What was the listed running time of the 2026 Oscars ceremony?

The listed running time of the 2026 Oscars ceremony was 3 hours, 40 minutes.

That duration describes the televised 98th Academy Awards ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 15, 2026. It does not include the separate red-carpet preshow or other surrounding Oscars coverage, which began before the awards broadcast itself.

The ceremony presented Oscars in 24 competitive categories and included speeches, performances, film clips, presenter introductions, tributes, and commercial breaks. Those elements help explain why the telecast lasted substantially longer than a typical feature film, even though the awards themselves are presented in a tightly planned live production.

A common mix-up is treating the scheduled start time as the show’s duration. The broadcast began at 7 p.m. Eastern and 4 p.m. Pacific, but those clock times do not answer how long the ceremony lasted. The official listing gives the length directly: 220 minutes, or 3 hours and 40 minutes.