‘Sinners’ And ‘One Battle After Another’ Poised For An All-Warner Bros. Showdown At Academy Awards

Anderson’s “One Battle in a Row” was the favorite at the ceremony held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. However, Coogler’s “Sinners” is the leading candidate with a record 16 nominations. Both filmmakers are set to walk away with their first Oscars.

But little else is guaranteed at the Academy Awards, where Michael B. Jordan or Timothée Chalamet could almost win their first Academy Award in the best actor race (despite ballet criticism heard around the world).

A perfect sunny afternoon greeted early arrivals to the Dolby Theater on Sunday. This year the carpet was colored in an earthy brown tone called “red rock”. There are also Japanese maple trees on the side of the road.

How to watch and stream the Oscars and the red carpet?

The telecast will air live on ABC and stream on Hulu starting at 7pm Eastern. (YouTube will be the new home of the Oscars starting in 2029.) The official red carpet pre-show begins at 6:30 PM EDT on ABC and Hulu, E! The red carpet broadcast will start at 16.00

The Associated Press will broadcast live Pacific fashion news on APNews.com and YouTube from noon until 3:30 p.m.

What to expect from the 2026 Oscars? Conan O’Brien returns as host for the second year in a row. Despite the war in Iran and increasing geopolitical turmoil, O’Brien promised an entertaining show with hosts including Bob Hope and Johnny Carson. “Let’s have fun, that’s my attitude,” O’Brien told reporters earlier in the week.

Still, security, already high for the Oscars, which will take place two weeks after the United States and President Donald Trump launched a war with Iran, will be even higher this year. Some participants wore badges reading “Artists for Armistice.”

“Of course, we watch what’s going on in the world every year,” the show’s executive producer Raj Kapoor said earlier in the week. “We have the support of the FBI and the LAPD, and it’s a close collaboration.”

Two of the five best song nominees will be performed: “I Lied to You” from “Sinners,” with Miles Caton, Raphael Saadiq and others; and “Gold” from “KPop Demon Hunters.”

Looking at best streaming in terms of theatrical outlook, “KPop Demon Hunters,” a Sony Pictures production also sold to Netflix, was the most-watched movie of 2025. (It has 325 million views and counting, making it Netflix’s most-watched movie ever.) But it seems almost certain that the night’s final award won’t be streaming; Apple’s “CODA” remains the only film to achieve this. Instead, best picture will likely go to an anomaly in today’s movie industry: big-budget original films from personal release.

“Sinners” and “One War Then Another” were filmed theatrical releases. Both came from former studio Warner Bros., which agreed to merge with David Ellison’s new media giant Paramount Skydance. The $111 billion deal, which is awaiting regulatory approval, shook up an industry already accustomed to acquisitions of MGM (by Amazon) and 20th Century Fox (by The Walt Disney Co.).

Elegy could make its mark at Sunday’s Oscars. It is expected that the memoirs of Robert Redford, Diane Keaton and Robert Duvall will also be included in the commemoration section. O’Brien, who hosted a party attended by Rob and Michele Reiner the night before their deaths, promised a “very powerful” tribute.

New this year is the best casting category. Another innovation is that members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are required to watch all nominees before voting. On the academy’s streaming platform (even Oscar voting is broadcast), voters were required to check a box confirming they had watched each nominee before voting in a category.

Few things are certain in the acting categories. It remains to be seen whether these changes will have any impact on some of the closest races of the night. When it comes to drama, best actor is one of the hardest categories to find. Chalamet was at the forefront with his performance in “Marty Supreme.” But a cool, headline-grabbing meta campaign perceived as a light ballet and opera may have helped Jordan ascend to the top. (The uproar in Chalamet’s favor began as voting was coming to a close.)

The supporting categories are highly competitive, with Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet”) expected to win best actress, a first for Irish artists. Amy Madigan (“Guns”) is the slight favorite in the best supporting actress category, though Teyana Taylor (“One War Then Another”) and Wunmi Mosaku (“Sinners”) are also in the mix.

Despite appearing in almost no campaigns, Penn is considered a best supporting actor favorite. This award could just as easily go to Stellan Skarsgård (“Emotional Value”) or Delroy Lindo (“Sinners”).

Although the Oscars often seem largely removed from their era, a group of nominees who are clearly grappling with the current political situation will take center stage. This includes not only “One War Then Another,” which begins with a raid on an immigration detention facility, but also films like Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Brazilian political thriller “Secret Agent” and Jafar Panahi’s Iranian revenge drama “It Was Just an Accident.”

The war in Iran has special meaning for Panahi, whose film was nominated for best international feature film and best screenplay. The respected Iranian filmmaker and last year’s Palme d’Or winner has secretly made films in his native Iran despite repeated imprisonment, travel bans and even house arrest. While Panahi was promoting the film, he was sentenced to one year in prison. At least one of the co-author nominees, Mehdi Mahmoudian, was unable to leave Iran to attend Sunday’s awards.

23 years ago, the Academy Awards were held in the middle of the war in the Middle East. The 2003 Oscars took place just three days before the start of the Iraq War. Many people in Hollywood protested the war. “Chicago” received the best film award.

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AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson contributed to this report.