The countdown is on for the 98th Oscars, with Conan back and a ‘moving’ in memoriam

“One Battle After Another” and “Sinners”: top contenders at Oscar night

Lynette Howell Taylor has seen the Oscars from a few different vantage points: As a nominee, in 2019 for “A Star is Born,” as a producer of the broadcast in 2020, as a member of the film academy’s board of governors and, for the last three years, as awards chair. It’s made her first year as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences feel like a natural transition. And one thing she is certain of is that every Oscars is unique.

“Every year is different,” Taylor said in a recent interview alongside film Academy CEO Bill Kramer. “Every season is different. Every set of movies is different. And so, the show is always different every year.”

It’s a tricky thing to both honor the people in the room while also making an entertaining show for a home audience. But behind the scenes, from returning host Conan O’Brien to the producers and Emmy-winning production design team, is a group of people who know how to dazzle a global audience.

“I think we, in the past couple of years, have really hit that balance right,” Kramer said. “We’re looking at that puzzle constantly and this year is going to be spectacular.”

Final preparations are underway for the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday night [Monday morning, Macau time] and everyone is feeling good about what they have planned, including performances, tributes and a special spotlight for their newest award for casting. It helps that the top nominees, “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners,” happen to be great.

“It’s always about the movies and the movies this year? They’re all the things,” Taylor said. “There are escapist movies, big commercial movies, there are movies that are really brave and really bold in their storytelling … I get really emotional when I talk about the quality of this year’s films.”

Growing the audience

The ratings for the Oscars have been ticking up since plummeting to an all-time low in 2021 during the pandemic. The winning movie last year, “Anora,” might have been smaller than “Oppenheimer” the previous year, but ratings still went up slightly from 19.5 million in 2024 to 19.7 million in 2025.

The show had an especially big lift among people ages 18 to 49, driven by mobile and laptop watches from younger viewers. Last year was the first time the ceremony was available to stream live on Hulu. They’ve also been partnering with popular internet personalities like Amelia Dimoldenberg in an effort to reach new audiences in a way that still feels “Academy appropriate.”

“Our audiences are growing,” Kramer said. “And young people are watching the show in ways that we’ve not seen before and that’s really great.”

Early planning and last-minute pivots

Boosted ratings might not be a coincidence with the fact that planning for the show has been starting earlier and earlier in recent years.

“It gives us time to talk through so many things pre-nominations. So once the nominations happen, we can start focusing on what that means for the show,” Kramer said. “There’s not a lot of last-minute panicking over anything.”

One of the ways that will manifest in this year’s show is the production design, from the set to the red carpet, details are pored over for many months.

“They’ve done such beautiful work … and this year, they’ve just gone a whole step further with a different feel that’s very intimate and warm,” Taylor said. “It’s a bit of a departure.”

Though a lot is pre-planned, they’re also always thinking of ways to meet the moment, which has led to some major showstoppers. Last year’s big opener with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande was a relatively late addition and ended up being one of the more memorable parts.

“We’re open to pivoting, depending on what’s going on in the world,” Kramer said.

A very special in memoriam

The deaths of many beloved figures in the film world over the past year have hit hard, including Robert Redford, Diane Keaton, Rob Reiner, Catherine O’Hara, Robert Duvall, Val Kilmer, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, James Van Der Beek and Claudia Cardinale, just to name a few.

Last year Morgan Freeman took the stage to honor Gene Hackman, who had been found dead just days earlier, and others. This year there have been rumors about Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal joining forces for Reiner, but the organizers are neither confirming nor denying that reunion.

“Obviously we’re paying special attention to the in memoriam this year. It’s going to be robust and beautiful and very, very moving,” Kramer said. “We won’t give away any secrets. You’ll have to tune in.”

As always, there will be a longer version of the in memoriam available online to recognize people who might not make the broadcast cut.

It’ll be three-and-a-half hours. Really.

The longest broadcast in Oscars history, the 74th show in 2002 hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, clocked in at four hours and 23 minutes. But even with a new category, the people behind the show are striving to do it in three-and-a-half hours, or less.

“It’s a lot of moving pieces, but it’s totally doable,” Kramer said. “And casting’s going to get a gorgeous moment on the show.”

Taylor added that awards shows are like movies. Sometimes a long film can feel like “watching paint dry.” Other times, it flies by.

“We really focus on making the show as dynamic and emotionally connecting as possible and really celebrating movies in a way that audiences want to stay tuned for,” Taylor said.

Toward 100 and a future on YouTube

Planning is already underway for the 100th Oscars in 2028. They’re also charting a course beyond too: In 2029, the Oscars will move from traditional broadcast television to YouTube.

“YouTube signals our desire to be a more global organization that reaches more audiences around the world,” Kramer said. “The Oscars are just one part of a year-round deal where we’re building a hub for cinema on YouTube that will have our SciTech Awards, our museum programming. Google Arts and Culture will be digitizing components of our collection and making it available to the public. This is all about reach and growing audiences.” LINDSEY BAHR, MDT/AP Film Writer, MDT/AP