Plot Synopsis

Since 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has annually recognized outstanding performances by professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The first ACADEMY AWARDS ceremony was a May 16, 1929 banquet at the Roosevelt Hotel's Blossom Room with 270 attendees. Recipients were announced three months earlier for the inaugural event; the next year the Academy kept the results secret but gave an advance list to newspapers for publication at 11pm. This process continued until 1940 when the "Los Angeles Times" published the winners in its evening edition, making them readily available to arriving guests. That prompted the sealed-envelope system in use today. By the second year, a Los Angeles radio station produced a live broadcast, and the ACADEMY AWARDS were first televised in 1953 by NBC, enabling millions throughout the United States and Canada to watch the proceedings. Broadcast in black and white through the 1950s and early 1960s, the ACADEMY AWARDS were telecast in color for the first time in 1966, and expanded internationally in 1969. During its history, the ACADEMY AWARDS were postponed four times: for two months in 2021 and one month in 2022, because of the COVID-19 pandemic; for 24 hours in 1981, because of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan; and for two days in 1968, out of respect for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who had been assassinated a few days earlier.
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Hosted by Conan O'Brien for the first time, The 97th ACADEMY AWARDS are broadcast live by ABC from 7-10:30pm ET/4-7:30pm PT on Sunday, March 2, 2025 from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. Nick Offerman serves as the show's announcer.

Presenters include Dave Bautista, Gal Gadot, Andrew Garfield, Samuel L. Jackson, Margaret Qualley, Alba Rohrwacher, Zoe Saldana, Rachel Zegler, Selena Gomez, Oprah Winfrey, Joe Alwyn, Ana de Armas, Halle Berry, Scarlett Johansson, Bowen Yang, Lily-Rose Depp, Sterling K. Brown, and more.

Unlike previous years, the original song nominees will not be performed; instead, Queen Latifah will be part of a musical tribute to the late Quincy Jones. Plus, Doja Cat, LISA of Blackpink, and RAYE will also perform, as will WICKED's Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. The Los Angeles Master Chorale will also appear.