Oscars 2018 Ceremony Start Time and Broadcast Window
The 90th Academy Awards ceremony began at 5:30 p.m. PT / 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 4, 2018, with the red carpet pre-show starting earlier. ABC broadcast the main show live in the U.S., and the Academy reported a total runtime of about 3 hours and 50 minutes for the main telecast. For viewers outside the U.S., local delayed feeds and streaming options on services like Forbes provided updated start times by region.
Red carpet arrivals typically began 90 minutes before the main telecast, with fashion editors and photographers positioning along the Hollywood Boulevard sidewalk. The 2018 Oscars ceremony took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, and the official Oscars social channels posted a detailed minute-by-minute timeline to help fans track arrivals and award segments.
Red Carpet Fashion, Brands, and Viewership Figures
Major fashion houses including Valentino, Dior, and Ralph Lauren dominated the 2018 Oscars red carpet, with several celebrities choosing sustainable and vintage looks. According to reports from Forbes, the 2018 Oscars telecast drew about 26.5 million viewers in the U.S., placing it among the higher-rated ceremonies in recent years.
The pre-show red carpet segment featured interviews with nominees and designers, highlighting gown details, accessories, and styling teams. Social media analytics showed spikes in mentions of specific dresses and brands during the broadcast, and fashion trade outlets used these metrics to rank the most memorable looks of the night.
Oscars 2018 Winners, Nominees, and Key Ceremony Details
Shape of Water led the 2018 Oscars with 13 nominations and won four awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Guillermo del Toro. The ceremony also honored Darkest Hour, Call Me by Your Name, and The Shape of Water in major categories, with several first-time winners and historic milestones noted by the Academy.
Production companies including Fox Searchlight Pictures and Netflix saw wins across acting, documentary, and animated feature categories. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences updated its voting rules ahead of the 2018 Oscars to address best picture voting procedures, and the official Oscars website and oscars.org published the full list of winners, nominees, and ceremony logistics.