It's Oscars night! Countdown to the red carpet as preparation begins

By Gemma Peplow, culture and entertainment reporter

The Academy Awards might be the biggie, but the ceremony is actually the last in a long list of awards shows that begins the previous year.

There are several industry and critics association awards, including the Gotham Awards, the London Critics Circle Awards and more, before we even get to other major ceremonies such as the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs.

Here, we take a look at what's happened so far this awards season and see if it can shed any light on who will win Oscars tonight.

Note, we've stuck to the simple "best film", "best actor" categories, but each ceremony does things slightly differently - the Golden Globes, for example, splits films into dramas and comedies or musicals, while the Critics Choice Awards has a prize for best picture and best ensemble cast.

SUPPORTING CATEGORIES

Yes, you're seeing quadruple. Twice. Hope they've got big mantlepieces, or enough space in the downstairs loo for all this silverware.

I'm gonna go with my instincts on this one... you're probably safe to put your money on Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldana for the prizes here - just don't expect to be able to retire on your winnings.

LEAD ACTOR

Here's where things are a little more interesting. Let's take best actor first - Adrien Brody has the BAFTA, Golden Globe and Critics Choice gongs.

BUT. Timothee Chalamet has the SAG, which stands for Screen Actors Guild. And who votes in the SAG Awards? Actors. And what is the biggest branch of the Academy, which votes for the Oscars? The acting branch.

Now, that's not to say there's a complete crossover between the SAG voters and the Oscars acting branch. But there will be some. The question is, will the majority of actors be feeling the same way about Chalamet's portrayal of Bob Dylan? They do love a transformation, after all (I refer you to Rami Malek, the 2019 best actor winner for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody).

And don't worry about Jesse Plemons. He's not in the running for an Oscar.

Sorry, Jesse.

LEAD ACTRESS

First, there was Demi Moore's win at the Golden Globes. Then there was Demi Moore's speech at the Golden Globes, talking of how she was once described as a "popcorn" actress - who could bring bums to cinemas but would never make art.

As a 62-year-old Hollywood star being nominated for awards for the first time, for her role in The Substance - a horror film confronting the harsh reality of aging in Tinseltown - the irony has not been lost, and there are a lot of people who want this to be Moore's big night.

However, newcomer Mikey Madison has gathered momentum throughout awards season for her performance in Anora - picking up the BAFTA in the UK just two weeks ago. And Fernanda Torres' performance has received equal praise from critics.

Cannes opted for the Emilia Perez stars as an ensemble, but Cannes was May last year. A distant memory. While Karla Sofia Gascon is the one shortlisted for best actress here, after the events of recent weeks she's probably unlikely to scoop the Oscar.

FILMMAKERS

Like Plemons, we can rule out Miguel Gomes. He's not on the shortlist.

Brady Corbet has had a lot of momentum for his post-war epic The Brutalist, picking up a Golden Globe and a BAFTA.

Box office smash Wicked earned Jon M Chu a win with the critics, but it's probably unlikely to do the same with Oscar voters.

Sneaking in could be Sean Baker, the filmmaker behind Anora. He picked up the Directors Guild Awards top prize - so it stands to reason that a lot of directors voting in the Oscars could be behind him, too.

THE BIGGIE

After the almost certainty of an Oppenheimer win last year, it's pretty exciting that it seems there are at least three that could potentially clinch the best film prize this year.

You can see the Golden Globes went for The Brutalist and Emilia Perez for its film prizes. For reasons above, the Oscar is probably not going Emilia Perez's way, so we'll park that one.

But then you'll see the other winners are pretty much an even split between Conclave and Anora. Conclave has the BAFTA and the SAG award. At the Critics Choice Awards, it won the best acting ensemble award - but best film went to Anora. And Anora also has the Cannes Palme d'Or (the festival's highest prize), plus the DGA prize and the Producers Guild award, too.

Bearing all that in mind, it's going to be Conclave.

No, Anora. No, Conclave. Yes, Conclave.

But possibly Anora.

After the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, SAG Awards and more, it's often the case that by the time the Oscars rolls around, you know exactly which films and stars are going to take what.

Not so this year - which makes it much more exciting.

