Here’s When the 2025 Oscars Are Happening & Other Key Dates

The 2025 Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 2, one week earlier than the 2024 show, which was held on Sunday, March 10. And here’s good news for East Coasters who liked this year’s earlier starting time for the Oscars: The 2025 show will again begin at 7 p.m. ET.

The 2024 show clocked in at 3 hours 22 minutes, which means East Coasters were able to watch the full show and still turn in at a reasonable hour. In years past, millions of East Coast film fans had to choose between sticking around for the announcement of best picture and getting to bed before midnight.

The show will again be held at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, its home since 2002 (except for the pandemic-era show in 2021, when it was held at Union Station in Los Angeles).

Nominations will be announced on Jan. 17, 2025 – just five days after nominations-round voting closes. Most awards shows take longer between the close of voting and the announcement of the nominations. The Oscars’ approach allows voters more time to see eligible films and make informed choices. (The Oscars take a bit more time to tally final-round ballots, which are due Feb. 18, 2025 — 12 days before the big show.)

This will be the second year that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will have Representation and Inclusion Standards (for which the Academy uses the acronym RAISE) to be eligible in the best picture category. As the Academy notes, these standards “are designed to encourage equitable representation on and off screen to better reflect the diverse global population.”

Thursday, Nov. 14 is the final day to submit a confidential Inclusion Standards form. Last year, the Academy required that producers meet at least two of these four standards: on-screen representation, themes and narratives; creative leadership and project team; industry access and opportunities; and audience development. (Read a detailed summary of the RAISE standards on the Academy’s site.)

Below are key dates for the 2024 Oscars season. (The Academy cautions that all dates are subject to change.)

Thursday, Nov. 14: General entry, best picture, RAISE submission deadline

Sunday, Nov. 17: Governors Awards

Monday, Dec. 9: Preliminary voting begins 9 a.m. PT

Friday, Dec. 13: Preliminary voting ends 5 p.m. PT

Tuesday, Dec. 17: Oscars shortlists announcement

Tuesday, Dec. 31: Eligibility period ends

Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025: Nominations voting begins 9 a.m. PT

Sunday, Jan. 12, 2005: Nominations voting ends 5 p.m. PT

Friday: Jan. 17, 2005: Nominations announcement

Monday, Feb. 10, 2005: Oscars Nominees Luncheon

Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025: Finals voting begins 9 a.m. PT

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025: Finals voting ends 5 p.m. PT

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025: Scientific and Technical Awards

Sunday, March 2, 2025: 97th Oscars