Awards season officially kicked off this year with the Golden Globes on January 8 - now the next show is taking centre stage: the 96th Academy Awards. Here’s how Kiwis can tune in, who is tipped to win and all the hosts and performers.

Get ready film fans, today is officially Academy Awards day - aka the Oscars.

Despite the industry seeing the historic WGA and Sag-Aftra strikes last year, Hollywood is coming back together again at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to celebrate their best, their brightest and some names who just might be the next big thing.

Whether you’re tuning in for the red carpet looks, the possible drama or to find out if Oppenheimer will steal the show, the Herald is not only covering the entire day minute to minute, slap to slap, but we’ve got everything you need to know ahead of the show.

How to watch the Oscars in New Zealand

Kiwi film fans hoping to watch the annual Academy Awards today will be pleased to know they can tune in through their Disney+ account from 11.30am.

The award ceremony is expected to start at 1pm NZT.

If you don’t have an account with the streaming service, no worries. Kiwi wanting to join in on the action can follow along with the Herald’s up-to-date coverage of the red carpet, as well as winners as they happen.

Who is hosting the Oscars?

Emmy Award-winning late-night talk show host and producer Jimmy Kimmel will return this year to host the live show for the fourth time.

Having fronted the show in 2017, 2018 and 2023, the star joked in a statement: “I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times.”

Joining Kimmel is an array of presenters you know and love including Ariana Grande, Ryan Gosling and Melissa McCarthy. Elsewhere, Bad Bunny and Zendaya, Emily Blunt, America Ferrera and Steven Spielberg, as well as many more huge names.

Billboard revealed earlier this year that the Oscars will return to a presenting model last used 15 years ago in which five previous winners in each acting category will announce this year’s nominees and present the winner, effectively welcoming them into the club.

Who is performing at the Oscars?

Jon Batiste will perform at the Oscars this year. Photo / AP

One of the most highly anticipated performances will take place at this year’s Oscars with Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson performing the hit Barbie song, I’m Just Ken. Also from the film’s soundtrack is Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell’s What Was I Made For?, which will be performed live. Both songs have been nominated in the Best Music (Original Song) category.

Elsewhere, Scott George and the Osage Singers are set to perform Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People), from Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Jon Batiste will play a live rendition of It Never Went Away from American Symphony.

Finally, Becky G - the only performer who isn’t nominated for an Oscar this year - will play The Fire Inside from the film Flamin’ Hot. Entertainment Weekly reported the singer did not receive the nomination despite singing the tune for the film, as Diane Warren wrote the song and thus received the Best Music (Original Song) nomination.

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Emma Stone plays an intriguing role captivatingly in Poor Things.

Oppenheimer leads the 96th annual Academy Awards with 13 nominations, followed by Poor Things (11) and Killers of the Flower Moon (10). Despite making headlines for apparent snubs, Barbie is also a top-nominated film with eight nominations.

Elsewhere, 10 actors have landed their first-ever Academy nominations, including Emily Blunt, who earned a nod for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Oppenheimer. America Ferrera was also placed in the category for Barbie and Danielle Brooks for The Color Purple.

Brooks is the film’s sole nominee despite there being large Oscar hopes for it.

Cillian Murphy received his first-ever Academy nomination for Best Actor in Oppenheimer, as did Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction and Colman Domingo for Rustin.

Other firsts included Sterling K. Brown nominated for Best Supporting Actor for American Fiction, Sandra Hüller for Best Actress for Anatomy of a Fall and Da’Vine Joy Randolph for Best Supporting Actress for The Holdovers.

Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock and Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer and Poor Things have secured some impressive wins this award season, including at the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) and the Golden Globes, with speculation their winning reign could continue.

However, Oscar winners are voted by 10,000 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members - and if we’ve learnt anything in the show’s almost century-long history, it’s to expect the unexpected.

Lillie Rohan is an Auckland-based reporter covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2020. She specialises in all things relationships and dating, Kiwi celebs we can’t help but love and TV shows you simply cannot miss out on.