Here are the predictions from Sky News entertainment team journalists Katie Spencer, Claire Gregory, Bethany Minelle and Gemma Peplow - who will win, and who they think should win.

Inspired by Conclave, we held a secret(ish) ballot. Take a look below.

By Gemma Peplow, culture and entertainment reporter

Speaking of Emilia Perez, in case you're not aware of the recent controversy, let's fill you in.

Just a few weeks ago, this would probably have been a post predicting several big wins for the musical, which tells the story of a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender affirmation surgery.

It won awards at Cannes last year and several Golden Globes at the start of 2025, and is now the most nominated non-English language film in Oscars history. Star Karla Sofia Gascon is also the first transgender woman to be nominated for best actress.

But as the film became an Oscars frontrunner and its profile grew, so did the criticism - and scrutiny of its themes and stars.

US LGBTQ+ advocacy and cultural change group GLAAD described the film as a "step backward for trans representation", while it also came under fire for apparent stereotypical depictions of Mexico and minimal inclusion of Mexican people among the main cast and crew.

A lot of this criticism had been bubbling away before the Oscar nominations, though. Emilia Perez was still riding high at that point.

The nail in the coffin came shortly afterwards, when offensive tweets posted by Gascon were unearthed.

Now, while Saldana is still favourite to win best supporting actress today, it seems the momentum for taking home any bigger prizes has gone.

Director Jacques Audiard gave an interview to Deadline in February, saying he was "very sad" to see the issue of Gascon's "inexcusable" tweets "taking up all the space" around the film. However, he did seem to show support for the actress at the BAFTAs last month.

You can read more about the Emilia Perez controversy below.

Emilia Perez, a Spanish-language musical starring Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascon and Selena Gomez broke the record for the most nominated non-English language film in Oscars history when the shortlists were revealed, receiving 13 nods.

This was previously held by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which received 10 nods in 2001, and was equalled by Roma in 2019.

However, due to recent controversy surrounding old tweets of Gascon's, plus other criticism of the film, it's probably safe to say that while it will probably pick up a few - Saldana is all but a dead cert for best supporting actress - we're unlikely to see an Emilia Perez clean sweep.

The Brutalist and Wicked each have 10 nominations, while Conclave and A Complete Unknown have eight.

And the big stars up for acting prizes this year include Demi Moore, Timothee Chalamet, Adrien Brody, Cynthia Erivo, Ralph Fiennes, Ariana Grande, Kieran Culkin and Guy Pearce.

Here is the full list of nominees for each category...

By Gemma Peplow, culture and entertainment reporter

There's a newcomer to hosting duties this year, with Emmy-winning comedian Conan O'Brien taking the reins.

Best known for presenting US talk shows including Late Night With Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien, the 61-year-old has been handed the baton by Jimmy Kimmel, who took charge last year following successful stints in 2023, 2018 and 2017.

Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes hosted together in 2022, while for three years before that the ceremony was hostless (that didn't work so well).

When they announced O'Brien last year, Oscars executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan praised him as "incredibly witty, charismatic and funny" and a "master of live event television", and promised "a fresh, exciting and celebratory show".

Comedian Nikki Glaser went down well at the Golden Globes at the beginning of the year. While the Oscars hosts aren't usually as savage, we're sure O'Brien won't let his A-list audience entirely off the hook.

They can take it - they get the Oscars goodie bags, after all.

The biggest night in the Hollywood awards calendar is finally here - cue jazz hands - and we're here to guide you through it all, from the outfits and awards to the afterparties.

Just like the A-listers, our team will soon be glammed up and red carpet ready to bring you this year's coverage of the Oscars, which is taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Among the stars hoping to bag awards tonight are Timothee Chalamet, for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in the biopic A Complete Unknown, Adrien Brody, for his performance in post-war epic The Brutalist, Demi Moore, for her lead role in the shocking body horror The Substance, and newcomer Mikey Madison for her breakout role as a young sex worker in Anora.

We'll be here to bring you live coverage as the winners are announced, and of course will be following the stars afterwards as they hit the glamourous Vanity Fair and Elton John parties.

Drinks, snacks at the ready - stay with us for all the biggest announcements, the ceremony best bits, and behind-the-scenes gossip.

This is the Oscars 2025.