2023 Oscars: Everything we know about the 95th Academy Awards

After a few years of severe identity crisis, the Oscars may be getting back on track. Jimmy Kimmel will return as host plus the restoration of all categories announced live on the show and more.

From attempting to create a Popular Film Oscar category, to merging sound back into a single category, and last year’s calamitous duo of audience voting on movie moment categories that blew up in their face and removing several technical category winner announcements off the live show that were sloppily edited into the show proper, the 95th Academy Awards are shaping up to look something like a return to form when they’re held live at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.

Glenn Weiss will return as executive producer and director of the show and his co-executive producer will be Ricky Kirshner. While it will be Kirshner’s first time producing the Oscars, he’s no stranger to live television awards shows; he’s a 9-time Emmy winner for producing The Tony Awards, all of them alongside Weiss, who will be leading the ceremony for the eighth time. As a 14-time Emmy winner for producing and directing everything from The Tony Awards to The Oscars, Weiss has made his cultural mark in two ways; one behind the camera and one in front of it. He was the director of the most infamous Oscar ceremony finale in modern history, the year La La Land was mistakenly read as Best Picture (you can thank him for that iconic zoom on the Best Picture card in La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz’s hand to reveal Moonlight was the winner) and then one year later on the 2018 Emmy stage himself where he took time from his speech to propose to girlfriend Jan Friedlander Svendsen. He won the Emmy for directing The Oscars both of those years.

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Emmy Award-winning late-night talk show host and producer Jimmy Kimmel will return for a third time to host the 95th Academy Awards after a five-year break. Kimmel hosted back-to-back broadcasts in 2017 (89th Awards) and 2018 (90th Awards). While one hopes he’ll bring a fun vibe and less ‘no one has seen these movies’ energy to the Dolby, at least we can count on more than a few killer jokes from Jimmy Kimmel Live! writer Louis Virtel. In the slaptermath of Will Smith hopping onstage and smacking Chris Rock last year, the ‘anything can happen on live TV’ will be looming large over the night, to be sure. After three years of hostless ceremonies, last year saw a trio of hosts in Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, all of whom had funny moments in their own right but never truly came together as a group and steered the gargantuan ship that is the Oscars.

“Being invited to host the Oscars for a third time is either a great honor or a trap.  Either way, I am grateful to the Academy for asking me so quickly after everyone good said no,” said Kimmel.

“Jimmy is the perfect host to help us recognize the incredible artists and films of our 95th Oscars. His love of movies, live TV expertise, and ability to connect with our global audiences will create an unforgettable experience for our millions of viewers worldwide,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang. “With Kimmel, Weiss and Kirshner’s fresh perspective and masterful guidance, the Oscars will celebrate its rich 95-year history, the collaborative nature of moviemaking, and our diverse, dynamic and deeply creative community of filmmakers.”

Last year, much to the anger of Oscar followers and members of Academy branches themselves, a full eight categories—film editing, production design, makeup and hairstyling, original score, sound, live-action short, documentary short, and animated short—were presented off the air, during the red carpet with a smattering of audience members, with heavily edited highlights then added into the show. This was said to be an attempt to create a shorter show and to chase the dwindling ratings that the Oscars (and most awards shows) have been suffering year to year. Ironically, one of the main winners of those cut categories was Dune, the top box office grosser in last season’s Best Picture race. The show still ran 3h 40m, 20 minutes longer than the previous year. Ratings did improve over the 2021 ceremony held at Union Station by about 9% (16.62m up from an all-time low of 10.4m) but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone that would attribute the reduction in categories to that.

This year, as reported by Variety on November 29, all 23 categories are back on the main show. Said Kramer: “I can confirm that all categories will be included in the live telecast,” continuing, “We are committed to having a show that celebrates the artisans, the arts and sciences and the collaborative nature of moviemaking. This is very much what the mission of the Academy is, and I am very hopeful that we can do a show that celebrates all components of moviemaking in an entertaining and engaging way.” 

When asked what audiences might expect from the ceremony, Kramer said, “All I will say right now is that our anniversary, the 95th Oscars, is extremely important to us. I think it sets a really interesting rhythm for our 100th. You see this in the museum, I think we are able to celebrate our legacy while bringing the Academy into the future and the show will reflect that.”

Also coming back this year is the return of the in-person audience for the announcement of the Oscar nominations themselves after two years of more reserved and press-free reactions. Husband and wife Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas announced the nominees for the 93rd Oscars and last year, Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan announced the nominations for the 94th with the help of first responders and from film enthusiasts providing immediate commentary on the nominations themselves.

Shortlists in 10 Oscar categories have already been announced (Animated Short Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Original Song, Sound and Visual Effects), where All Quiet on the Western Front and Black Panther: Wakanda led. Voters will choose from those shortlists in those categories, some of which are branch-specific and some open to the entire Academy membership.

Misty Buckley, production designer of world tours and televised music shows, and Alana Billingsley, art director on previous Oscars, Emmys and Grammys broadcasts, join the team for the first time as the show’s production designers – and also as the first women-led design team in Oscars history.

Buckley has designed world tours and productions for such artists as Ariana Grande, Kacey Musgraves and Coldplay, including the band’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. She also designed the 2021 Grammys, the London 2012 Paralympics Closing Ceremony, the 2015 Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony, the 2022 Commonwealth Games ceremonies, the Brit Awards and numerous television productions for the BBC and ITV. Buckley earned a BAFTA nomination for her work with Stormzy at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival and Emmy nominations for her production design of the 2021 Grammys and Disney’s The Little Mermaid Live!. Billingsley was an art director on six previous Oscars broadcasts, for which she earned five Emmy nominations and won twice. 

The 2023 Oscars ceremony will be available to stream online via ABC.com or the ABC app. Hulu Live and YouTube TV subscribers are also able to watch the 95th Academy Awards online.

Voting for the 2023 Oscar nominations starts on January 12, 2023 and ends on January 17, 2023. The 2023 Oscar nominations are announced on January 24, 2023. Winner voting starts March 2 and goes through March 7.

The 95th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.

Full 2023 Oscar Predictions