After an autumn-winter barrage of award shows - the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Grammys, the IFTAs and the BAFTAs - the granddaddy of them all, the Academy Awards, are just around the corner.
Here is everything you need to know about this year's show.
When are the Oscars?
The 98th Academy Awards will take place in Los Angeles on 15 March 2026, celebrating the best films of 2025 and the people behind them.
Hollywood's biggest night will be held at the renowned Dolby Theatre, where the global film industry will gather to honour the year's most outstanding achievements in cinema.
You can watch the awards live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from 12am, with red carpet coverage starting at 11pm on Sunday (March 15).
Any Irish nominees?
Jessie Buckley has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Hamnet with the Irish animated short Retirement Plan and Avatar: Fire and Ash's special effects lynchpin Richard Baneham also among the Irish Oscar nominees.
Hamnet's Coleraine-born author Maggie O'Farrell has been shortlisted alongside director Chloé Zhao for their screenplay of O'Farrell's bestseller, which "tells the powerful love story that inspired the creation of Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece, Hamlet".
Were Buckley to win Best Actress for her performance as William Shakespeare's wife Agnes Hathaway - historically known as Anne - in Hamnet, she would become the first Irish woman to receive the honour.
She was previously Oscar-nominated in 2022 in the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance in The Lost Daughter.
Watch: Hamnet stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal chat to RTÉ Entertainment
Retirement Plan, directed by Dublin-based filmmaker John Kelly, sees Domhnall Gleeson voicing the lead character Ray, and is described as a "touching and funny examination of the beauty, curiosity and fears of our finite mortality". Co-written by Kelly and Tara Lawall, the short was commissioned by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and RTÉ and is available on the RTÉ Player.
Dubliner Richard Baneham, already a double Oscar winner for his work on Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, is again nominated in the Visual Effects category alongside his Avatar: Fire and Ash colleagues.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos's dark sci-fi comedy Bugonia, which includes the Dublin-based Element Pictures among its producers, has received four nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress (Emma Stone), Best Original Score (Jerskin Fendrix), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Will Tracy). As producers on the film, Element Pictures' Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe have received Oscar nominations in the Best Picture category.
The comedy-drama Blue Moon, which was made in Ireland and produced in association with the Dublin-based Wild Atlantic Pictures, has received two nominations: Best Actor (Ethan Hawke) and Best Original Screenplay (Robert Kaplow).
Will there be any performances?
The upcoming ceremony will feature a series of musical performances celebrating this year's nominated songs.
Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the voices behind the fictional group HUNTR/X, will perform the nominated song Golden from the animated film KPop Demon Hunters.
The performance will open with a blend of traditional Korean instruments and dance, reflecting the folklore and cultural influences behind the film.
A separate tribute will celebrate Sinners, with Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq performing the nominated track I Lied to You. They will be joined on stage by Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey and Alice Smith, in a segment inspired by the film's distinctive visual style.
The ceremony will also feature appearances from Josh Groban and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Who is presenting at the Oscars?
Ireland's Paul Mescal will join Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr, Anne Hathaway, Will Arnett, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas as an award presenter.
Adrien Brody, Javier Bardem, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Chase Infiniti, Mikey Madison, Demi Moore, Kumail Nanjiani, Maya Rudolph, and Zoe Saldaña were previously announced as Oscar presenters for the event.
Who is hosting the Oscars?
Conan O'Brien will return to host a second consecutive Oscars after last year's well-received ceremony drew almost 20 million viewers in a slight ratings uptick.
O'Brien's first Oscars stint, which included a lively opening monologue, a quirky musical number and a surreal pre-taped riff on satirical body-horror flick The Substance, earned wide praise.
Variety said the comedian "absolutely rocked his debut as host, walking the perfect line between acid and affection".
Who are the favourites?
Vampire drama Sinners has made history as the first film to score 16 nods. Ryan Coogler's hit starring Michael B Jordan as twins beat the record of 14 nominations shared by All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land.
Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson's political action-comedy One Battle After Another has 13 nominations this year.
Other big names up for trophies include Timothée Chalamet, who is hoping for third time lucky after two previous acting nominations, and of course, Kerry native Jessie Buckley, who is the frontrunner to win Best Actress for Hamnet.
Are there any changes to the Oscars this year?
Several changes were introduced this year. The most notable is a new category for Best Casting, recognising casting directors for their work in selecting a film's actors.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has also introduced a rule requiring members to watch all nominated films in a category before voting in the final round, with the aim of making the voting process fairer.
In addition, the ceremony will begin earlier than usual in the US broadcast schedule. The Academy has also clarified guidelines on the use of AI in filmmaking, stating that films using AI-assisted tools can still qualify for awards as long as human creativity remains central.
How to watch?
The award ceremony will be broadcast live on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player from 11pm for Irish viewers.
RTÉ will also be airing The Oscars Highlights on Monday, 16 March at 9:30 pm on RTÉ2.
