The 2026 Oscars ceremony recognizes for the first time the work of casting teams. Because part of a movie's success is the cast of actors and actresses who star in it, and there is a lot of work behind the selection. This marks a milestone, as it is the first time in over 25 years that a new category is included in the quintessential Hollywood film gala.
The last time was in 2001 when the Best Animated Feature category was established, won by Shrek in its first edition.
With the novelty of Best Casting, the aim is to reward the work of the film's casting directors. Following this addition, the Oscars ceremony, which takes place during the night of March 15 to 16 (Spanish time), now includes 22 categories. Hence, the estimated duration of the ceremony is between three and four hours.
Nominees for Best Casting at the 2026 Oscars
Nina Gold for Hamnet
Jennifer Venditti for Marty Supreme
Cassandra Kulukundis One Battle After Another
Gabriel Domingues for The Secret Agent
Francine Maisler for The Sinners
Other novelties of the 2026 Oscars
In addition to including the new Best Casting category this 2026, another novelty of this year's ceremony is that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to shorten the musical performances. Typically, the nominees in the Best Original Song category perform live.
However, this year only two performances are planned: EJAE, Audrey Nunca & Rei Ami with their song 'Golden' from K-pop Warriors, and Miles Caton singing 'I lied to you' from Sinners.
In that sense, they have also decided to eliminate some official screenings that were usually held after the nominations.
The 2026 Oscars ceremony starts at 7:00 p.m. (US time) on Sunday, March 15,