After a few slightly rocky years, the once-disgraced Golden Globes has risen from the ashes, grabbing the spotlight once again as Hollywood’s biggest names and hottest newcomers flocked to Los Angeles for a nonstop long weekend that kicked off the annual awards season, leading to the ultimate prizes coming on Oscar Sunday, March 15. And while the season is a marathon, not a sprint, you wouldn’t have known it as celebs literally ran from party to party, crisscrossing the town and creating epic traffic jams in their wake.
George Clooney was back in the U.S. in force, hitting events from Thursday to Sunday, with his rivals for acting awards hot on his heels. Timothée Chalamet, Michael B. Jordan, Joel Edgerton and even famous party-allergic superstar Leonardo DiCaprio all made the rounds, along with every female contender, director and screenwriter hopeful in the mix. Read on for a look at all the best bashes that launched 2026’s race to the top of the Hollywood heap.
After the Golden Globes: Netflix and Beyond
Spago Restaurant, Beverly Hills and other venues
With some studios like Walt Disney and Paramount saving their budgets for later in the season, Netflix was the place to party after the Golden Globes this year, bringing out power couples like co-CEO studio boss Ted Sarandos and his wife Nicole Avant, who greeted a select set of stars at Spago for an after-show meet-and-greet, fueled by Wolfgang Puck’s favorite foods, like ahi tuna cones and salmon pizza.
“Jay Kelly” star George Clooney brought his wife Amal along for this one, while lots of other power couples joined in the heady scene. “The Beast in Me” star Matthew Rhys and “The Diplomat” lead Keri Russell commiserated on coming home from the Globes empty-handed (both were nominated), while Stephen Graham and wife Hannah Walters danced with joy as their Netflix hit “Adolescence” took home hardware for the whole family.
“Jay Kelly” star Adam Sandler and his wife Jackie continued their partying weekend at the celebration of Netflix’s seven Globes category wins, and Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas added a level of glam to the party swirl. Also in the mix were plenty of the hottest thespians on the planet, from “Frankenstein” stars Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth and Oscar Isaac to other Netflix favorites including Colman Domingo, Claire Danes, Jason Bateman, Jeremy Allen White and many more.
Over at Bar Marmont, Warner Bros. held a post-party celebration that drew Emma Stone, Teyana Taylor and Zoe Kravitz; Nikki Glaser’s post-show bash at the Sunset Tower Hotel brought Jennifer Lopez and Sofia Vergara; and the up-and-comers crowd gathered at the Young Hollywood: A Celebration for the Breakout Stars of 2025 at the Mondrian Hotel’s Skybar, with “The Pitt” star Alexandra Metz leading the way.
WWD Style Awards
Regent Santa Monica Hotel, Santa Monica
Thursday night brought ultra-glam to start off the long Golden Globes weekend, as the WWD Style Awards sashayed into the Regent Santa Monica, bringing an A-list of couture fans out for the intimate celebration. From Cindy Crawford and Hailey Bieber to Paris Hilton, Kourtney Kardashian Barker and Lisa Rinna in a massive ballgown, fashion icons were everywhere.
George Clooney led the way, accepting a posthumous Red Carpet Visionary Award for Giorgio Armani, saying that “Richard Gere is the guy who really should be doing this, as he and Giorgio put each other on the map” before accepting the award for the designer. “All I can say is that I wish he were here. But maybe he’s watching?”
The room was full of stars who have worn Armani in the past, including Cameron Diaz, Emily Blunt, Kristen Stewart, Demi Moore and Mindi Kaling, all on hand to support the various stylists, makeup artists and other creative people who help transform actors for the red carpet and beyond. Pamela Anderson took home the Beauty Icon Award, wearing no makeup and saying, “I’m just winging it, I don’t know what I’m doing!” She did start the weekend trend of wearing sunglasses inside, never removing them in the darkened ballroom.
AARP Movies for Grownups Awards
Beverly Wilshire Hotel, A Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills
It started off with a song, as host Alan Cumming belted out the first of many little ditties written especially for the Movies for Grownups Awards, AARP’s annual celebration of films and television that “celebrate the stories of people 50 and older,” and ended with “Hamnet” winning the Best Movie for Grownups Award.
That one was happily accepted by writer-director Chloe Zhao and her two stars, Jesse Buckley and Paul Mescal, but it was the earlier Career Achievement Award to Adam Sandler that brought down the house, as the 59-year-old comedian-actor-producer read off his Top Ten reasons he’s old as his acceptance speech
“Number one, I had to swallow a Viagra just to think of this,” he cracked, “and then I had to take a piss, then call my doctor when the piss lasted for four hours!”
By the end of that comic bit, the whole audience was roaring with laughter, including George Clooney (awarded the Best Actor prize), his “ER” buddy Noah Wyle (Best Actor TV) and other award winners, including Laura Dern, Kathy Bates, Regina Hall, Delroy Lindo, Guillermo del Toro and Elle Fanning. The awards show airs on PBS on Feb. 22, but some of Sandler’s jokes just might be bleeped.
AFI Awards
Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills,
The American Film Institute’s annual AFI Awards luncheon honors the 10 best films and television series of the year – and it is always the hottest ticket of the Globes weekend, for it is a room full of the most successful and powerful people that make Hollywood what it is.
