Oscars 2026: When and where to watch the 98th Academy Awards in NZ

Hollywood’s flashiest night of the year is here! The 97th Academy Awards (aka the Oscars) are going down, celebrating the biggest films, performances and red carpet looks from the past year.

While the A-listers are strolling the red carpet and heading into the Dolby Theatre in LA, here’s how you can catch it all from right here in Aotearoa.

How to watch the Oscars in New Zealand

If you’re keen to catch every moment, the 2025 Oscars are streaming exclusively on Disney+ in NZ.

The red carpet kicks off from 11:30am today (Monday, March 16), bringing all the the fashion, and celebrity interviews we all LOVE.

The main ceremony starts around 12pm. Comedian Conan O’Brien, who’s back for his second year, is taking on hosting duties - so expect plenty of cheeky jokes throughout the show.

Who’s performing at the Oscars?

This year’s ceremony will feature performances of two nominated songs. Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami will perform 'Golden' from the hit Netflix film 'KPop Demon Hunters', while Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq will perform 'I Lied to You' from 'Sinners'.

The second performance is also set to feature Shaboozey, Misty Copeland, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Alice Smith, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li and Eric Gales joining in.

Who is nominated for the big awards?

The standout film this year is 'Sinners', which made Oscars history with a whopping 16 nominations - the most EVER for a single film. Close behind is 'One Battle After Another' with 13, while 'Marty Supreme', 'Frankenstein' and 'Sentimental Value' picked up a solid nine nominations each.

Here are the nominees in the top categories for 2026:

Best Actor

• Timothée Chalamet - 'Marty Supreme'

• Leonardo DiCaprio - 'One Battle After Another'

• Ethan Hawke - 'Blue Moon'

• Michael B. Jordan - 'Sinners'

• Wagner Moura - 'The Secret Agent'

Best Actress

• Jessie Buckley - 'Hamnet'

• Rose Byrne - 'If I Had Legs I’d Kick You'

• Kate Hudson - 'Song Sung Blue'

• Renate Reinsve - 'Sentimental Value'

• Emma Stone - 'Bugonia'

Best Picture

• 'Bugonia'

• 'F1'

• 'Frankenstein'

• 'Hamnet'

• ''Marty Supreme'

• 'One Battle After Another'

• 'The Secret Agent'

• 'Sentimental Value'

• 'Sinners'

• 'Train Dreams'

Best Director

• Chloé Zhao - 'Hamnet'

• Josh Safdie - 'Marty Supreme'

• Paul Thomas Anderson - 'One Battle After Another'

• Joachim Trier - 'Sentimental Value'

• Ryan Coogler - 'Sinners'

It’s shaping up to be a massive day of awards, speeches and red carpet looks - and we’ll keep you across all the best moments as they happen. Have your popcorn at the ready.