By Coral Gables Gazette staff
On the same evening that Hollywood’s biggest ceremony unfolds at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the Coral Gables Art Cinema will roll out a red carpet of its own. The cinema will host its third annual Oscars watch party on Sunday, March 15, bringing together film lovers for a glamorous evening that pairs the live broadcast of the 98th Academy Awards with gourmet bites, drinks, trivia and a best-dressed competition.
The event begins at 6 p.m. with a red carpet arrival and photo opportunity at 260 Aragon Avenue. The awards ceremony broadcast begins on the cinema’s large screen at 7 p.m.
A record-setting Oscar race
This year’s Academy Awards arrive with unusual anticipation. The horror film Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan, enters the night with 16 nominations — the most in Oscar history, surpassing the previous record of 14 shared by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land. The film is nominated for Best Picture alongside nine other contenders including Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Frankenstein, and Sentimental Value.
In the acting categories, Timothée Chalamet is nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Marty Supreme, with Leonardo DiCaprio competing for One Battle After Another. Best Actress nominees include Jessie Buckley, Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, Renate Reinsve, and Emma Stone. Comedian Conan O’Brien returns as host for the second consecutive year, with the ceremony airing live on ABC and streaming on Hulu beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern.
This year’s ceremony also introduces a new competitive category: achievement in casting, honoring the work of casting directors for the first time in Academy history. The addition brings the total number of competitive Oscar categories to 24.
What the evening includes
The watch party is designed as a full awards-season experience rather than a simple screening. Guests are encouraged to arrive in awards attire, channel a favorite film character, or wear a creative Hollywood-inspired look. A prize will be awarded to the best-dressed guest of the evening. Oscar trivia will run throughout the night, with prizes for top performers.
The event marks the third consecutive year the Coral Gables Art Cinema has organized a watch party around the Academy Awards ceremony, a tradition that has grown in scale and attendance since its debut. The format reflects the cinema’s broader programming philosophy: using film not just as a subject for the screen, but as a gathering point for the community it serves.
Tickets are $75 for members and $100 for non-members, with two-ticket packages available at $125 and $150 respectively. All tickets include a curated selection of gourmet bites and adult beverages. Advance registration is required.
About the Coral Gables Art Cinema
The Coral Gables Art Cinema opened in October 2010 as a public-private partnership between the City of Coral Gables and the Coral Gables Cinematheque, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) film arts organization, in collaboration with Magna-Tech Electronic Company. The city owns the building; the Cinematheque operates the theater.
The 141-seat theater at 260 Aragon Avenue is equipped with full 35mm and 70mm projection capability alongside 4K digital projection and professional Dolby sound on a 28-by-12-foot screen. It operates 365 days a year, presenting first-run and regional premieres of American independent and international films, classic titles, documentary features, and special programs. The Miami New Times named it Miami’s best art-house cinema in 2011, 2018, 2020, and 2022, and recognized it as Best Movie Theater in its 2025 Readers Choice poll.
A civic role beyond the screen
Events like the Oscars watch party sit at the intersection of the cinema’s dual identity: it is both a serious film institution and a neighborhood gathering place. The cinema keeps ticket prices accessible year-round, offers pay-what-you-can and low-cost programs for families and students, and partners with local schools and community organizations. Its programming is designed to reflect the multilingual and multicultural diversity of greater Miami.
For residents of Coral Gables, the watch party offers something worth noting on its own terms: the chance to watch the most watched night in film — a ceremony honoring one of the most widely discussed Oscar races in decades — in the company of neighbors, in a theater built specifically for the love of cinema.
