The Oscars are headed back to downtown Los Angeles.
Starting in 2029 with the 101st Academy Awards ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ annual awards show will be held at L.A. Live, leaving the Dolby Theatre (previously the Kodak) after 27 years. Specifically, the show will be hosted in the venue’s Peacock Theater.
The Peacock Theater will go by a different name by the time of the 2029 ceremony, with naming rights currently up for grabs, an individual with knowledge of the development told TheWrap.
The move comes amid a new partnership between the Academy and sports and live entertainment developer AEG (the owner of the 23-acre entertainment district L.A. Live). Prior to the 2029 ceremony, AEG will make enhancements and changes to the Peacock Theater to better accommodate the Academy Awards ceremony.
“We are thrilled to partner with a global powerhouse like AEG. Their track record for building and operating technologically sophisticated live performance venues is unrivaled,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor. “For the 101st Oscars and beyond, the Academy looks forward to closely collaborating with AEG to make L.A. Live the perfect backdrop for our global celebration of cinema, both for our live in-theater audience and for film fans around the world.”
What the Oscars Means for the Movies
This move coincides with the Oscars’ changing of hands, with the awards show set to move from ABC to YouTube after the landmark 100th ceremony (a change joked about multiple times by host Conan O’Brien during the 2026 Academy Awards). The 101st ceremony will be the first time since 1975 that the Disney-owned network doesn’t broadcast the ceremony.
This marks a return to downtown for the Academy Awards, where they previously took place every year from 1968 to 2000 (and eight years before that).
The move from the Dolby Theatre will be a big change for the Oscars. The annual ceremony has been held at the Dolby every year since the 74th Academy Awards in 2002, barring the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021, which moved to Union Station for a smaller ceremony amid the COVID pandemic.
“L.A. Live was built to host the moments that define culture, and there is no greater global stage than the Oscars,” said Todd Goldstein, Chief Revenue Officer, AEG. “We’re proud to partner with the Academy to reimagine what the Oscars can look and feel like in the years ahead. Together, we will create an environment that celebrates creativity, honors excellence, and delivers an unforgettable experience for movie fans everywhere.”
Since 2008, the Peacock Theater (formerly the Nokia Theatre and then the Microsoft Theater) has been home to the Emmys, barring 2020 and 2021 ceremonies that moved due to the pandemic. The theater has a capacity of 7,100, which makes it the largest venue ever to host the Oscars — more than twice as big as the Dolby.
You can look at renders of a potential ceremony at the Peacock Theater below.