That’s why seeing Leonardo DiCaprio and James Cameron hugging it out seems normal, and spotting Carol Burnett in conversation with Ariana Grande is just a regular Friday afternoon. The room buzzed with conversations about everything from the industry to the state of America today, as activists like Mark Ruffalo and George Clooney shared a moment. Familiar faces were everywhere, including Seth Rogen, Benicio del Toro, Britt Lower, Steven Spielberg, Ethan Hawke and so many more.
Michael B. Jordan and Jafar Panahi kept the weekend trend of wearing sunglasses inside on a roll here, and fan favorites like Jacob Elordi and Timothée Chalamet enjoyed the lack of pressure that the AFI Awards brings, for all 20 works that are honored already know they have won, so no sweaty palms as all are celebrated equally here.
Louis Vuitton and W Magazine’s Intimate Awards Dinner
Private Home, Beverly Hills
Fashion mainstay Louis Vuitton reminded the beautiful people that their brand is a go-to favorite at a private dinner hosted by brand designer Nicolas Ghesquiére for a gaggle of their closest celebrity friends, many dressed in Vuitton for the occasion. From Emma Stone to galpals Teyana Taylor and Ana de Armas (who mugged perfectly for the camera), the evening was a relaxed celebration filled with A-list stars, many of whom have an Oscar or two on their mantles, as well as Emmys and Globes.
Look one way and there were Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys hanging out with Jennifer Connelly, look the other and Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Regina King were perhaps giving “Sinners” star Wumni Mosaku the lowdown on managing her own Oscar campaign (we hope that was true!). Hannah Einbinder, Rhea Seehorn, Lisa, the three Haim sisters and many more were part of the select crowd, with shoe designer Christian Louboutin drawing a lot of attention. He must have done something right, for the numerous stars that chose his signature red-soled footwear for Globes night made it clear that he’s the man of the moment for shoes. Shockingly, George Clooney was not at this bash!
BAFTA North America’s Tea Party
The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills
Returning to its favorite haunt at the Four Seasons Hotel, the annual BAFTA North America Tea Party was, as usual, one of the most popular parties of the weekend, an afternoon spent sipping tea and champagne while nibbling on scones, cucumber sandwiches and much more. Quickly jammng up with stars of British, Australian and other Commonwealth countries, as well as Americans galore, the party caused a traffic jam on Doheny Drive and inside the ballroom as well, as the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd vied for moments with Tinseltown’s most famous faces.
Leo DiCaprio brought his dad and stepmom along for the fun, while Brits like Aimee Lou Wood, Stephen Graham, Imogen Poots, Jane Levy and Matthew Rhys chatted up Aussies like Joel Edgerton and Rose Byrne.
Everyone was hopeful that BAFTA will soon add its prestigious nominations to the awards season push toward Oscar. That’s why Gwyneth Paltrow turned up, along with Teyana Taylor, Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan, Kate Hudson, Ethan Hawke, Lee Byung-hun and lots of other contenders were in the room.
BAFTA also celebrated their BAFTA Breakout U.S. Cohorts, including Brandon Wilson of “The Nickel Boys” fame. He was a bit overwhelmed by the star power that was flowing, saying, “I’m excited to be here, especially since I’m looking to book my next acting job.” He wasn’t the only one in the room looking to network, that’s for certain.
W Magazine’s 2026 Best Performances Party
Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles
Saturday night was party night at the Chateau Marmont and the Bar Marmont next door, with the intimate W Magazine’s 2026 Best Performances Party happening in the Chateau’s tiny penthouse, where the stars who are gracing the magazine’s series of 16 covers celebrating 34 actors joined up to start the evening.
Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney cracked up the crowd with their big-nose selfie, while Jennifer Lopez’s dress caused a traffic jam wherever she went in the place. Mia Goth, Emma Stone, Kate Hudson, Chase Infiniti, Michael B. Jordan, Kaia Gerber, Sarah Snook, Parker Posey and the Fanning sisters shook the place up, then most went on downstairs to the massive Vanity Fair party happening next door (keep reading for that).
Vanity Fair and Amazon MGM Studios Celebrate Awards Season 2026
Bar Marmont, Los Angeles
The Vanity Fair Amazon MGM Studios annual awards season bash at Bar Marmont is always a party to remember, with 2026 causing such a stir that Sunset Boulevard was a mess literally all night as the festivities raged. From the glittery golden first room, where the caviar bar served up weird concoctions like ossetra on a marshmallow, to the multi-tiered spaces that led down to the speakeasy part of the space, the incredibly famous crushed together with the very famous, the sort of famous and the wannabe famous to create a scrum that would have brought shivers to any fire marshal in the vicinity.
But no one shut it down, so it went well into the wee hours, with guests ranging from Jennifer Lopez’s visit, complete with a helper for her sheer gown’s long train, to Kate Beckinsale’s gigantic ballgown that took people out with every step, and on to Justin Hartley and Sofia Parnas jockeying for position at the bar, Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick looking a bit battle shocked by the time they made it down the single-file stairs and “The Pitt” gang (Katherine LaNasa, Patrick Ball, Isa Briones and Fiona Dourif) creating an outpost all their own. It was a cacophony of sound, color, cocktails and a grand time for anyone except claustrophobics.
Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie and Francois Arnaud (the “Heated Rivalry” guys) caused the real traffic jams, as they delightedly fielded love from everyone in the mix, and, as Natasha Lyonne quipped as she wound through the never-ending crowd, “This thing is nuts!”
