Conan O’Brien will host the 97th Annual Academy Awards.
“America demanded it and now it’s happening: Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars,” O’Brien, 61, joked in a Friday, November 15, statement.
The Oscars will be held on March 2, 2025, from Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. It will be O’Brien’s first time emceeing the ceremony.
“We are thrilled and honored to have the incomparable Conan O’Brien host the Oscars this year,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a joint press release. “He is the perfect person to help lead our global celebration of film with his brilliant humor, his love of movies, and his live TV expertise.”
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Their statement added, “His remarkable ability to connect with audiences will bring viewers together to do what the Oscars do best — honor the spectacular films and filmmakers of this year.”
The Emmy-winning late-night host takes over the hosting mantle from Jimmy Kimmel, who ran the show in 2017, 2018, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Us Weekly confirmed in July that both Kimmel, 57, and fellow comedian John Mulaney turned down the chance to host the 2024 Oscars.
“We are lucky to have Jimmy, who helped create one of the best Oscars last year. John Mulaney also did an incredible job,” Kramer told Variety one month earlier. “All I will say is, with whomever hosts the show moving forward, we want to continue with this tone of celebration, respect, humor and a great love of movies. We have some great options.”
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While Kimmel has not publicly addressed his decision not to return for a fifth time hosting, he previously revealed why he emceed the March ceremony.
“There were some really good movies … I think they’re all really good. I saw them all,” Kimmel told ABC News ahead of the 2024 show. “It’s a big part of why I decided to host the show this year, because I do know that there are movies that people have actually seen, which makes it a lot easier to make jokes about.”
The 2024 Oscars were a big night for the likes of Cillian Murphy, Emma Stone, Robert Downey Jr., Da’Vine Joy Randolph and more. Murphy and Downey’s Oppenheimer scored an impressive number of nods as did box office smash Barbie.
The 97th Annual Academy Awards air live on ABC Sunday, March 2, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET.
