The 95th Academy Awards take place on Sunday, with the wacky multiverse film *Everything Everywhere All at Once* leading the nominations with 11. Late‑night funnyman Jimmy Kimmel returns to host the Oscars for a third time. His first stint ended with the infamous 2017 mix‑up that mistakenly announced *La La Land* as Best Picture. Assuming the correct envelopes are handed out this year, here are five other things to watch for on Hollywood’s biggest night.
All five Best Song nominees will perform live at the ceremony. Pop superstar Rihanna will grace the stage just weeks after her long‑awaited Super Bowl halftime show, where she revealed she is pregnant. She will sing “Lift Me Up” from *Black Panther: Wakanda Forever*, while Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and *Everything Everywhere* star Stephanie Hsu will perform “This Is a Life.” The biggest spectacle may be “Naatu Naatu,” the infectious showstopper from India’s *RRR*, which has already had audiences dancing in Hollywood theatres. Lady Gaga will be absent; although nominated for “Hold My Hand” from *Top Gun: Maverick*, she is unavailable because she is “in the middle of shooting a movie,” according to Oscars producers. Lenny Kravitz will add further stardust, performing music for the annual “In Memoriam” tribute.
The Best Actress category is poised to break records. If Michelle Yeoh wins for *Everything Everywhere*, she will become the first Asian woman to claim the award. Should Cate Blanchett win for *Tar*, she will join an elite group as only the eighth actor in history to earn three Oscars. Andrea Riseborough, nominated for the obscure indie *To Leslie* after a controversial campaign by celebrity friends, would be the most unlikely winner. Traditionally, the previous year’s Best Actor presents the award, but with Will Smith serving a decade‑long Oscar ban, that tradition may be broken.
The ceremony will also address “the slap.” Last year, Will Smith assaulted Chris Rock on stage after Rock joked about Smith’s wife. Rock recently reignited the topic in a Netflix special, joking that he rooted for the slave master who beats Smith’s character in *Emancipation*. Organizers say the incident will be “acknowledged”—likely in Kimmel’s opening monologue—before the show moves on. Whether presenters and winners can keep Smith’s name out of their speeches remains to be seen.
Will Angela Bassett finally “do the thing”? Before becoming the subject of a viral meme thanks to Ariana DeBose’s cringeworthy BAFTA rap, Bassett was already known for an enviable acting résumé, including *What’s Love Got to Do with It* and *Boyz n the Hood*. It is surprising she has never won an Oscar, and even more surprising if her first win comes for a superhero film. Her role as Queen Ramonda in *Black Panther: Wakanda Forever* earned the first-ever Oscar acting nomination for a Marvel movie. She will have to outshine Jamie Lee Curtis (*Everything Everywhere*) and Kerry Condon (*The Banshees of Inisherin*) to secure the win.
If *All Quiet on the Western Front* wins Best Picture, it will make history. The original English‑language adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s anti‑war novel won top honors in 1930, at the third Academy Awards. A win for this German‑language version would mark the first time a film has essentially won Hollywood’s biggest prize twice. It would also be Netflix’s first Best Picture win, coming just a year after Apple became the first streamer to claim the award. If any film can stop the *Everything Everywhere* juggernaut on Sunday, it is likely this one.
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