What: The 94th Academy Awards
Air date: March 27, 2022 at 8:00 p.m. ET
The time has come, movie-lovers.
With 2021 firmly in the rearview, Hollywood’s months-long gauntlet of awards shows is about to culminate in the Super Bowl of movies, the 94th Academy Awards. And while the ongoing pandemic continues to cut into box office performance — total earnings in 2021 are basically half what they were in a record-setting 2019 — there’s been a flood of movies arriving as COVID-delayed productions got back to work.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences flirted with disaster in February when it announced a decision to cut eight category awards from the show’s broadcast, a move intended to keep the show’s length to under three hours. But intense pushback from fans and filmmakers alike prompted a reversal, and the Academy will now pre-record those awards right before the show, and then edit them in during the broadcast.
With all that context out of the way, let’s get to the important stuff: How and where to watch, and what you should know about this year’s nominees.
How can I watch the Oscars?
It’s easier than ever to watch the Oscars live, whether you’re an enduring cable TV subscriber or a streaming cord-cutter. The show airs Sunday, March 27 on ABC starting at 8:00 p.m. ET, with a 7:00 p.m. pre-show.
That opening hour is when the Academy will hand out awards in the eight categories that were almost cut: Documentary Short, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music Score, Production Design, Live Action Short, Animated Short and Sound. It’s not clear if those earlier award handouts will be televised live. It’s not clear if those tapings will also be broadcast live during the pre-show, however.
The easiest way to watch any of this is on ABC, the network that carries the Academy Awards show. For those who aren’t going to be near a TV on Sunday night, you can also watch online via ABC’s website or in the ABC app, provided you have a cable provider sign-in. The Oscars website runs through the list of allowed cable providers, including guidance for those who live outside the United States.
Streaming cable providers are also in the mix here. You’ll be able to check out the show using Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV Now, Sling TV, and FuboTV, among others. You’ll need a subscription, but most of these services have trial offers available. So you’ve got options.
Who are the 2022 Oscar nominees?
If you want a full list of 2022 Oscar nominees, we’ve got you covered. Many of those nominees are already up for streaming, too. So if you want to catch up on some of 2021’s Oscar-worthy movies, here’s everything you need to settle in for a binge.
As is the case every year, expect Best Picture to end the show and for its winner to be the buzziest of the night. There are 10 nominees in total for the 2022 Best Picture Academy Award: Belfast, CODA, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog, and West Side Story.
Disney Pixar’s Encanto should also make some headline news. While “Dos Oruguitas,” penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is up for the Best Original Song, it’s not the one that will be featured in the night’s on stage performances. That honor goes instead to “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” which Miranda also wrote and which has skyrocketed in popularity since Encanto came to Disney+ in November.
Who is hosting the 2022 Oscars?
The 2022 Oscars show will feature three hosts in total: Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes. It’s a bit of a return to form for the Academy after three host-less years, only two of which were impacted by the pandemic. Kevin Hart had been set to host the 2019 show originally, but he stepped down before the broadcast after being called out for making a string of homophobic remarks in some of his older tweets.
The trio of hosts won’t be alone on that stage. The Academy has announced a lengthy list of presenters spanning different mediums of entertainment. Expect to see legendary actors like Jamie Lee Curtis and Bill Murray; young sensations like Zoë Kravitz and Simu Liu; music superstars Lady Gaga and DJ Khaled; and even an array of sports icons, from Serena and Venus Williams to Tony Hawk and Shaun White.
