The Academy Awards will be held on Sunday to celebrate some of the past year’s most acclaimed films and performances.

As Hollywood gears up for its biggest awards night, we break down the key details, from the nominees and biggest surprises to predictions and how to watch the show live:

When and at what time are the Oscars 2025?

The 97th Academy Awards are scheduled for Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

The ceremony will start at 4pm (midnight GMT) with official red carpet coverage beginning at 3:30pm (23:30 GMT).

Who is hosting the Academy Awards?

This year’s Oscars will be hosted by comedian and former late-night show host Conan O’Brien, marking his first time emceeing the event.

Who is presenting and performing at the Oscars?

Numerous stars will present awards at this year’s Oscars. Last year’s winners will return to present the golden statuettes, including Cillian Murphy, Emma Stone, Robert Downey Jr, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

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They will be joined by celebrities such as Halle Berry, Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, Willem Dafoe, Selena Gomez, Ben Stiller and Oprah Winfrey.

Nick Offerman, widely known for his role in the sitcom Parks and Recreation, will be this year’s show announcer.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, co-stars of Wicked, are to perform along with American rapper Doja Cat, Thai singer Lisa from the group Blackpink, singer and actress Queen Latifah and British singer Raye. The night will also feature a performance by the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

What movies have the most nominations?

Leading the nominations is the Spanish-language musical Emilia Perez with 13 nods, setting a record for the most nominations for a non-English-language film in Oscars history.

Emilia Perez is a musical crime drama about a Mexican cartel leader who undergoes gender transition to escape their past.

Following closely behind with 10 nominations each are The Brutalist, a drama about an architect chasing his American dream after surviving the Holocaust, and Wicked, a film that tells the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West.

What are the best picture nominees?

The best picture category features 10 films:

• Anora
• The Brutalist
• A Complete Unknown
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• Emilia Perez
• I’m Still Here
• Nickel Boys
• The Substance
• Wicked

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Who are the nominees for best director?

• Sean Baker for Anora
• Brady Corbet for The Brutalist
• Luca Guadagnino for A Complete Unknown
• Jacques Audiard for Emilia Perez
• Denis Villeneuve for Dune: Part Two

Who are the nominees for best actor?

• Adrien Brody for The Brutalist
• Timothee Chalamet for A Complete Unknown
• Colman Domingo for Sing Sing
• Ralph Fiennes for Conclave
• Sebastian Stan for The Apprentice

Who are the nominees for best actress?

• Cynthia Erivo for Wicked
• Karla Sofia Gascon for Emilia Perez
• Mikey Madison for Anora
• Demi Moore for The Substance
• Fernanda Torres for I’m Still Here

What are the biggest surprises and snubs?

This year’s nominations have featured both groundbreaking inclusions and surprising omissions.

No Other Land stands out as the only film by an Arab filmmaker nominated for this year’s Oscars. A documentary directed by Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra and Israeli co-director Yuval Abraham, the film explores the starkly different realities the two friends navigate – Abraham with his yellow Israeli licence plate granting him unrestricted travel and Adra, confined to ever-shrinking Palestinian territory.

It has received a nomination for best documentary feature.

“I am living under a civilian law, and Basel is under military law. We live 30 minutes from one another, but I have voting rights, and Basel does not have voting rights,” Abraham told the media. “I am free to move where I want in this land, and Basel, like millions of Palestinians, is locked in the occupied West Bank. This situation of apartheid between us, this inequality, it has to end.”

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Karla Sofia Gascon‘s nomination for best actress in Emilia Perez marks a historic moment. She becomes the first openly transgender actor to be nominated for an Oscar. However, her past social media posts have sparked controversy.

Gascon’s old posts resurfaced in January, revealing offensive remarks about Muslims; George Floyd, a Black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, setting off a global racial reckoning; and diversity at the Oscars. In response, Netflix removed Gascon from promotional activities for Emilia Perez, and director Jacques Audiard criticised the posts in an interview with Deadline.

Gascon skipped the nominees dinner on Tuesday but is expected to attend the Oscars ceremony.

Selena Gomez, who was nominated for best supporting actress at the Golden Globe Awards and the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) for her role in Emilia Perez, has missed out on an Oscars nomination.

Several high-profile actors were also absent in the nominations.

Nicole Kidman, who portrays a high-powered CEO in Babygirl, and Angelina Jolie, who underwent extensive vocal training for her portrayal of soprano Maria Callas in Maria, were both overlooked in the best actress category.

Denzel Washington also did not secure a best supporting actor nomination for his role in Gladiator II.

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How can you watch the Oscars 2025?

Viewers can watch the Oscars live on the United States television network ABC.

For streaming options, the ceremony will be available on platforms such as Hulu Live TV and YouTube TV.

What are the predictions for the winners?

Early predictions indicate that Anora, a film about a Brooklyn stripper who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, is a strong best picture contender with director Sean Baker also emerging as a favourite in the best director category.

Anora recently secured wins at the Directors Guild and Producers Guild awards while Conclave, a thriller about power struggles and secrets in a Vatican papal election, won at the BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Conclave’s storyline becomes particularly poignant as concerns over Pope Francis’s health grow while he is in critical condition in hospital.

In the acting races, Adrien Brody’s performance as Hungarian-Jewish architect Laszlo Toth in The Brutalist has positioned him as a leading candidate for best actor, competing closely against Timothee Chalamet, who recently won at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.

Demi Moore, who plays an actor and a television fitness instructor facing a career decline due to ageism in The Substance, has garnered significant attention in the best actress category with Mikey Madison (Anora) and Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here) also featuring as prominent contenders.

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