now joins Jack Lemmon and Whoopi Goldberg in the four-timers club – one more and he’ll tie Johnny Carson for third-most all-time, though he still has a while to go to reach Bob Hope, the host with the most at 19. Will Kimmel lob shade at Aaron Rodgers from the stage? Tune in to find out!
What time does the ceremony start?
Good news, Brits: this year, the telecast begins an hour earlier than usual. It airs on ABC starting at 7pm Eastern Time and 4pm Pacific Time in the US, and midnight in the UK. Of course, that probably just means they’ll add an extra hour to the ceremony, so you’ll still be going to bed champagne-drunk at 6am.
How many categories are there?
There are 23 categories total. See all the nominees here.
Who has won the most Oscars?
Are we talking cumulatively? Then that’s still Walt Disney, who holds the record at 22; he even won one posthumously. No one else comes particularly close: his closest living competitor is effects artist Dennis Muren, who has nine. John Ford is the most decorated director, having won four, while Katharine Hepburn remains the top actor, also with four. None of those records are under threat of being broken this year. In terms of movies in a single year, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Titanic and Ben-Hur all won 11. With 13 nominations, Oppenheimer does have a chance to surpass them, but given the competition this year, we wouldn’t bet on it.
How can I watch the Oscars?
In the US, just find your local ABC station – as has been the case for almost 50 years now. Things have changed in the UK, however: for the first time in 20 years, the Oscars will not be on Sky TV, but rather ITV and ITVX. If you live elsewhere, the Academy website has a list of where you can watch in a variety of countries.
