A truncated awards season comes to a close with the 92nd Academy Awards, happening earlier than ever tonight, Feb. 9, and as short as the red carpet-wrecking interval between now and Jan. 5’s Golden Globes has been, it may as well have been even shorter: Some of tonight’s biggest winners have seemingly been preordained, vacuuming up precursor after precursor on their obstacle-free roads to Oscar gold, and all that’s left are their actual victory laps. But it’s the potential for surprises (however small) we’ll key in on tonight, and we cordially invite you to join us.
We’ll be following along with all the action out of the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood tonight, where the Oscars will go without a host (ignoring our spot-on ideas) for the second year running, which is still just the third time in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ history. We can’t blame them: Last year’s laid-back, entertaining ceremony practically made the idea of an Oscars host obsolete, to the tune of a significant ratings boost, and this year will feature a similar approach, with another staggering array of stars acting as presenters:
Jane Fonda, Josh Gad, Tom Hanks, Oscar Isaac, Sandra Oh, Natalie Portman, Chris Rock, Taika Waititi, Mahershala Ali, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Zazie Beetz, Timothée Chalamet, Olivia Colman, James Corden, Penélope Cruz, Beanie Feldstein, Will Ferrell, Gal Gadot, Zack Gottsagen, Salma Hayek, Mindy Kaling, Diane Keaton, Regina King, Shia LaBeouf, Brie Larson, Spike Lee, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, George MacKay, Rami Malek, Steve Martin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anthony Ramos, Keanu Reeves, Ray Romano, Maya Rudolph, Mark Ruffalo, Kelly Marie Tran, Sigourney Weaver, Kristen Wiig and Rebel Wilson.
In between awards, we’ll be treated to performances of all five of this year’s Best Original Song nominees, courtesy of Cynthia Erivo, Oscar winner Elton John, Idina Menzel, Chrissy Metz and Oscar winner Randy Newman, as well as performances by stars like Billie Eilish, Janelle Monáe and Questlove. And Eímear Noone will guest-conduct a segment of the show, making her the first woman to conduct during an Oscars telecast—the Academy will take wins on gender parity wherever they can find ‘em.
Don’t begrudge us our digs, we beg of you. This year’s slate of nominees shows how agonizingly slow the Oscars’ progress has been, with just one actor of color (Harriet star Erivo) nominated in the four major acting categories, as well as an all-male slate of directors. Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite and Todd Phillips’ Joker might as well be locked in a battle for the soul of the Academy, but after all is said and done, it’s Sam Mendes’ 1917 that may end up the night’s biggest winner of all. Make of that what you will.
The 92nd Academy Awards air live on ABC starting at 8 p.m. ET, leaving you a little while to look over Paste’s preview of the evening, including the Movies team’s predictions for who will win, arguments for who should win and righteous anger over who got snubbed. We’ve also assembled a handy streaming guide for you cinephile completists angling to squeeze in one last nominated film (or two, or more, if we’re talking shorts) before the ceremony.
Watch this space to follow along with tonight’s big winners in real time, starting alongside the ceremony at 8 p.m. and updating live throughout the night. In the meantime, you can brush up on the nominees for each category below. Winners will be denoted and offset in bold as they are announced.
Best Picture Ford v Ferrari The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women Marriage Story 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood WINNER: Parasite
Lead Actor Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Adam Driver, Marriage Story WINNER: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Lead Actress: Cynthia Erivo, Harriet Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story Saoirse Ronan, Little Women Charlize Theron, Bombshell WINNER: Renee Zellweger, Judy
Supporting Actor Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes Al Pacino, The Irishman Joe Pesci, The Irishman WINNER: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Supporting Actress Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell WINNER: Laura Dern, Marriage Story Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit Florence Pugh, Little Women Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Director Martin Scorsese, The Irishman Todd Phillips, Joker Sam Mendes, 1917 Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood WINNER: Bong Joon Ho, Parasite
Animated Feature How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World I Lost My Body Klaus Missing Link WINNER: Toy Story 4
Animated Short Dcera (Daughter) WINNER: Hair Love Kitbull Memorable Sister
Adapted Screenplay The Irishman WINNER: Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women The Two Popes
Original Screenplay Knives Out Marriage Story 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood WINNER: Parasite
Cinematography The Irishman Joker The Lighthouse WINNER: 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Documentary WINNER: American Factory The Cave The Edge of Democracy For Sama Honeyland
Best Documentary Short Subject In the Absence WINNER: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) Life Overtakes Me St. Louis Superman Walk Run Cha-Cha
Best Live Action Short Film Brotherhood Nefta Football Club WINNER: The Neighbors’ Window Saria A Sister
Best International Feature Film Corpus Christi Honeyland Les Miserables Pain and Glory WINNER: Parasite
Film Editing WINNER: Ford v Ferrari The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Parasite
Sound Editing WINNER: Ford v Ferrari Joker 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Sound Mixing Ad Astra Ford v Ferrari Joker WINNER: 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Production Design The Irishman Jojo Rabbit 1917 WINNER: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Parasite
Original Score WINNER: Joker Little Women Marriage Story 1917 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Original Song “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” Toy Story 4 WINNER: “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” Rocketman “I’m Standing With You,” Breakthrough “Into the Unknown,” Frozen II “Stand Up,” Harriet
Makeup and Hair WINNER: Bombshell Joker Judy Maleficent: Mistress of Evil 1917
Costume Design The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker WINNER: Little Women Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Visual Effects Avengers: Endgame The Irishman The Lion King WINNER: 1917 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker