The smiling winners all thank "the Academy" on the Oscars stage. But who is the group behind the Academy Awards, and how is it changing?

Tom Cruise finally has an Academy Award. He received an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards. Cruise, 63, was celebrated for his four decades at the peak of the movie industry.

Both "No Place Like Home" and "The Girl in the Bubble" are present on the Critics Choice shortlist, confirming that Wicked 's presence in the general awards conversation has lifted the two songs into contention, but the lukewarm response to the numbers could leave one or both off of the Oscars' nomination list.

The winner of 2014’s Best Supporting Actress Academy Award said the achievement did not improve her career prospects. Lupita Nyong’o won the Oscar race for starring in 12 Years a Slave in 2014. She revealed in a new interview that she was repeatedly offered more roles as an enslaved woman after her win.

The Oscars are making room for one more award on their live broadcast in 2026. The new prize for achievement in casting will be part of the 98th Academy Awards in March, the academy told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Cameron continued by lampooning Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos' cinematic strategy, "We'll put the movie out for a week, we'll put it out for 10 days; we'll qualify for Academy Awards consideration. See, I think that's fundamentally rotten at the core. The Academy Awards, to me, mean nothing if they don't mean theatrical."

The Oscars 2026 list of eligible movies being considered for Best Animated Feature is out, and the Indian film Mahavatar Narsimha has qualified. The official update was shared by the Academy itself, confirming that the movie is competing against 35 other films in the category.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Ariana Grande, Sydney Sweeney and other 2026 Academy Awards hopefuls walked the black carpet at the Governors Awards, where Tom Cruise, Debbie Allen, Dolly Parton and Wynn Thomas received honorary Oscars.