The 97th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will take place on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS will present Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories, honoring films released in 2024. The ceremony will be televised in the United States by ABC and streamed on Hulu, the first Academy Awards ceremony to be broadcast as such.[1][2][3] Comedian and podcaster Conan O'Brien is set to host the show for the first time, with Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan returning as executive producers.[4][5][6]
Both Jacques Audiard (for Emilia Pérez) and Sean Baker (for Anora) received four nominations, becoming the 8th and 9th individuals, respectively, to achieve this feat in a single year.[17][18][19][c] Furthermore, the Best Director nominees—Audiard, Baker, Brady Corbet (for The Brutalist), Fargeat, and James Mangold (for A Complete Unknown)—are all first-time nominees in the category; the latter three all receiving three nominations. The last time an entirely new class of nominees competed in the director race was in 1998.[12][d] For the first time since 1978, all of the Best Actress nominees' films are nominated for Best Picture.[12] Sound mixer Andy Nelson continued to be recognized as one of the Academy's most honored individuals, receiving a nomination for Wicked; with a total of 25 nominations, he is second only to John Williams (with 54) for the most nominations for a living person.[12]
Awards
Winners will be listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).[20]
Sing Sing – Screenplay by Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley; story by Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley, Clarence Maclin, and John "Divine G" Whitfield; based on the book The Sing Sing Follies by John H. Richardson and the play Breakin' the Mummy's Code by Brent Buell
In October 2024, the Academy hired television producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, for the second year in a row, to oversee production of the 2025 ceremony with veteran television director Hamish Hamilton selected to direct the telecast, also for the second consecutive year and his fifth time overall.[24] "We are delighted to announce the return of our incredibly dynamic and creative Oscars team, Raj, Katy, Hamish, Misty, Alana and Dave. And we are thrilled to announce the addition of the brilliant Michael Bearden," said AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer and AMPAS President Janet Yang in a press release justifying their selection of the producers. "Their love for cinema, their collective creative vision, and their unparalleled expertise in live television make them the perfect team to create an exceptional show for our global audience on the film industry's biggest night."[24] In response, Kapoor and Mullan released a statement, stating: "We are thrilled to lead the brilliant Oscars production team again and work alongside the Academy and Disney/ABC to help create an unforgettable night of television for movie lovers worldwide. We hope to continue to inspire and connect new generations to share our love for the art of filmmaking and celebrate all the incredible artists who are Oscar-nominated this year."[24]
The following month, comedian, podcaster and former talk show host Conan O'Brien was announced as host of the event.[5] Before this decision, speculation and word from reliable sources indicated the Academy was leaning toward a format with multiple hosts sharing duties throughout the show; this was floated after both Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted four times (in 2017, 2018, 2023, and 2024), and John Mulaney, who had hosted the 14th Governors Awards to much praise, both reportedly turned down the opportunity. A combo of Deadpool & Wolverine stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were also among those buzzed to be in the mix, but Reynolds told Deadline Hollywood that it was highly unlikely though he said he would like to host it with Jackman "someday".[5][25][26] As for the production team, returning to the telecast are Rob Paine as co-executive producer, Taryn Hurd and Sarah Levine Hall as producers, Mandy Moore as supervising choreographer, and Bob Dickinson and Noah Mitz as lighting designers; producers Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney, long-time collaborators of O'Brien, join the team for the first time. Collaborating with O'Brien as writers are Amberia Allen, José Arroyo, Josh Comers, Dan Cronin, Jessie Gaskell, Skyler Higley, Berkley Johnson, Ian Karmel, Brian Kiley, Laurie Kilmartin, Carol Leifer, Jon Macks, Matt O'Brien, Agathe Panaretos, and Sweeney.[27]
In February 2025, the Academy announced that the telecast would not include past acting winners presenting the nominees for the acting categories.[28] This format, dubbed as the "Fab 5", first used in 2009 and featuring five previous winners praising one acting nominee each, was brought back in 2024 after a fifteen-year absence.[29] Instead, it will be used in categories to highlight below-the-line talent, with notable Oscar winners speaking out about the contributions of people behind the scenes. For the acting categories, the format has not yet been announced, though last year's acting winners were confirmed as presenters; all four will most likely speak generally and then name the nominees for a respective category.[28][30]
For the second year in a row, Amelia Dimoldenberg will return as the social media ambassador and red carpet correspondent.[31] The ceremony, for the first time, will stream live on Hulu.[3]
Impact of Los Angeles wildfires
Voting for the nearly 10,000 Academy members opened on January 8, 2025, and was originally set to close on January 12, but due to the Southern California wildfires, the deadline for Oscar nomination voting was extended to January 17. The nominations announcement, originally scheduled to be announced on January 17, was delayed to January 23.[32][33][34]
Changes to the ceremony itself would also occur in the wake of the wildfires, with the Academy choosing to honor the Los Angeles community and its role in the film industry. As part of this shift, it was announced that the five musical pieces nominated for Best Original Song would not be performed live, and instead the songwriters will be highlighted through personal reflections and behind-the-scenes insight from the creative teams behind the music.[35] In response, during a virtual panel discussion for the Songwriters Hall of Fame in which all the songwriter nominees were in attendance, Diane Warren (nominated for "The Journey" from The Six Triple Eight) considered it "extremely disrespectful". She added: "We've all written songs that are really integral to the movies they're in. And to me, it's unfair to both the nominees and the audience out there to not be able to hear them."[36]
In January 2025, addressing how the wildfires would affect preparation of the ceremony and his position as host, O'Brien told The Hollywood Reporter: "It's not the easiest assignment I've ever had, but I'm embracing it. And it's not about me, obviously. This is a moment for all of us to step back and say, 'Be humble.' Just be humble and say, 'This is a massive moment. This is a terrible thing that's happened in Los Angeles'... The strategy is my writers and I, and the team that I'm working with at the Oscars, who are fantastic, the producers, everyone, we've got all of our sensors out."[37] That same month, O'Brien further expanded on his process amid the tragedies, speaking with ABC News on Good Morning America, saying: "There's a lot that's happening nationally that people are very tense about and it changes day to day. And so my job right now with my writers is to create possibilities... That's what we're doing. We're working hard to create possibilities."[38]
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